A Students Guide to Landing an

Orthopaedics Residency Spot

Version 1
Prepared by Orthopaedic Applicants from the Class of !"
#ntroduction$
Applying and matching to a position in an orthopaedic surgery residency program can be
a challenging and frustrating process. Along the way you will receive plenty of advice (some
good, some bad) from other students, residents, mentors, and academic advisors. Our purpose in
preparing this guide was to compile the advice from 4
th
year students who have successfully
matched in order to give you a head start on the process. We have done our best to be honest and
thorough in our summary, while recognizing that we have certainly missed a few things.
opefully you will find this guide a useful resource as you move forward in your training and
please update this guide for future generations as you see fit. !here is no magic bullet that will
help you land a spot, but hopefully the tips provided in this guide will help you reach your goal.
"f you pic#ed up orthopaedics a little later on in your third year, feel free to ignore the first part
of this guide and move on to the later sections.
!han#s for reading and best of luc#$
%he Classroom &ears$
!he five of us could li#ely debate the importance of the first two years in terms of your
application to orthopaedics for hours and not come up with a single right answer. %ou will li#ely
hear many different viewpoints from your peers and advisors during your training. &ntil we sit
on admissions committees down the road, we won't #now the truth. On the interview trail, we
did not encounter any interviewers who seemed concerned with or even as#ed about grades from
the first two years. !his included courses that would seem relevant li#e anatomy. We can say
that every program has a different formula for ran#ing candidates and a few of these may factor
in grades from the first two years. !he (ean's letter lists the courses you honored in during the
pre)clinical years, but does not list the courses that you didn't honor. owever, schools do
receive a complete transcript.
*ven though programs may not loo# at pre)clinical scores doesn't mean that they aren't
important, and here's why+ &,-.* ,tep / and 0unior AOA. ,tudying hard and learning the
material is vital as you prepare for &,-.* ,tep " at the end of your second year. !here are
studies lin#ing performance during the pre)clinical years to performance on ,tep /. As well, you
will be doing yourself a service when it comes time to study for ,tep / if you paid attention
during the previous /1 months. "n addition, 0unior AOA is determined, in large part, by your
pre)clinical grades. "f you honor all of your courses, you will be in the running for 0unior AOA.
!he committee typically selects si2 students for 0unior AOA and must choose from a group of
/3)/4 students that honored all of their classes in the first two years. !his means that your
grades help you ma#e the cut, but decisions will also be based on your research, leadership wor#
and community involvement.
Also consider ta#ing the orthopaedics elective in your first two years. !his course is a
wee#ly lecture series by faculty from various orthopaedic subspecialties. 5ot only will you learn
a little about orthopaedics, you will have the opportunity to meet faculty members you can
approach about research opportunities or a foundations preceptorship.

'S(L) Step #$
6
&,-.* ,tep " is probably the most important test you will ta#e during your four years at
7&. 8esidency programs use ,tep " scores to screen candidates and they may decide not to
interview candidates below a certain score. !op programs may use a higher cut)off li#e 694)643
while others may loo# for a score above 663)664. !hese numbers are purely speculation on our
part programs don't advertise their cut)offs. *ach year the student affairs office sends out a
report on the match statistics that serves as a useful guide. !o give you a general idea, the
average board score for candidates that matched into orthopaedics was 69: (6331 numbers).
"f you are reading this guide, there is a decent chance that you have already ta#en ,tep "
and your scores are set in stone. .et's say you didn't score as well as you had hoped and you are
sitting in the 663's or low 693's) don't frea# out and begin contemplating a career in family
medicine. !here are many 7& grads who successfully landed an ortho residency position without
stellar ,tep " scores. !hese fol#s emphasized the importance of doing well on ,tep "" 7; as a
way to improve your competiveness. !a#e this test early on in your fourth year) your third year
cler#ships will still be fresh and you will be able to get the scores out before you apply to
residency. 7onsider ta#ing the month of -ay off to prepare and ta#e the e2am. <e aware if you
choose to release your score and do poorly it will absolutely hurt you, despite what you may hear
from advisors regarding ,tep "" carrying no weight. %ou can also strengthen your application
through research wor#, publications, doing well in ,ub)" rotations and strong letters of
recommendation.
We could write a lengthy segment on how to prepare for ,tep ", but this would duplicate
what you will hear in various forums. %ou will have plenty of practice e2ams, study sessions,
and panels on the topic as you get closer to test time. Our advice is to wor# on your own
timeline and do your best to ignore your frantic classmates. Also consider purchasing a couple
of board review boo#s mid)way through your first year and use them as a guide to determine
what material is really important. 7linical instructors often give a little too much detail or may
miss a couple of #ey points. "n addition, it is beneficial to familiarize yourself with the review
boo#s (and maybe even add some notes to them) early on so reviewing them later will be easier.
=otential boo#s to purchase may include >irstAid, <8, =athology and =hysiology. Additional
practice tests that you can purchase (and ta#e) through the 5<-* are also helpful. Also
recommended are the ?ol@an pathology lectures (if your classmates haven't started tal#ing about
them, they will) and boo#. ?reat to add to your ipod playlist and start listening during your
second year, especially if you're not a boo# learner.
%hird &ear$
>irst, congratulations for surviving the classroom and starting what will hopefully be a
more rewarding period of medical school. ,econd, you have now hit the point in your training
where orthopaedics programs will be paying close attention to your performance. (oing well in
the clinical years can be challenging because the grading process seems so sub@ective. %ou don't
necessarily need to honor all of your rotations, but there are several courses that you should wor#
hard to e2cel in. ,urgery and medicine are clearly the most important. ,ome may tell you that
O<)?yn and =ediatrics may be important depending on the residency program. >or e2ample, the
chairman at <rown is pedi)ortho and his formula for ran#ing candidates includes your grade in
pediatrics.
