What does a trauma surgeon do?
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.
Trauma surgeon responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real trauma surgeon resumes:
- Manage all incoming medical records requests (ensuring office is within HIPPA guidelines).
- Coordinate with patients and medical staff at civilian and military treatment facilities to schedule medical appointments and retrieve medical documentation.
- Observe fracture plating, skin grafting, wind cleaning, amputation, and other Orthopaedic surgeries.
Trauma surgeon skills and personality traits
We calculated that 44% of Trauma Surgeons are proficient in Critical Care, Patient Care, and Trauma Surgery. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Trauma Surgeons that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Critical Care, 44%
Provided critical care to US, Coalition and Iraqi Army service members injured in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
- Patient Care, 29%
Scheduled surgeries, patient care, prepping charts, vitals and administrative assistant to the physician.
- Trauma Surgery, 20%
General and Trauma Surgery, Employed, St. John's Regional Medical Center
- Emergency Medicine, 3%
Board Certified, and a Professor of Emergency Medicine and Trauma.
- Private Practice, 2%
Employed private practice position with emphasis on reconstructive and cosmetic procedures of the breast, body, and skin structures
- IV, 1%
Administered Chemotherapy drugs through IV.
Most trauma surgeons use their skills in "critical care," "patient care," and "trauma surgery" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential trauma surgeon responsibilities here:
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a trauma surgeon to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what trauma surgeons do because "physicians and surgeons need to be excellent communicators." Additionally, a trauma surgeon resume shows how trauma surgeons use communication skills: "expanded on communication skills with doctors and nurses from the various units as well as patients. "
Compassion. Many trauma surgeon duties rely on compassion. "patients who are sick or injured may be in extreme pain or distress," so a trauma surgeon will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways trauma surgeon responsibilities rely on compassion: "provided and directed patient care in an appropriate and compassionate manner. "
Detail oriented. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of trauma surgeons is detail oriented. This skill is critical to many everyday trauma surgeon duties, as "patients must receive appropriate treatment and medications." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "obtain detailed historical data from patients and perform focused physical examinations. "
Dexterity. For certain trauma surgeon responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "dexterity." The day-to-day duties of a trauma surgeon rely on this skill, as "physicians and surgeons may work with very precise and sometimes sharp tools, and mistakes can have serious consequences." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what trauma surgeons do: "gained invaluable knowledge of the medical industry and patient care; developed diagnostic and problem-solving skills through hands-on clinical experience. "
Leadership skills. A commonly-found skill in trauma surgeon job descriptions, "leadership skills" is essential to what trauma surgeons do. Trauma surgeon responsibilities rely on this skill because "physicians who work in their own practice must manage a staff of other professionals." You can also see how trauma surgeon duties rely on leadership skills in this resume example: "delivered advice to surgeon general and executive leadership on public health policies, project implementation, and milestone establishment. "
Physical stamina. Another skill commonly found on trauma surgeon job descriptions is "physical stamina." It can come up quite often in trauma surgeon duties, since "physicians and surgeons should be comfortable lifting or turning disabled patients, or performing other physical tasks." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day trauma surgeon responsibilities: "listened to and interpreted each patient's physical evaluation and watched intricate surgeries for a series of emergency situations"
The three companies that hire the most trauma surgeons are:
- HealthTrust15 trauma surgeons jobs
- Interpath Labs8 trauma surgeons jobs
- Baylor Scott & White Health5 trauma surgeons jobs
Compare different trauma surgeons
Trauma surgeon vs. Doctor
A doctor is a medical expert who diagnoses and treats illnesses and injuries, often specializing in particular areas. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting initial interviews and examinations, studying a patient's medical history and laboratory results, providing consultations and care advice, prescribing medication, and referring patients to specialists when necessary. They must also coordinate and maintain an active communication line with nurses, administrators, and technicians for a smooth workflow. Moreover, a doctor must educate patients about their health conditions, helping them understand their situation better.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a trauma surgeon are more likely to require skills like "critical care," "trauma surgery," "colleges," and "dr #." On the other hand, a job as a doctor requires skills like "patients," "customer service," "surgery," and "dr." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Doctors really shine in the health care industry with an average salary of $178,767. Comparatively, trauma surgeons tend to make the most money in the professional industry with an average salary of $221,922.The education levels that doctors earn slightly differ from trauma surgeons. In particular, doctors are 4.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a trauma surgeon. Additionally, they're 5.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Trauma surgeon vs. Eye physician
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, trauma surgeon responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "critical care," "trauma surgery," "icu," and "colleges." Meanwhile, an eye physician has duties that require skills in areas such as "exam rooms," "eye drops," "patient appointments," and "patient charts." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Eye physicians earn higher levels of education than trauma surgeons in general. They're 6.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 5.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Trauma surgeon vs. Surgeon's assistant
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, trauma surgeons are more likely to have skills like "critical care," "patient care," "trauma surgery," and "icu." But a surgeon's assistant is more likely to have skills like "patients," "ortho," "emr," and "epic."
Surgeon's assistants make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $199,491. On the other hand, trauma surgeons are paid the highest salary in the professional industry, with average annual pay of $221,922.Most surgeon's assistants achieve a similar degree level compared to trauma surgeons. For example, they're 1.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 11.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Trauma surgeon vs. Foot and ankle surgeon
Even though a few skill sets overlap between trauma surgeons and foot and ankle surgeons, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a trauma surgeon might have more use for skills like "critical care," "trauma surgery," "icu," and "colleges." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of foot and ankle surgeons require skills like "cme," "emr," "physical therapy," and "hospital surgery. "
The average resume of foot and ankle surgeons showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to trauma surgeons. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 1.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 2.8%.Types of trauma surgeon
Updated January 8, 2025
