Emergency department assessment of the adult trauma patient.

Trauma is recognized as a leading killer in the United States today. The development of trauma care systems and traumatology, as a response to this public health problem, has led to the evolution of the role of the trauma nurse. Assessment of the trauma patient is a challenging and demanding role for trauma nurses and is vitally important because the detection of potentially life-threatening injuries and development of standards of care for the resuscitation and management of the trauma patient are based on the initial assessment. The authors address the role of the nurse from preparation for the trauma patient's arrival to continuous monitoring and documentation responsibilities.