Dr. John M. Porter, MD

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Get to know Trauma Surgeon Dr. John M. Porter

Dr. Porter is a board-certified trauma surgeon. He is currently serving as the Head of the Division of Trauma Surgery and as the Director of the Center for Trauma Services at Cooper University Health Care. Cooper University Health Care is the leading academic health system in South Jersey. Cooper includes South Jersey’s only Level I trauma center (Cooper University Hospital), a leading cancer center (MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper), the only Level II pediatric trauma center in the Delaware Valley (Children’s Regional Hospital), one of the largest physicians group in the region, four urgent care centers, and more than 100 outpatient offices throughout South Jersey and Pennsylvania. Its mission is “To Serve. To Heal. To Educate.”

Dr. Porter is also a professor of surgery at the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University.

Dr. Porter brings tremendous knowledge and application of trauma care to Cooper through his military experience and his extensive clinical experience in some of the busiest trauma centers in the country. He has more than 26 years of experience in trauma, most recently as Chief of the Division of Trauma, Critical Care and Emergency Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He has also served in the United States Army Reserve as Captain of the Medical Corps.

Dr. Porter holds professional memberships with several organizations, including the American College of Surgeons, the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma, and the Society for Critical Care Medicine.

Dr. Porter received his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. He then went on to complete his internship and residency (both in general surgery) at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He also completed his fellowship training in trauma/critical care at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Honors earned include the National Merit Achievement Award in 1977 and the National Medical Association Distinguished Lecturer Award in 1999.

An experienced researcher, Dr. Porter has published more than 65 articles and 7 book chapters. His research interests include resuscitation of the injured patient, as well as the use of whole blood in trauma resuscitation and violence prevention.

Trauma surgery is a surgical specialty that utilizes both operative and non-operative management to treat traumatic injuries, typically in an acute setting. The main job of a trauma surgeon, like Dr. Porter, is to perform operations on patients who have sustained critical injuries. However, trauma surgeons might also perform diagnostic tests and prescribe pre- and post-operative antibiotics or other medications. Dr. Porter’s clinical specialties are trauma surgery, laparoscopic surgery, and surgical critical care.

Dr. Porter resides in Camden, New Jersey. He has trained in the martial art of aikido for the last 22 years, reaching the rank of fifth degree black belt. He is the author of the book, The Tao of Star Wars.

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