Voices in Orthopedics ™…Resident Experience at an Urban Level 1 Trauma Center: Denver Health Orthopedic Trauma

Denver Health Medical Center is a 555 bed level 1 trauma center in Denver, Colorado. It was one of the original founding hospitals of the Orthopedic Trauma Association and has a storied history of excellence in trauma care, noting one of the highest survival rates for trauma patients in the country. This past year they had 2,584 trauma admissions, 569 of which had and Injury Severity Score (ISS) >15. The hospital is a host site for orthopedic surgery residents from the University of Colorado as part of their trauma and hand training. This article displays the experiences and roles of each resident on the trauma service and how the educational curriculum prepares them for practice. The goal for residents by the completion of their training is to be comfortable with Level 1 trauma call at any institution they practice, with particular expertise in management of complex upper extremity injuries, polytraumatized patients and complex pelvis/acetabulum injuries. While not all trainees will deliver definitive care for these injuries in practice, the experience at Denver Health offers the opportunity to see and manage these patients during the course of their training so they have the foundational knowledge to care for any patient who presents to their hospital. Voices in Orthopaedics™…is orthopaedic residency program forum. Residencies that contribute choose the nature o fthe article they want to write about. This gives a voice to the future of orthopaedics. If you want your residency involved email us at editorial@joei.pub