Trauma on Med/Surg unit

[PediLove2147, BSN, RN]

I work at a hospital that recently got Level 1 status so we now have a ton of trauma patients that we didn't have before. Our floor is now where they go. I love trauma, I think accidental is way cooler than ate too many fries so I am pretty excited about our new patient population.

The thing I am not excited about is the doctors that tend to them. They agree they shouldn't be taking care of patients once they leave the ED and it has been discussed that the patients are transferred to another service but it hasn't been done yet. They can't ever get up to see the patient since they are attending to emergencies and they like to discharge as soon as the patient is able - luckily we catch it when they truly shouldn't be.

I am just curious, at other hospitals - are patients on the "Trauma" service or are they transferred to what their issue is. For example, fall from ladder with brain bleed would be Neurosurgery, broken arm would be Ortho, ect.

[Sun0408, ASN, RN]

Our trauma dept is a team of MD's and PA's. We have everything from the trauma doc that see the pt in the ED and follow them til DC. If we need a medical management on the pt then the critical care doc's are consulted. If the pt is a head, neuro will also follow etc.. So one trauma pt can have trauma, neuro, ortho and critical care following them.. Sounds like a lot but ortho manage their end of things while neuro handle their's and critical care handles all "medical" issues.. Our trauma Doc's are not ED MD's, they are surgeons who run all trauma's, so in way they are the attending MD til DC.

[MysticOne713]

Our trauma dept is a team of MD's and PA's. We have everything from the trauma doc that see the pt in the ED and follow them til DC. If we need a medical management on the pt then the critical care doc's are consulted. If the pt is a head, neuro will also follow etc.. So one trauma pt can have trauma, neuro, ortho and critical care following them.. Sounds like a lot but ortho manage their end of things while neuro handle their's and critical care handles all "medical" issues.. Our trauma Doc's are not ED MD's, they are surgeons who run all trauma's, so in way they are the attending MD til DC.

My facility (level 1 trauma) does the same.

[ImKosher]

In my medical center, we have a problem with beds becoming available. We strictly have ED physicians, PAs, and a few NPs who tend to the initial triage and treatment. After the pt is stabilized the patient is transferred to either their doctor service or the hospitalist. The pt is evaluated by their physician for a transfer to the needed service. The pt remains on the floor until the room becomes available. The problem here is because we are the only hospital within 6 counties, we tend to have pt wait days for a bed assignment.

We're not a level 1