!here is more to third year cler#ships than @ust that honors grade. 7omments by the
faculty and residents on your evaluation sheets are also very important since they show up on the
(ean's letter too. =rograms will certainly be loo#ing at these to determine if you wor# well with
9
others and were respected by the team. %ou should also start to thin# about letters of
recommendation during your third year as well. -any orthopaedics programs reAuest or allow
you to include a non)orthopaedics letter. "f you have a great surgery or medicine e2perience for
e2ample, definitely thin# about as#ing for a letter of recommendation. "t often benefits you to
get that letter sooner while you are still fresh on the mind of the faculty member.
As part of your pediatrics rotation, there is a two)wee# bloc# of musculos#eletal where
you can chose between orthopaedics or =-B8. !hough brief, this rotation is a perfect
opportunity to e2plore orthopaedics with very little pressure and hopefully ma#e some
connections that will be valuable later on. !he course mostly involves wor# in the clinic, but try
to snea# into the operating room as much as you can. (enver ealth and the CA may be better
rotations to try to snea# a little O8 time. "t may be helpful to brush up on the basics of physical
e2amination prior to the rotation (hip, #nee, hand and shoulder). Also review your anatomy.
%our real ob@ective here should be to figure out of orthopaedics is the best fit and to get to #now
residents and faculty. .i#e any other rotation, consider the following when evaluating
orthopaedics as a potential fit+ the people you will be wor#ing with, the medical problems, the
anatomy, the procedures, lifestyle and length of training. ,pend as much time getting to #now
the residents as you can. Colunteer to ta#e a night or two of call while on the rotation. "t should
be a fun e2perience and you will get a better sense of what your life will be li#e as a ,ub)" and
resident.
&nfortunately it will be difficulty to get much ortho time outside of your musculos#eletal
bloc# because you will be so busy on rotations. !here is an opportunity to wor# with a preceptor
for foundations in orthopaedics if you haven't already. 7onsider wor#ing with a faculty member
that you #now through research or clinical wor#. !he better you get to #now them, the stronger
your letter of recommendation will be. "f you are really leaning towards private practice, you
may want to consider wor#ing with someone in the community. !his may be one of the few
opportunities to do so since not all residency programs have you spend time in a community
practice. !he downside is letter of recommendation situation. As we understand it, letters of
recommendation from the community are nowhere near as valuable as those from faculty (unless
the private practice person is really well #nown or has academic ties) e.g. are you applying to
their alma materD).
Senior AOA is determined by a combination of your grades from the first three
years of medical school* %he top +,- of the class .ill be loo/ed at and the 0unior AOA
1your classmates2 .ill decide .ho recei3es Senior AOA* %hey .ill recei3e a list of ho.
many honors points you ha3e recei3ed through the first three years4 and as of this .riting
5P is not figured into the honors points e6uation* 7eyond that4 they may decide that
someone .ith 8, honors points is more deser3ing that someone .ith "! because of
in3ol3ement in the school4 community4 and research* %he number of honors points you get
from a course depends on ho. many hours the course has4 so medicine4 and surgery .ill be
.eighted more hea3ily than neurology* AOA is certainly figured into the match ran/ing4
but it .ill certainly 3ary from program to program* 9uring my inter3ie.s se3eral
programs .ould ha3e a standardi:ed e3aluation sheet and AOA .as definitely a part of all
the forms # noticed*
Research$
8esearch has always been an optional component of your residency application, but we
would argue that it is becoming mandatory as orthopaedics becomes increasingly competitive.
4
While interview for residency positions, each school usually has a research)oriented interview so
it is always helpful to have something to tal# about. !he ma@ority of your peers will have been
involved in some type of research so getting involved will help you #eep pace while publishing
or presenting at a conference will help you stand out. !he (epartment of Orthopaedics will
li#ely help sponsor your trip if you are invited to present at a conference. -a#e sure you are
very familiar with your research wor# before you head out on the road. "nterviewers will want to
#now about your role, outcome of the pro@ect, etc.
One of the #eys to research is getting involved as early as possible. -any of the pro@ects
ta#e a while to complete and set up. An early start will allow you to publish and include the
paper in your residency application. !he summer between first and second year is an e2cellent
time to begin a pro@ect. (r. Wolf (&7,7), (r. a# ((enver ealth), (r. 7hang (!7) and
(r. (ayton (&7,7) are all e2cellent resources for potential pro@ects. Also consider contacting
the faculty at the CA or 7hildren's hospital. !here is always a ton of wor# availableE the
challenge has been finding it. "t would be wise to encourage the orthopaedic interest group to
trac# down and organize the pro@ect opportunities so fol#s aren't duplicating efforts. (r. Wolf
#eeps a list of potential research opportunities throughout the department and the professor
involved, this may be a good place to start. Also consider loo#ing into research scholarship
opportunities, li#e the scholarship offered to medical students by the Orthopaedics Research
and )ducation ;oundations, which may help fund your pro@ect and loo#s great on your 7C.
!here are two more things to thin# about when evaluating research pro@ects, your role
and the type of pro@ect. Obviously we would all love to be involved in a randomized control
study because it is the gold standard, but the reality is that this won't be possible in your four
years of medical school. -ost of the pro@ects will involve retrospectiveFdatabase wor#. %ou
may also consider getting involved in case reports and review papers. 0ust beware that many
interviewers on the residency trail don't consider case reports or review papers true research.
Also, ma#e sure to iron out your e2act role in the pro@ect ahead of time with the principal
investigator. !he more involved you are, the better it will sound to residency programs. !he
tradeoff is that you will li#ely need to put in more time, which may be difficult to do during
classes or clinical rotations.
