Trauma fellowship training: the insiders' perspective

Trauma care is in a period of transition from care given by surgeons at the closest community hospital to care given by trauma specialists at trauma centers and within emergency medical systems. It has thus become increasingly important for the educational goals of trauma fellowship training to reflect the needs of the future system as well as the views of future practitioners. These views differ from those of surgical colleagues practicing trauma surgery, and the views of future trauma specialists should be considered during the formulation of training guidelines. This survey appears to be the first attempt to interpret the views of trauma fellows: 48 of the 83 fellows (57.8%) in the 1991-1992 national cohort responded. They made suggestions about their own training, including ways to increase surgical experiences and opportunities for academic pursuits, but gave no insight as to an appropriate mix of critical care training. Although critical care certification is a major attraction for fellowship training, the cohort does not want to be thought of as nonoperating surgical intensivists. A second year of fellowship training is seen as necessary for research and trauma systems-related studies.