Taking it to Another Level: Level 1 Trauma Adds Value to Resident Experience
With the opening of the Level 1 Adult Trauma Center on May 1st, 2018 the University of Chicago Orthopaedic Surgery Residency has undergone a major change.
It had been nearly 30 years since the last ambulance arrived at the University of Chicago with an adult trauma patient. Before May 2018, residents went to Loyola in Maywood, IL for their primary orthopaedic trauma experience. Prior to that, residents went to Lutheran General. Though residents enjoyed these rotations, the somewhat limited trauma exposure throughout the rest of the residency represented one of the major shortcomings of the program.
When it was first announced in December of 2015 that the University of Chicago would open a new Level-1 Trauma Center, the hospital and the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery had 18 months to prepare for the arrival of the first trauma patients on May 1st of this year.
Any resident who have ever spent time in the Mitchell Emergency Room can attest to how welcome the opening of a new and updated emergency department was on December 29th 2017. Each room was designed with adequate space for procedures and reductions. The trauma bays are located across the hall from CT making it easy to obtain any necessary imaging studies rapidly.
Bryan Scott (PGY-3) articulated what many residents are feeling: “I actually think the trauma center is a great addition to the program.” With the newly implemented night float system, the PGY-2 class covers the bulk of the in-house trauma call. When asked, Cameron Roth (PGY-2) said he felt that: “Our operative and consult volume has grown, which I think supplements our already strong subspecialty experience.”
On the first Saturday after starting as an adult Level 1 Trauma Center, there were 21 Level 1 trauma activations in just 24 hours. Though the PGY-2 resident is in house, senior resident home call has also undergone a dramatic shift. Blake Burkert (PGY-5), the senior resident on call that first weekend in May described how he “only ended up going home for a few hours Saturday night before being called back in.”
In anticipation of this increased overnight operative volume Dr. Balach and Dr. Toolan worked diligently to secure an additional resident call room for the senior resident in the Center for Care and Discovery prior to the opening of the trauma center.
Among residents, the changes have been very well received overall. As one of the first residents on the new trauma service, Jonathan Edgington (PGY-4) had a unique perspective. Jon felt that “in just one month, the addition of Level 1 orthopaedic trauma to the University of Chicago has transformed a weakness of the program into one of the strongest educational experiences residents will have across their 5 years here.”