;ourth &ear$

Schedule< %ou will schedule your fourth year rotations online in con@unction with the student
affairs office in 0anF>eb of your third year. !he schedule system is online and allows you to put
in the courses that you want and assign priority to the more difficult to obtain courses. !he first
course you need to get scheduled is your ,ub "nternship. "f you are really interested in staying at
7&, we suggest ta#ing your ortho ,ub)" in 0uly (i.e. the third bloc# is best) so you are able to
wor# with the new chief residents. After all they will be on the residency selection committee
and will be resources for your 7hairman's letter. "f you do schedule your sub)" third you will
have two bloc#s prior to that rotation. "f you need to ta#e ,tep "" 7; early to ma#e up for a poor
,tep " score you should ta#e it during these months. "f you have a solid ,tep " score, use this
time to prepare for your ,ub)". A couple of good classes to ta#e before the ,ub)" were radiology
and sports medicine. !hese courses are not intense, so you get some brea# before hell starts, but
you also get some e2posure to imaging and the orthopaedic physical e2am that is invaluable to
#now before you begin your ,ub)". 5ote+ 8adiology and especially ,ports -edicine were tough
4
rotations to get early on so you may want to ran# them the highest and have a bac#up plan. !he
time before your ,ub)" may also be used for research, as we mentioned above it is best to start
this research as soon as possible and hopefully you could use a research month to wrap up and
write the paper. Whatever you do with this time, ma#e sure you are prepared for your ,ub)".
!his means spending time reviewing anatomy and the #ey components of the physical e2am.
5ot all of us too# our ,ub)" in 0uly, roughly half of us signed up for 0une instead. One
advantage of ta#ing your home ,ub)" sooner is that you can hit the road sooner for e2ternships
and potentially do more e2ternships or have more time for other things (weddings, applications).
!hin# about what is important to you in the process and chose accordingly. %ou will definitely
be at a slight disadvantage when you apply to 7& since you haven't wor#ed as much with the
new chiefs, but the reality is that there are tons of programs out there and many of them will be a
better fit than 7&.
When we applied for e2ternships each school had a separate and sometimes comple2
application. <e prepared to get unnecessary vaccinations, antibody titers and needless
paperwor# in order to complete these applications. !he C,A, is now being used and may ma#e
this process easier. ,tart to figure all of that out in 0anuary because it can ta#e several wee#s to
get it done, especially when you are on clinical rotations. Also, start tal#ing to students ahead of
you and advisors to figure out where you want to rotate. ;now that some programs will really
only interview rotators (5orthwestern) while other programs don't necessarily guarantee you an
interview if you rotate there.
>inally, if you have not yet ta#en ,tep "" ma#e sure you ma#e some time to ta#e this
e2am as it is reAuired before 5ov / (unless you get an e2tension from (ean ?arrity) in that case
you will have till the end of (ecember to ta#e the e2am). !wo wee#s of studying should suffice.
Also ma#e sure to schedule (ecember and 0anuary off for interviews or ta#e a class that will
give you the fle2ibility to travel when and as often as you need to.
Sub<#
=rior to your ,ub)" rotation, you will want to ma#e sure you are appropriately prepared in
terms of your #nowledge and resources. !he ma@ority of Auestions that faculty or residents will
as# are directed towards your #nowledge of anatomy. <eing able to provide the right answer
Auic#ly will go a long way and often they won't as# you any additional Auestions if you get the
first couple correct (they will assume you #now the rest). ,ince your anatomy course ended
roughly three years ago, it might not be a bad idea to spend time reviewing things in the month
or two leading up to your rotation. !here may be some Auestions related to specific diseases,
especially when you are on specialty services li#e hand or spine at other institutions.
!here are several great resources available that will help you succeed on rotation. <eing
able to Auic#ly read about a particular fracture pattern prior to seeing a patient can be e2tremely
helpful. ere is a Auic# summary of several popular te2ts that students carry with them+
5etter's 7oncise Atlas of Orthopaedic Anatomy+ !his is a great poc#et reference that
comes in handy as you review anatomy and prior to heading into the O8. &nli#e the
full 5etter's, this version focuses on the relevant orthopaedic anatomy while also
covering common in@uriesFailments and diagnosis.
;oval's andboo# of >ractures+ !his te2t is another must, especially while you are
rotating at (enver ealth. "t describes the common fracture patterns in adults and
#ids for @ust about every region of the body.
:
!here are tons of other great orthopaedic te2ts out there that you may consider. -any students
shelled out the big buc#s for oppenfeld's !e2tboo# of ,urgical Approaches. While this is a
great resource, you can usually find it in the orthopaedic library or resident's room. Why pay
G663 for a boo# your residency program will give you in a year or twoD !he same applies to
many other great te2ts li#e ?reen's or ,#eletal !rauma. !hese boo#s are e2tremely e2pensive
and most residency programs offer a yearly stipend for boo#s. ,ave your money for things li#e
interview travel, you'll need it$
"n addition to the boo#s mentioned above, you should also buy some trauma shears. As a
,ub)", you will be doing lots of dressing changes and splint removals. (oing this without shears
is a real pain and you will drive your resident nuts if you are constantly as#ing to borrow theirs.
Along with your shears, pic# up some tape on your first day and #eep it with you. On morning
rounds, ma#e sure you have some basic bandaging material with you so that you can help out
with dressing changes and don't have to be running to the supply closet right off the bat.
