After You're Hospitalized

If you're hospitalized for your injury, a team of highly skilled physicians and nurses will check on you daily. These physicians and nurses are specially trained in the management of injuries that require hospitalization.

The physicians start the day by seeing patients early in the morning around 6 a.m. They will visit you first to examine you and review your chart. All the physicians and the trauma nurse clinicians meet together around 9 a.m. to discuss the patients being treated by the trauma team. They may come to your bedside in a large group to see you. This is the time when plans are made about your care for the day. This is a good time to ask any questions.

You can expect to see the trauma staff surgeon daily. The time of the day depends on his or her surgery, clinic and teaching schedules. It can also depend on the arrival of other trauma patients. Seriously injured trauma patients can come into the hospital anytime during the day or night. When they arrive, the trauma physicians need to respond to the emergency. This may cause a delay in daily service rounds, your scheduled procedure or operation or the writing of your discharge orders.

The trauma team physicians are responsible for identifying and coordinating the medical care you receive. They may need to call in other specialized physicians to consult on your treatment. You may see these specialists once or many times during your hospital stay.

The trauma nurse clinician will also make daily visits. This nurse can explain your plan of care, answer questions about your injuries and help you arrange what you are going to need after you go home. The trauma nurse clinician helps to organize all aspects of your care.