Description

Position Overview
The Trauma Medical Director will provide physician leadership for the Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Program, with a focus on program growth, quality improvement, accreditation readiness, clinical operations, and trauma designation requirements.

This role includes both clinical and administrative responsibilities, including trauma, acute care surgery, surgical critical care, ICU coverage, program oversight, performance improvement, and collaboration with practice and hospital leadership.

Program Highlights

• Growing Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Program.
• Expanding team of trauma surgeons and APPs.
• Active effort to advance from Level III to Level II trauma designation.
• Opportunity to shape program structure, quality, and long-term growth.
• Support from an established, independent surgical group with deep roots in the Charlotte region.
• Collaboration with hospital leadership, nursing, emergency medicine, ICU teams, APPs, and operations.

Hospital Highlights

• Level II Trauma Tertiary Care Center environment.
• Magnet-designated hospital.
• 24/7 Emergency Department.
• Approximately 60,000+ Emergency Department visits annually.
• Advanced diagnostic and treatment services.
• Strong hospital partnership supporting trauma program development.
  

Key Responsibilities
The Trauma Medical Director will:

• Serve as the physician leader for trauma program operations, quality, and performance improvement.
• Support trauma designation, accreditation, verification, and survey readiness.
• Lead trauma performance improvement and patient safety initiatives.
• Review trauma outcomes, registry data, quality indicators, and clinical trends.
• Participate in trauma committee meetings, peer review, multidisciplinary case reviews, and program planning.
• Help develop trauma protocols, workflows, documentation standards, and accountability structures.
• Provide trauma, acute care surgery, surgical critical care, and ICU coverage.
• Partner with practice leadership, hospital administration, nursing leadership, emergency medicine, ICU teams, APPs, and operational partners.
• Support a clear distinction between trauma leadership and Emergency General Surgery leadership responsibilities.
• Dedicate administrative time to program oversight, quality work, strategic planning, and leadership meetings.

Schedule and Structure
This role will include both clinical and administrative time. Because of the scope of the Trauma Medical Director responsibilities, the selected candidate will likely have a reduced clinical workload to allow appropriate time for program leadership.

Anticipated structure may include:

• Approximately 7 days on / 7 days off, subject to program needs.
• Approximately 15 12-hour shifts per month.
• Trauma, acute care surgery, and ICU responsibilities.
• Dedicated administrative time for Trauma Medical Director duties.
• Final schedule, clinical FTE, administrative expectations, and coverage model will be determined through contract discussions.

Compensation
Compensation will include clinical compensation as well as a separate medical directorship stipend. Final compensation structure will be based on program needs, administrative expectations, candidate qualifications, and contract discussions.

Requirements

Requirements

• Board certification or board eligibility in General Surgery.
• Trauma/Surgical Critical Care fellowship required.
• Experience in a Level I, II, or III trauma program required.
• ICU experience and comfort managing critically ill surgical and trauma patients required.
• Minimum of 2 years of trauma and acute care surgery experience preferred.
• North Carolina medical license preferred, but not required at time of application.
• Strong understanding of trauma program standards, quality improvement, and performance improvement processes.
• Strong communication, organization, and leadership skills.
• Highly qualified new fellowship graduates may be considered if they are exceptionally well-trained, clinically confident, and comfortable managing trauma, acute care surgery, and ICU responsibilities with appropriate independence.

Preferred Experience

• Prior Trauma Medical Director, Associate TMD, trauma committee chair, or other formal trauma leadership experience.
• Experience with trauma designation, accreditation, verification, or survey readiness.
• Academic, teaching, research, or scholarly experience in trauma, acute care surgery, or surgical critical care.
• Experience using trauma registry data, quality dashboards, protocols, or performance improvement tools.
• Experience building or improving trauma program infrastructure.

Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate is a clinically credible trauma and acute care surgeon who is organized, collaborative, and ready to help lead a growing trauma program through its next phase.

The successful candidate will be comfortable balancing clinical care with administrative leadership, working across hospital and practice teams, supporting program growth, and driving quality, accountability, and operational improvement.

Why Join SSC
This is a meaningful leadership opportunity within one of the largest independent surgery practices in the Southeast. The Trauma Medical Director will help shape the future of a growing trauma program, support advancement to Level II trauma designation, and build the leadership structure needed for long-term success.