,o now you are appropriately eAuipped for your rotation and you #now your anatomy
cold. !he last words of advice are captured in a list of does and don'ts for your rotation. -any
of these are pretty logical, but we thought we would list them out @ust in case$
(o show up early and be ready to go
(on't as# to leave early or ta#e an e2tra time off
(on't call in sic# unless you are calling from a hospital bed
(on't #iss up) faculty usually see right through this (especially ,mith)
(o read ahead on your surgical cases and clinic patients (this second one isn't possible
everywhere)
(on't tal# poorly about your fellow student rotators, residents or faculty
(on't drive faculty nuts with Auestions in the O8
(o see patients and write notes in the morning without being as#ed
(o fill out B='s after seeing a patient
(o get casting, splinting, or suture material together before the resident comes down to see
the patient
(o offer to go get started on a consult if your resident is busy
(o offer to write up the case report on the interesting patient
(o stop by all of your patients for a post)op chec# even if you aren't as#ed. Write a note if
allowed and give it to your resident to sign off on.
(o carry e2tra B= and surgical consent forms with you on call nights
!hin# of your ortho rotations as a @ob interview. <oth faculty and residents are loo#ing for
students that they would want to wor# with 13 hours a wee# for five years as a resident. %ou
don't learn a lot about orthopaedics during your first three years of school (other than anatomy)
so wor#ing hard and being easy to wor# with goes a long way. 5obody wants to wor# with a
complainer or someone who can't carry a conversation.
)=ternships
*2ternships are another must for the orthopaedic surgery applicant. At almost every
interview you will have someone as# you where you did your away rotations, and you're
e2pected to have an answer and be able to tal# about the program. !his is your @ob interview and
all of the advice above applies. -ost applicants do two e2ternships, but this is certainly
H
dependent on what you're loo#ing for in terms of residency. "f you #now you can stay in
7olorado and want to, then maybe one away would suffice @ust to e2pand your #nowledge of
what's out there.
!hin# carefully about where you apply and how many applications you send out. "f you
send out ten applications and only accept two e2ternships) you may be burning bridges at 1
schools that you really might li#e to interview at. <efore applying, give the coordinators a call to
as# if their program typically accepts all interested students and how many students they
typically ta#e each month. %ou may want to thin# twice about rotating at a program if they ta#e
a ton of students each month because you will have a hard time standing out from the crowd (or
getting involved).
!he rotation will vary according to institution and you will li#ely be with a number of
people from across the country. (o your best and be supportive of your fellow rotators and
residents. %ou want to be appropriately enthusiastic without being too overbearing. elp out as
much as you can, but try not to step on anyone's toes.
-a#e sure to as# for a letter of recommendation from each program you rotated at if you
thin# you can get a good letter. 8esidency programs put a great deal of weight on letters outside
of your home program. -any directors feel that you any student can get a good letter from
someone in their home program so they really li#e to see that you were well li#ed everywhere
you went. *2ternship letters of rec can also carry a great deal of regional weight as well.
ere is a list of programs we have rotated at+
Stanford$
?eneral+ !he program was on probation about 4)4 years ago, but is on the rise. !heir new
chairman -aloney is a pretty big name in @oints and came from Wash&. !he program is rapidly
e2panding and has recently ta#en most of &7,>'s sports department, along with their chief of
sports (the team docs for the 4Iers).
>aculty+ ?reat faculty and are continually e2panding. "n a discussion with (r. -aloney, he says
that he's loo#ing to add more trauma and foot and an#le soon. !hey are probably strongest in
spine, sports, and @oints. !hey also have great coverage in hand, foot and an#le, and trauma.
8esidents+ !he residents have a pretty typical laid)bac# 7alifornia feel. -ost of them are
e2tremely smart and rela2ed, though they did ta#e a few residents from a program that closed
down a few years bac#, who may not be as sharp as the others. !hey are very tight #nit and hang
out outside the hospital. While rotating " was able to go out to a bar with residents several times
and even go paintballing.
=rogram+ !he program is academic and will prepare you well for any career you want. !hey
cover ,tanford, ,anta 7lara -edical 7enter (li#e (enver ealth), .ucile =ac#ard 7hildren's
hospital, CA, and are adding another community)type rotation. (idactics are e2cellent, every
Wednesday morning they have lectures on all topics of orthopaedics and board review Auestions
with answers prepared by all the residents out of current literature.
Operative e2perience+ Operative e2perience at ,tanford is e2cellent, however, this may vary a bit
depending on service. At the &niversity residents operate early on trauma as interns and second
years. !he @unior is typically involved on almost all cases, but this may change a little if they are
early in the year and involved on a pelvic fracture. !he CA has second years putting in hip and
#nee replacements and doing #nee scopes. !hey are / on / with an attending. !he chief is
typically in another room doing a similar case. ,houlder scopes are more often the chief's
territory.
1
7all+ ,tanford is all home call. !his can be good and bad. !hey don't often have to come in, but
may be up all night letting people #now that a temp of 9H.I isn't a reason to come see a patient.
With home call the 13)hour rules don't apply and they may be bac# in the hospital the ne2t day.
7ro.n$
?eneral+ <rown is a well)established program that seems to be very highly respected. !he
program offers very balanced sub)specialty coverage and the only ma@or drawbac# to the
program seems to be the si2th year. !he 7hair is very interested in research and wor#s hard to
provide unlimited research opportunities for residents. !his program a si2)year program, but is
uniAue in terms of how it is structured. &nli#e others where you do a research year, after
completing the program at <rown you are also awarded a trauma fellowship. As a :)year resident
you are @unior faculty and get paid as such (around /63,333).
>aculty+ !he faculty at <rown are e2cellent and are great resident advocates. (r. *hrlich, the
chair, is a very well #nown pediatric orthopaedic surgeon and has been e2cellent in getting
residents into coveted fellowships across the country. As a rotating student, he will ta#e the time
to sit down with you and give you feedbac# on your 7C and personal statement. (r. (igiovanni,
the new program director, is another great resident advocate. !he program is also very strong in
hand particularly and has good coverage of all other subspecialties. !he faculty group as a
whole love to teach and wor# with residents. (r. *hrlich wor#s hard to ensure he brings in
faculty that allow the residents to operate.
