Presented by:
The Division of Acute Care Surgery
USC Office of Continuing Medical Education
Institute of Continuing Education for Nurses,
Department of Nursing
LAC+USC Medical Center

The 27th Annual USC Trauma Surgery Symposium self-study course features cutting edge lectures, high caliber plenary sessions, interactive and provocative panel discussions, and inspiring keynote addresses by leaders in the field of acute care surgery, trauma and surgical critical care.
A balance between evidence-based principles and innovative thought-provoking discussion will be maintained during lively expert debates.
Each session focuses on understanding the latest medical controversies and the implementation of practical procedural skills.
Presented by:
The Division of Acute Care Surgery
USC Office of Continuing Medical Education
Institute of Continuing Education for Nurses,
Department of Nursing
LAC+USC Medical Center
Kenneth L. Mattox, MD, is one of the most recognized surgeons in America and the world. His name has become synonymous with trauma education, research and innovation. He is Distinguished Service Professor of the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine and Chief of Staff/Chief of Surgery at the Ben Taub General Hospital in Houston, Texas. He has made original and significant contributions in trauma and authored over 600 articles and more than 1,000 abstracts. His textbook, Trauma, is an international best seller. He is co-editor of the Sabiston Textbook of Surgery, now in its 19th edition and recognized throughout the world. Additionally, he has coauthored Top Knife, a best seller, which has been translated into ten foreign languages. For the past 30 years, he has been the Program Director of the Las Vegas Trauma, Critical Care, and Acute Care Surgery Conference, the largest and most prestigious trauma conference in the world.
Dr. Mattox served in leadership positions in numerous professional organizations, including the American College of Surgeons and the AAST. His leadership role in education has been recognized by his election as a member of the Academy of Master Surgeon Educators of the American College of Surgeons. He has been a visiting professor or keynote speaker in more than 60 countries and has been honored with numerous honorary fellowships and national society memberships.
Dr. Philip C. Stepaniak is a NASA/Johnson Space Center Operational Flight Surgeon for the International Space Station and the Commercial Crew Program and the lead to the NASA JSC Contingency Medical Group for NASA spacecraft accidents.
He has served as the NASA/JSC Medical Operations Branch lead for the Space Shuttle Program in which he trained and supported astronauts for 29 Space Shuttle missions as their crew flight surgeon. He also served as a Major and flight surgeon with the United States Air Force Reserves Medical Corps.
He is a co-editor of the published NASA texts - “Biomedical Results of the Space Shuttle Program” and “Loss of Signal” - Aeromedical Lessons Learned from the STS-107 Columbia Space Shuttle Mishap.
Dr. Stepaniak has received numerous NASA service awards including be-ing a recipient of the Rotary National Space Foundation Award, the 2007 W. Randolph Lovelace Award from the Society of NASA Flight Surgeon and the NASA Exceptional Service Medal.
“My knowledge has been reinforced and I can continue to educate my patients with info about the standards of care.”
- Course Participant
“Great updates!”
- Course Participant
“THANK YOU for the effort in putting this conference on year after year! I enjoy it so much and it truly builds our trauma team.”
- Course Participant
“Gives me sound perspective from the evidence based research presented on the various topics.”
- Course Participant
“Multiple presentations offered new ideas and processes we could implement within our institution.”
- Course Participant
“Thank you for a truly excellent symposium.”
- Course Participant