10 Tips to Strengthen the TMD-TPM Partnership
- Sarah Spilman
- Mar 31
- 4 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
Working as a trauma program manager (TPM) alongside a trauma medical director (TMD) can be incredibly rewarding, but it also comes with real interpersonal and operational challenges. The key isn’t just clinical excellence; it’s how you both navigate communication, manage authority, and align on goals.
Here are 10 practical, real-world tips that can strengthen your partnership. A link to the PDF can be found at the bottom of the page.
Build a True Trauma Program Management Partnership (Not Just a Reporting Relationship)
When you're working with your TMD, aim for a collaborative alliance, not a hierarchy battle.
Treat the medical director as a strategic partner, not just “the boss”
Align early on shared goals and division of responsibilities
Follow through; nothing damages credibility and trust faster than dropped tasks
💡 Tip: Schedule a short weekly check-in, even if it is only for 15 minutes, to stay aligned and prevent miscommunication.
Communicate Like a Translator Between Worlds
TPMs are often the bridge between clinical care and administration, as well as the bridge between the trauma surgeons and other departments.
Translate physician priorities into operational steps
Turn data into stories doctors care about (outcomes, complications, mortality)
Be concise: physicians prefer quick, relevant communication
💡 Tip: Frame change around things you both care about. Instead of complaining that you need better documentation, for example, explain how incomplete documentation could impact verification and TQIP.
Lead With Data (Not Emotion)
In trauma programs, data = credibility. It is easy to be swayed by perceptions or a narrow view of the bigger picture, but often those thoughts are based on emotions or a single snapshot in time.
Know your metrics cold: TQIP, PI events, mortality reviews
Use data to influence, not accuse
Ensure data is representative of the whole picture, not just verifying or refuting a single perspective
💡 Tip: There is a time and a place to share emotions with your TMD. You should be a trusted ear and safe space for your TMD to voice uncertainties and burnout.
Manage Conflict Without Escalating It
Tension is common (especially around survey time) but it is also manageable.
Address issues early and privately
Focus on the process and the patient
You may not always agree, but keep disagreements from seeping into the department culture
💡 Tip: Avoid public correction unless patient safety is at risk.
Respect Clinical Authority While Owning Your Expertise
The TMD is responsible for clinical decision-making, but the TPM also has real-world experience and intuition regarding patient care and bedside staff.
Don’t compete or one-up: use your different experiences to complement each other
Speak up confidently, especially when it comes to trauma program operations
Use neutral language, such as “Help me understand your perspective”
💡 Tip: Find benefit in both the TMD and TPM perspectives and use that alignment to communicate with physicians and staff in other departments.
Protect Your TMD's Time
Physicians are overloaded. Your TMD will be grateful and trust you more when you respect their time and prevent activities (or people) from wasting it.
Keep meetings short and purposeful
Send agendas in advance
Bundle questions instead of constant interruptions
💡Tip: If it can be accomplished in an email, don’t make it a meeting.
Protect Your TMD's Reputation
There is a philosophy in healthcare called "managing up," defined as creating a positive impression of a colleague or superior before staff, patients, or families meet them. Manage up your TMD and make it clear to everyone that you are in your TMD's corner.
Attend trauma rounds and observe workflows in the ED or OR
Be present in PI meetings
Publicly share positive things about your TMD to other staff members by highlighting their expertise, credentials, and experience
💡Tip: Even if you disagree in private, be a united front with your TMD in public.
8. Stay Solutions-Oriented
Problems are everywhere in trauma programs. Your TMD needs you to focus on solutions rather than just complaining about the problem.
Always bring at least one proposed solution when you need to address an issue with your TMD
Don't just provide options; tell your TMD what you recommend and why
Celebrate wins: physicians rarely hear positive feedback
💡Tip: Anticipate what questions your TMD will ask and be ready to efficiently answer them.
9. Advocate for Nursing Without Creating Division
Doctors and nurses went into medicine because they want to care for patients, but sometimes their goals are at odds.
Support the nursing staff, but avoid “us vs. them”
Frame concerns around patient safety and outcomes, not fairness or blame
Elevate nursing insights as valuable clinical input
💡Tip: Provide trauma education for your bedside nurses so they can better understand physician decision-making and frame recommendations that align with trauma training.
10. Maximize the Power of Shared Experience
You and your TMD will share the stresses and joy of managing a trauma program. Unfortunately, you may also have to cry over adverse outcomes or senseless trauma deaths that result from unthinkable circumstances (like mass casualty events).
Be calm under pressure; trauma environments are intense
Be vulnerable and empathetic; lean on each other when you have to process experiences and emotions that you cannot share with your loved ones outside the hospital
Take the lead in demonstrating and encouraging self-care
💡Tip: Give them permission (and force them, if necessary) to leave work on time or go to the call room and take a nap.
Bottom Line
Being a successful TPM isn’t just about knowing trauma care. That's how you got the job. What really matters is how well you work with your TMD and others in the hospital to build trust, use data wisely, and lead through collaboration and consistency.