8esidents+ !he residents are all very bright and get along well outside the hospital. !here is a
good mi2 of married and single residents.
8esearch+ 8esearch opportunities are world class, <rown has a lot of money to throw at pro@ects
and you have time budgeted into your schedule as an upper)level resident to complete
meaningful pro@ects.
Operative e2perience+ As a @unior resident on trauma, you essentially run the *( and prepare
cases for your upper level residents. On other services @unior residents get their hands dirty, but
the trauma e2perience may be a bit frustrating as a 6. !he flipside is that you get a ton of trauma
operative e2perience by the time you graduate, especially as a : where you are running your own
cases. !he residents that " wor#ed with seemed very s#illed in the O8.
(idactics+ <rown has a very strong didactic program to prepare you for O"!* and <oards. !hey
also have regular tal#s by visiting faculty that e2poses you to world)class specialists from around
the country (very helpful when you are applying to fellowships). Also a daily morning fracture
conference.
7all+ 7all is typically very busy and you are on J: as a @unior for in)house call.
.ocation+ =rovidence is a more affordable place to live in the northeast. ?et plenty of volume
without living in a big e2pensive city.
9a3is$
?eneral+ (avis' well)#nown strength is trauma, and you'll see a ton of it$ !hey have a young,
enthusiastic trauma staff, who are eager to teach. -orning fracture conference was a great
e2perience because of the teaching involved, followed by an hour of formal teaching. A note of
caution+ they tend to ta#e on a lot of students. %ou can get lost in the masses, especially on
trauma service. %ou may want to reAuest to rotate on a different service, such as spine,
pediatrics, or sports.
>aculty+ ?reat trauma faculty, they will push you on #nowledge.
I
8esidents+ 5ice group with a somewhat laid bac# group of guys. !hey are happy to teach, but
you need to want it.
8esearch+ !hey offer one :
)year
program spot that includes a year of research following the second
or third year.
Operative e2perience+ " (0enna) rotated on the ,ports service and had a ton of operative time.
!he operative e2perience wasn't Auite as good on the trauma service because you were splitting
time among four students. "n addition, you didn't get to do much because there were usually a
ton of people scrubbed on each case (attending, fellow, chief, and a 6 or a 9).
>rom another rotator+
?eneral+ !his is thought of as one of the strongest programs in 7alifornia) though our 7&
rotators might disagree. "t is not as academic as &7.A or &7,>. We heard that it was really
strong hands on training but were disappointed with the level of involvement of faculty and
fellows in cases on the trauma side. "t is e2tremely well #nown for trauma and pediatrics.
!rauma heavy li#e 7&, but doesn't seem li#e you get as much hands on operative e2perience.
Overall would say that the program is similar to 7& so might be best to rotate at different
program to have a new e2perience (unless you are really interested in &7 (avis of course).
>aculty+ Well #nown 7hairman, (i7easeare, from 0(. !rauma faculty are top notch.
7urrently they do not have a tumor surgeon and have @ust newly acAuired a footFan#le surgeon.
8esidents+ "n my opinion they were worst part of the program. !wo of us rotated at &7 (avis
and we had some conflict with the residents. " felt they were overwor#ed and their fund of
#nowledge stun#. !hey didn't seem very motivated to prepare for cases and really learn the
material. !he residents lead two of us to turn down interviews at the program.
=rogram+ !he program is a nice mi2 of academics and hands on e2perience. !hey cover the
&niversity hospital (a level / trauma center) and ,hriners 7hildren's ospital.
Operative e2perience+ !his depends on which service you are on, but in general it is good. !here
are two trauma fellows that ta#e the ma@ority of the cases, which is a bad thing. Often a @unior
resident is standing and watching the fellow operate.
7all+ "n house call for @unior residents and home call for senior residents. 7all is very busy and it
is rare you get much sleep.
>isconsin 1(adison2
?eneral+ Cery well recognized -idwest program. ,trongest in ,pine and ,ports. ?ets enough
trauma, but definitely not a trauma heavy program. (!hey get a lot of KfarmL trauma instead of
urban trauma li#e (). =rogram is very highly regarded by most everyone we met in the
country and -adison is a great place to live. =rogram leaders are straight shooters and well
connected to residents.
>aculty+ Well connected faculty (especially in ,pine). Overall the faculty is very resident
friendly. !he 7hair and =rogram (irector are really advocates for the residents and ma#e sure
that any malignant personalities are shielded from residents.
8esidents+ 4 per year. (efinitely a strength of the program, " didn't run across any resident that
" thought was a @er# andFor incompetent. !ight #nit group of residents, most are from the
-idwest. About 43F43 married wF#ids vs. single.
7all+ 5ight float as an 86, in house call on wee#ends for @uniors and home call for seniors. 7all
is busy in the summer, relatively light in the winter.
8esearch+ -adison is considered more researchFacademic than the -ilwau#ee program. !hey
publish a lot of spine literature. 8esearch is emphasized in their interview, " thin# there are
/3
opportunities to do as much or as little as you want.
Operative e2perience+ Cery few fellows around to steal cases (@ust / spine and / sports fellow,
there didn't seem to be much overlap with the residents). !here is enough case wor# to go
around and everyone seems to get enough e2perience. >aculty were pretty hands)off in the O8.
?e. (e=ico
?eneral+ =retty under the radar program as far as national reputation, although seemed to be
gaining respect from other places " interviewed at. !he program continues to improve under new
leadership and is definitely gaining respect. !he faculty that are there seem to be in academics
for the right reasons. ,imilar patient population to and case load to (enver. &niversity ospital
is only .evel " in the state, and they actually get a lot of trauma flown in.
