My First Few Days Working in a Trauma Center

I began working at a Level I trauma center on a last Thursday of August. The first few days were filled with HR forms and online learning modules. I was new to healthcare, new to trauma care.

Fast forward through Labor Day weekend. Coincidentally, my third day working in a trauma center was also the DAY the American College of Surgeons Verification Review Committee returned to the trauma center to determine if they could lift the one year provisional status due to deficiencies. The ACS sent a few reviewers, as well as a statistician from the Chicago office.

I remember being wildly confused. Why was everyone so stressed? Why was the Chief Medical Officer sitting idly in an office, waiting in case they needed to ask him a question? Why was the Trauma Medical Director, usually unflappable, pacing the hallway grumpily? What was TQIP and what does it mean to be on the far right side of the caterpillar graph? And tell me again, what do all these acronyms stand for?

I've heard this story echoed from others when they began working in trauma, even if they were transitioning from a clinical role elsewhere in the hospital. Like many other discipline, trauma care has a million acronyms, unique workflows, and a comprehensive designation process. Trauma centers spend three years preparing for those 1-2 days when the men or women in suits come sit in judgment of their programs. At the time of the in-person visits, no corridor was off limits to a reviewer, no chart exempt from scrutiny, no bedside staff member unavailable for questions.

Trauma Center Verification is Serious and Important

I've come to realize that it is this seriousness that makes trauma care special. There are high standards to meet for hospitals to put the trauma center designation on a sign. Work flows and processes must be practiced every day, cemented into the way care teams practice trauma care, the way departments respond to trauma patients, and in the way it is all documented in the chart.

What happened to that naive researcher (me), sitting in an office oblivious to what lay on the line during that ACS visit? Look how young she was? Well, I learned the acronyms. I watched people "do" trauma care. I had unprecedented access to witnessing trauma activations, attending and participating in performance improvement and patient safety meetings, watching physicians and nurses deliver devestating news to families, and formulating research studies that enhanced the way care was delivered. She had countless conversations and met countless heroic healthcare workers that have forever shaped me as a consultant, researcher, professional, and human.

And after working in a trauma center, I became a trauma consultant. I built on my experience and expertise to partner with other hospitals and improve they way they deliver trauma care. I've helped hospitals build new trauma programs, evaluate the need for new trauma programs, and optimize operations and finances to strengthen their trauma centers. It is a privilege and an honor to work in this field.