TRAUMA EXPERIENCE OF NAVY SURGEONS - ASSESSMENT AND COMMENTARY

Numerous reports have suggested that surgical readiness during Operati on Desert Storm was poor, We surveyed active duty Navy surgeons to ass ess current trauma experience and capability, A survey concerning trau ma and critical care experience, as well as self-rating of skills, was mailed to all active duty surgeons (n = 185) in 1993, The response ra te was 79% (146/185), A high turnover rate of surgeons was indicated b y: (1) 51% (75/146) of surgeons had less than 3 years of experience fo llowing residency; and (2) only 42% (61/146) had served in the Gulf Wa r, Only 12% of active duty surgeons (18/146) were involved in trauma c are, Only 10% (14/146) had performed more than 20 operations for traum a in the preceding 1 year, and 85% (124/146) had performed fewer than 10 operations. In the preceding 5 years, 84% (122/146) had performed f ewer than 100 operations for trauma, and 42% (61/146) had performed no ne, Critical care experience ranged from 0 to 20 patients per month (m ean = 3), Despite limited recent experience, 84% (123/146) of responde nts rated their trauma skills as adequate (n = 43), good (n = 49), or excellent (n = 31), We conclude that most Navy surgeons have minimal r ecent experience in trauma care, A high rate of turnover mandates trai ning strategies that provide an ongoing exposure to injured patients, This could be accomplished by designating military hospitals as trauma centers or by placing military surgeons in civilian trauma centers.