>aculty+ !he faculty are awesome. A lot of younger faculty who relate well to the residents.
!he 7hair, (r. Juinn, is really involved and is an awesome guy.
8esidents+ " thought 5ew -e2ico had the happiest group of residents " had been around. !hey
really loo# out for each other seem to have fun outside of the hospital. !he residents really sell
the program to the rotators. !he ortho intern covers all the floor stuff, which is nice for everyone
else.
7all+ 5ight float as an 86. Otherwise it's in house on wee#ends for @uniors and senior are home
call. =retty reasonable schedule unless you are on trauma. !ypical schedule is :+93 am to 4 pm.
8esearch+ (idn't get a great sense of how much research is done. " don't thin# it is a huge
emphasis of the program.
Operative e2perience+ ,urprisingly a lot of cases to do. 5o fellows around and lots of attendings
who want to have residents in their cases. !he @uniors get to operate early and often. One nice
thing is they have a K,uper)chiefL rotation as an 84 where you basically have no specific service
and @ust scavenge interesting cases from other services. !his is nice because it allows you to
strengthen areas of wea#ness or improve areas of interest as you are completing residency.
Other Recommended Classes
!here are tons of classes that you can choose from in your fourth year. !he #ey is to
ma#e sure that you have a little fun because you will be wor#ing hard during your ortho rotations
and during residency of course$ 8adiology and sports medicine rotations are certainly valuable.
,ports medicine can be a great prep course for your ,ub)" as you learn the physical e2am or later
in the year as you are loo#ing for fillers. A ,"7& rotation would be valuable as well.
(efinitely ta#e advantage of research months if you can. !he e2pectations are often very
low and you can wrap up any pro@ect wor# that you need to. %ou are allowed to ta#e up to three
research months in your fourth year. Also consider a ,"7& month, a month in private practice or
rheumatology.
Step ## CS@CA
!he timing and intensity of step "" should be based on your ,tep " scores. "f you didn't
ace ,tep " and need to ma#e up ground, consider ta#ing -ay off to study and improve your
scores. %our third year cler#ships will still be fresh and you will be able to include your score in
your residency application. "f you did well on ,tep ", feel free to en@oy your summer and thin#
about ta#ing step "" later on in the year. (ean ?arrity will let you ta#e the e2am as late as
//
(ecember if you have done well so far in school and you get her blessing. ,tep "" is much easier
than ,tep " and as such the time you need to prepare is less. =eople averaged two to three wee#s
of study time. -ost people used >irst Aid and ,tep "" secrets as review boo#s. 8eading these
through a couple of times is plenty of preparation for the e2am. =eople also used either the
;aplan J <an# or &,-.* world (cheaper option) for Auestions.
,ign up early for ,tep "" 7, as spots disappear Auic#ly$ (on't hesitate to ta#e this one
early while you still remember thin#s li#e the cardiovascular e2am. " would recommend that you
get this done before interview season starts in 5ovember. %our interview schedule will be
e2hausting and the last thing you want to deal with is an e2tra trip to ta#e this e2am.
On your application, you will have to decide whether or not to release your scores before
you see them. "t might not be a bad idea to get the score results bac# first @ust in case things
don't go Auite as well as you had hoped.
%he ;emale Applicant in Orthopaedics$ by 0enna
>irst "'d li#e to refer you to the 8uth 0ac#son Orthopaedic ,ociety. !hey have a great guide
available for cheap on their website (www.r@os.org) that addresses many different issues facing
women in orthopaedics.
,oMdo you thin# you have it KeasierL than the boys for getting accepted into an ortho residency
because they need a to#en female and the pool of female applicants is smaller than the pool of
male applicantsD
(=lease let me #now if you (O5'! get this Auestion at least once because " will be amazedM)
.adies, the tide is turning in ortho, as in medicine, but perhaps a wee bit more slowly.
Orthopaedics is still one of the medical subspecialties with a significantly lower number of
women. !his presents the female applicant with the following uniAue situation+ you are either
viewed as an asset to an evolving program or a liability to programs who are not Auite as
comfortable having women in the O8. " thin# we can all agree that goal would be to view as an
KapplicantL not a female applicant. !rust me, there are programs that have gotten to this point,
which is awesome$ !here are programs wor#ing on being more comfortable with women,
admirable. !here are also programs who aren't there at all. (on't worry, they @ust won't
interview you.
" don't bring this point up to debate the morals and ethics of women in surgery, the good, the
bad, and the archaic. " bring it up for you to raise your antennae during interviews to get a sense
of where the program you are interviewing at stands on the issue. !he first step is to decide
where you stand on this issue and what you want out of a program. -y stance was that " wanted
it to be a non)issue. While " respect the ground brea#ing wor# of the women who have come
before us, " thin# residency is going to be hard enough without the added pressure of trying to be
even better than the best because "'m Kthe girl.L
-y advice+ loo# and listen carefully during your interview. Are there women attendings and
residentsD (o your interviewers as# you about being Kwoman in orthoDL ow do the male
attendings and residents tal# to you at the dinnerD " wanted to see that " would have female
/6
mentorship within the department, both in residents and attendings. " paid attention to resident
interactions with each other, male to female, and with me.
" absolutely cannot and will not tell you which programs are women friendly, both due to my
limited e2perience and the political implications this may have for my future career. ,orry.
