You could work as part of a trauma team alongside emergency department doctors, anaesthetists, general surgeons and specialist nurses. Some operations are very quick, for example a spinal injection, whereas other operations, to stabilise someone’s neck or straighten a spine, may take several hours. Your surgical work is specialised and varied. You’ll also treat congenital and degenerative conditions of the musculoskeletal system, often in babies and children, as well as infections and tumours. Your orthopaedic work will include the replacement of whole joints such as knees and hips following damage due to osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. These could be caused by anything from a low energy fracture in an older patient to multiple injuries caused by a road traffic accident.

You’ll work on trauma to the musculoskeletal system, such as broken, fractured or dislocated bones and soft tissue injuries. This is a rewarding specialty where your work can bring rapid relief from pain and discomfort for patients. You’ll spend around 40% of your time in surgery and the rest in outpatient clinics, the emergency department and assessing/monitoring patients before and after surgery.

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Trauma meaning