So You Want to Do Trauma Research? A Practical Guide to Creating a Research Program at Your Home Institution

There are 3 pillars upon which the foundation of a teaching program in health care is founded: research, education, and clinical care. However, in a busy academic trauma practice, the unfortunate reality is that research is often a low priority in the frenzy of mandates for clinical productivity.

The purpose of this report is to advise hospitals on how to create a modest trauma research program that supports research interests without significantly impacting the overall clinical productivity of the department.

Relevant literature related to the development of an academic trauma research department was reviewed. Relevant articles were then compared to this manuscript to assess the novelty of the topic.

There are 4 essential components of a trauma research program: (1) a zealot, (2) institutional commitment and support, (3) a statistician, and (4) registry data access.

The creation of a trauma research program may seem like a herculean effort, but this work is necessary for institutions hoping to achieve status as a Level I/II trauma center. Following the steps outlined in this report, trauma providers can create a robust research program at their institution without sacrificing clinical productivity.