A note on a few obvious issues. "'m not going to address relationships, flirtations, etc that may
arise because "'m going to e2pect that you all can appropriately carry yourself in the professional
wor# environment. 5o, you aren't as strong as the boys, but you can do anything they can do
with a little leverage and good techniAue. A,; >O8 A ,!OO.. &se your entire body to retract,
not @ust your biceps because they get tired fast. <e empathetic, have a great bedside manner,
we're female its our strength, don't abandon that$ (on't ever ever let anyone spea# to you in a
disrespectful manner, ma#e lewd comments or inappropriate @o#es at your e2pense. "ts up to you
to decide how to handle a situation li#e this, but bottom line is you don't have to ta#e it and you
don't have to end up at a program that allows that behavior. %ou're the consumer here, loo#ing
for the right residency for you, don't forget that$
>inally, one Auestion to consider before interviews, because you will get it+ do you plan to have
children during residencyD " actually argue this is a reasonable Auestion for programs to as#, and
here is why. Ortho programs are ,-A... .osing a resident in a 4 person surgical program to
maternity leave has a much larger impact on other residents and attendings then it would in a 93)
person program. " can't tell you how to answer this Auestion, what the right answer is or that you
should lie, because " thin# all of those things are personal decisions. 0ust thin# about the
Auestions and answer honestly in relation to your given circumstance.
9ont Get 9iscouragedB A note on being an Catypical applicant*D 7y 0enna
<efore we get to applying, if you've read this far you are either mentally chec#ing off the
bo2es you have successfully completed or reprimanding yourself for your failures. =ut down the
whip, stop the self)abuse because we are all far too hard on ourselves in medicine anyway, ta#e a
deep breath and listen. As someone who doesn't fit the mold when it comes to pre)clinical
grades, ,tep / scores, and 0uniorF,enior AOA, " want to point out there is more to an applicant
than grades and scores. While you may find some programs don't li#e what doesn't fit in this
tightly pre)wrapped orthopaedic applicant pac#age, some love it (something " didn't #now until "
hit the interview trails)$
>irst, let me be clear that you must, in some form or another, be outstanding. Whether
this be academically, as a community leader, as class president, clinically, in research, you need
an area in which you shine. !hen you need to capitalize on it. 5o one gets into orthopaedics by
being a slac#er, but where you choose to e2ert your energy is your choice. "f you love politics
and health policy, get involved with the 7olorado -edical ,ociety, if you have a master's degree
or want one, go do it for a year, if you have a biomechanics bac#ground, get in the lab, volunteer,
coach, tutor, the options are endless. >eel free to brea# the mold, in fact " encourage you to. "
only caution you to do so with sincerity, not for resume building. "nterviewers love having
something new and different to tal# about with an applicant and if you are honestly enthusiastic
about what you have to offer they will ta#e notice.
/9
,econdly, get people in your corner. 5ever underestimate the power of a well)written,
personal, letter of recommendation. <uild a relationship or several with faculty members. Wor#
hard, be enthusiastic, this shouldn't be a stretch since this is what you want to do.
!hird, you must have at least one #ic#ass &,-.* ,tep score. "f ,tep / didn't go well,
do whatever it ta#es to raise your ,tep 6 score. !hese scores are printed side by side in your
application. ?et it done well and early so every program will see your improvement.
.astly, be a team player. ,tart during your clinical years. (on't dupe other students out
of O8 time, don't answer Auestions over other students, don't bring brea#fast in every morning.
What " mean is wor# hard, in every rotation, every service. %ou are first and foremost learning
to be a doctor. =rove that you have the ability to wor# hard and learn in any and all
circumstances, any topic, anytime. ,how up on time, be enthusiastic, be someone people en@oy
wor#ing with. %our hard wor# will be reflected in the comments on your -,=* letter. A strong
and long -,=* full of positive feedbac# will boost your desirability immensely$ =rograms
really care that you are someone they want around for the ne2t five years. Orthopaedics
#nowledge is teachable and programs #now this, people s#ills are not$
8emember, never, ever, ever give up$
Applications$
%imeline
!ry to get your application in as early as possible, even if this means that you turn it in
before all of your letters are completed. ,tart your 7C and personal statement in the spring
(-archFApril) so that you will have them completed prior to *8A, opening up. !his will give
you plenty of time to tal# to advisors to get feedbac# and finalize things. %ou will also be able
to hand out your 7C and =, to letter writers. %ou are basically going to be loading your 7C into
*8A,, but be careful because some symbols don't necessarily copy well.
Personal Statement
%our personal statement is definitely important, as this is a great way to
differentiate yourself from other applicants. (on't go overboard, but certainly discuss anything
that ma#es you uniAue li#e another degree, where you grew up, or a special pro@ect you have
been involved in. -a#e sure that you and /4 of your friends proof read it a million times so that
there are no errors) this loo#s really bad if you screw things up. (r. Wolf and !erri <elvins can
help you brainstorm ideas. <e concise as well unless you have a really fascinating story. ,hoot
for N of a page or so.
Also try to customize your personal statement if possible for each region or school. "f
you can mention why you have a specific tie to a location or are really interested in a program,
your application will li#ely stand out from the 433 other generic personal statements.
Letters of Rec
!his is a tough thing to sometimes as# for and get delivered on time. !hin# about
who #nows you well and could write a good letter on your behalf. !a#e the time to set up a
meeting and sit down with them if they are willing to go through your application Auic#ly. <ring
all of the necessary forms with you) the *8A, letter writer form, your 7C, your personal
statement, boards scores, school specific forms (%ale, Candy, Washington, and Wash & for
/4
e2ample all have their own forms), grades (yet another reason to finish your personal statement
and 7C early), and an envelope with a stamp to mail it in to the school. !ry to as# for your
letters as soon as possible, if you wait too long after your rotation you may be forgotten. ?ive
them plenty of time to get it done too. (on't necessarily shoot for the biggest name, the person
who #nows you best will do a better @ob most li#ely.
(on't focus on as#ing @ust orthopaedics faculty. %ou will li#ely need a letter from
someone outside of orthopaedics as well. After you finish up your ortho ,ub)" at 7&, set up a
meeting with (r. ('Ambrosia (or whoever the chair is) to get a 7hairman's letter. %ou are
responsible for this and several schools reAuire it. "t may ta#e several wee#s to get this
completed.
