Family physicians may be called upon to respond to trauma patients in their clinics or at scene of injury. Managing trauma can be daunting to any physician who encounters it infrequently. The physician first responder needs to shut out the chaos and distractions at scene and focus on a systematic primary survey to assess for injuries with the potential to cause rapid deterioration, institute crucial life-saving interventions and effect rapid evacuation to hospital. This article details a simple approach to guide the family physician to assess and prioritise management of the trauma patient, and augment the work of the paramedics in the pre-hospital phase.