About the Trauma Registrar Council: Past, Present & Future

Background

The American Trauma society is a voluntary nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention of trauma and the improvement of trauma care. Trauma is the number-one killer of U.S. residents under the age of 44 and the fourth-leading cause of death of all ages. The ATS is dedicated to increasing public awareness of the term “trauma”. In 1966, the National Academy of Science and National Research Council published a report that characterized trauma as the “neglected disease of modern society.” The report recommended that a national trauma association be developed to help reduce trauma’s toll. In response to this recommendation, the American Trauma Society was founded in 1968.

History

In 1994, a group of individual met together in the lobby of a Hotel during the ATS National Conference to discuss trauma registries. Many concerns were identified, new ideas formed, and many goals set. Over the next two years, this group began to meet officially, and discuss ideas in a more organized fashion. As participation grew so did the ideas and dreams of those involved. This group became more organized, established by-laws, held an election, and doubled in size. In 1997, the American Trauma Society’s Board of Directors voted to establish this group as an official council of ATS.

In 2000 the council successfully completed the national certification exam and in 2010 there are over 220 nationally certified specialist in trauma registers. Additionally, the council has expanded the Trauma Register Course – Basic to include an advance course, and later combined these to form a comprehensive training experience. In 2010 the council also completed a four year long project to provide this comprehensive training in a distance learning format to foster an economical solution for training.

Present

Today the Trauma Registrar Council is very active on the national front. We have partnered with the American College of Surgeons and have incorporated all National Trauma Data Standards into the Trauma Register Course. Additionally the steering committee serves as a resource for the ACS Google group, students of the trauma register course, distance learning students as well as other trauma professional inquiring about trauma data management. The council is dedicated to the trauma registrar profession to foster education and growth. ACS recognizes the Trauma Register Course as comprehensive training available for the trauma registrar. Additionally the Certification Exam is acknowledged in the Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient: 2006.

Future

The ATS Trauma Registrar Council’s future is limitless in opportunities. The council’s primary goal for the future will continue to focus on providing our nation’s trauma registrars with the educational support for the changing realm of trauma data management. We encourage any trauma data professional to join us on this journey.