Trauma

Rationale

Trauma is common. Physicians must assess and treat patients with life-threatening traumatic injuries.

Causal Conditions

(list not exhaustive)

1. Blunt trauma (e.g., blast injuries, deceleration injuries, falls)
2. Penetrating trauma (e.g., stabbing, shooting)

Key Objectives

Given a patient who has sustained trauma, the candidate will diagnose the cause, severity, and complications of the injuries and initiate an appropriate management plan.

Enabling Objectives

Given a patient with trauma, the candidate will

1. list and interpret critical clinical findings, including those derived from
   1. an appropriate history taken from the patient and/or a collateral history, and
   2. an appropriate examination performed according to Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) guidelines, completing primary and secondary surveys to ensure that all external evidence of injuries is assessed;
2. construct an effective initial management plan that includes
   1. initiating resuscitation of the patient and assessing their response to resuscitation,
   2. preventing secondary injury of the patient (e.g., hypoxia, hypovolemia, spinal injury), and
   3. arranging for appropriate management of identified injuries, including determining if the patient needs referral for specialized care;
3. list critical investigations in the management of the injuries (e.g., imaging, electrocardiography), interpret their results, and ensure that such tests are sequenced appropriately when the patient is unstable.