Trauma ward rounds (TWR) are usually preceded by trauma meetings where previous day admissions are discussed and management decisions made. Therefore, one would expect TWR to be relatively quick and efficient. We measured the distance walked during TWR over a one week period and examined effects of number of patients and their location on distance walked.

We used a pedometer (after calibration) to measure the distance walked by a single consultant orthopaedic surgeon during his trauma week. The consultant conducted a daily TWR after the trauma meeting where previous day admissions and postoperative patients were reviewed. We initially measured the distance required to visit five wards where trauma patients could be found (trial distance) and used that for comparison. We recorded number of patients reviewed and wards visited daily.

The distance walked daily during TWR was 1.37–2.4 times longer than trial distance. There was no correlation between number of patients reviewed or number of wards visited and distance walked. Despite the larger number of patients towards the end of the week (33 patients on 3 wards on last TWR), the distance walked remained shorter than on the first TWR (11 patients on 3 wards). The distance walked during the whole week was 30.8 miles!

We found no correlation between number of patients reviewed or their location and distance walked during TWR. The relatively shorter distances walked towards the end of the week could be explained by more familiarity and therefore, better organisation by the team as the week progressed.