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The differences between trauma surgeons and thoracic surgeons can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a trauma surgeon and a thoracic surgeon. Additionally, a thoracic surgeon has an average salary of $437,281, which is higher than the $406,184 average annual salary of a trauma surgeon.
The top three skills for a trauma surgeon include critical care, patient care and trauma surgery. The most important skills for a thoracic surgeon are patient care, CME, and lung cancer.
| Trauma Surgeon | Thoracic Surgeon | |
| Yearly salary | $406,184 | $437,281 |
| Hourly rate | $195.28 | $210.23 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 3,750 | 3,460 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 25% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 49 | 49 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Trauma surgeons attend to ER patients who fall into certain categories of medical conditions such as low blood pressure following a car accident or if emergency surgery is needed to prevent permanent damage or save their lives. They will assume responsibility for the patient's care if hospital admission is needed as well as follow-up care. Other duties of a trauma surgeon include evaluating, diagnosing, and stabilizing a patient with traumatic physical injury, treating patients with cuts, internal injuries, and bone fractures, and evaluating which injuries need medical intervention first.
A Thoracic Surgeon is often grouped with cardiac or heart specialists for cardiothoracic surgery. He/She is a surgeon who specializes in surgery that involves the heart, lungs, esophagus, and other major blood vessels inside the chest as well as surgery of the chest wall. As a thoracic surgeon, your job is to evaluate a patient's medical history and educate him or her about her condition as well as available options. Generally, you are expected to diagnose and treat diseases in the chest, and you'll do it sometimes by working closely with the primary care doctor or other specialists.
Trauma surgeons and thoracic surgeons have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Trauma Surgeon | Thoracic Surgeon | |
| Average salary | $406,184 | $437,281 |
| Salary range | Between $204,000 And $806,000 | Between $217,000 And $880,000 |
| Highest paying City | Grand Forks, ND | Minneapolis, MN |
| Highest paying state | Minnesota | Minnesota |
| Best paying company | Trinity Health | Allina Health |
| Best paying industry | Professional | - |
There are a few differences between a trauma surgeon and a thoracic surgeon in terms of educational background:
| Trauma Surgeon | Thoracic Surgeon | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 25% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Medicine | Nursing |
| Most common college | Duke University | New York University |
Here are the differences between trauma surgeons' and thoracic surgeons' demographics:
| Trauma Surgeon | Thoracic Surgeon | |
| Average age | 49 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 55.6% Female, 44.4% | Male, 35.3% Female, 64.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 1.8% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 5.0% Asian, 12.7% White, 76.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 1.8% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 5.0% Asian, 12.7% White, 76.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |