Discover how Air Force trauma surgeons are enhancing their battlefield readiness through a pioneering integration program at the Center for Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills in Cincinnati—a pilot study with implications for military and civilian trauma care.
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Quality of Integration of Air Force Trauma Surgeons Within the Center for Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills, Cincinnati: A Pilot Study.
Horn et al., Mil Med 2023
DOI: 10.1093/milmed/usad441
New Insights:
This study is the first to evaluate the integration of U.S. Air Force trauma surgeons within a military-civilian partnership (MCP) at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. It assesses whether military surgeons are exposed to a similar range of complex surgical pathophysiology as their civilian counterparts.
Importance:
The findings are crucial for understanding the effectiveness of MCPs in maintaining the clinical skills of military surgeons, particularly in trauma surgery, which is highly relevant to their role in combat situations.
Contribution to Literature:
The study introduces a method to compare the surgical experience of military and civilian surgeons using standardized databases, which can be applied to any American College of Surgeons verified Trauma Center MCP.
Results Summary:
– Military surgeons had a lower full-time equivalent (FTE) compared to civilian surgeons (military median 0.583 vs. civilian median 1.0, P = 0.04).
– Per median FTE, both groups performed a similar number of trauma resuscitations (civilian 214 ± 54 vs. military 280 ± 13, P = 0.146) and had comparable Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities clinical activity (KSA-CA) scores (civilian 55,629 ± 25,104 vs. military 36,286 ± 11,267; P = 0.582).
– Civilian surgeons performed more hernia repairs and laparoscopic procedures, but the distribution of CPT codes for procedures most relevant to combat surgery was similar between the groups.
– Patient acuity metrics were also similar between military and civilian surgeons.
The study concludes that military trauma surgeons within the MCP at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center have a trauma experience comparable to their civilian colleagues, which supports the effectiveness of the MCP in maintaining military surgeons’ readiness for deployment.