.etter writers may need a little prompting to get the letter out on time. -a#e sure you
#eep in touch and ma#e them aware of your deadlines. ,end reminder emails, send than# you
notes for the letter, and send emails to as# them if they need any other information. (o whatever
you have to do because it is your tail on the line. -ost of us as#ed for e2tra letters @ust in case
one didn't come through or if you need to use one for a specific purpose (li#e you are applying to
their alma mater).
Also try to as# for letters of recommendation during your away rotations too. !hese
letters mean a lot and can give your application a boost. (efinitely as# early and even give the
person a heads up that you are loo#ing for a letter.
Pic/ing Programs
>iguring out where to apply is a challenge because you are often forced to decide
between programs with very little information. ,tart by considering your lifestyle and interests
outside the hospital) you aren't going to be happy if you hate the rain but are applying to O,&
in =ortland. 8esidents, faculty and especially students ahead of you are all great resources.
*ven students that you rotate with will be helpful because they can tell you a ton about their
home program. Orthogate has reviews by students and rotators, but these must be ta#en with a
grain of salt since you don't #now the motivation or interests of the writer.
!hin# about what you are interested in as well. (o you want to go into oncology or
spineD "f so, ma#e sure to find programs that are stronger in that area.
)=tra #nformation
>irst, ma#e sure you are nice to the program coordinators prior to, during, and after
interviews. !hey usually will weigh in on admissions committees and no program wants a
resident that can't wor# well with all of the staff. ,econd, don't drive the coordinators nuts
chec#ing on the status of your application. >eel free to contact them if necessary, but don't flood
them with emails or phone calls. (o consider sending them an email or giving them a call to
ma#e sure your application is complete and they have downloaded all of your letters. When you
ma#e that contact, let the coordinator #now that you are really interested in the program and
would love to interview there.
"f you are struggling to land interviews, consider calling programs in the wee# prior to
their interview date to see if they have any openings. ,pots often open up at the last minute and
they won't bother offering them to waitlisted applicants so close to the deadline. 7alling to
/4
e2press an interest might land you the spot even if you didn't ma#e the initial interview list. One
of our applicants two years ago was having trouble and ended up matching at the program where
he called in this manner. e found out three days before the interview date that there was an
open spot and said he could ma#e it.
(SP)
!he -,=* or K(ean's .etterL is largely out of your control. %ou will receive (usually in
-ay) a Auestionnaire from (ean ?arrity to complete. !he information in this Auestionnaire will
be used to complete the uniAue introduction of your letter. ,o as you might e2pect you should
spend some time and do a nice @ob. %our @ob is much easier if your 7C is complete and up to
date as most of the Auestions can be copied directly off your 7C. %ou will meet with (ean
?arrity some time from 0une to August to review a draft of your letter. !he rest of your letter is
a summary of your thirdFfourth year rotations with grade and attending comments included. 5ot
every comment is included, but all poor or less than stellar comments will be. 0ust another
reason to wor# hard and be well li#ed during your clinical rotations. .astly, (ean ?arrity will
email a final draft to you in October that you need to proofread. "n our e2perience there is a ton
of mista#es in these letters (anything from wrong grades to misspelled words). =roofread,
proofread, proofread. "f there are any mista#es or you thin# the wording could be stronger, be
sure to be aggressive and advocate for yourself. !hey will be automatically loaded into *8A,
for download on 5ov /.
!he last sentence of the -,=* will include your Kclass ran#L. 5ot a true numerical ran#,
but it will list your performance into one of four Auartiles. !hese ran#ings are assigned mainly
by honors points by a committee of faculty.
#nter3ie.s$
Scheduling
We will start off by saying that scheduling interviews really suc#s. 5ot only will you
have to shell out the big buc#s to interview around the country, you will also li#ely have some
tough decisions to ma#e about which interview to accept. Orthopaedics programs typically
interview on >ridays and ,aturdays with some e2ceptions. !his means that there are only so
many possible interview dates for the /43 plus programs to pic# and there will be a ton of
overlap. One helpful resource in this regard was a calendar put together by (r. .evine, the
program director at 7olumbia, posted on Orthogate. !his lists many of the anticipated interview
dates for programs around the country) buyer beware though as some of the dates may not be
correct. *ven with this list, scheduling is Auite challenging because you never Auite #now which
interviews you will land. Our recommendation is that you schedule each interview for the
earliest possible date. (on't be too nervous about bac# to bac# interviews either, it is li#ely
going to happen no matter how hard you try to avoid it. !he #ey is trying to #eep them in the
same region if you can.
A few other scheduling tips+
7hec# your email freAuently. !his is when a phone that can chec# email comes in e2tremely
handy. =rograms typically offer only two dates so an early response will ensure that you get
the date that you want. "n some cases you may have less than twenty minutes to respond to
an email before the date you want disappears (it's true, happened this year at the &niversity
/:
of Washington, Canderbilt, Wisconsin, and many more).
7onsider calling programs when you get that invite email. ,ometimes the phone call will
allow you to move up the list and get the day you want because program coordinators won't
bother chec#ing email till the end of the day.
Orthogate is a useful resource as you try to figure out what programs have offered interviews
and when those offers went out. ,ometimes programs send out invites to home students and
rotators first so it isn't always accurate. <eware that chec#ing orthogate may become habit
forming, we will tal# about counseling opportunities later on.
8escheduling) you are li#ely going to have to reschedule at least one interview at some point
and may be nervous about what sort of implications it will have for the interview that you are
moving. (on't worry, it did not negatively impact our chances and the program coordinators
were usually very helpful in ma#ing the switch for you. !here are usually other fol#s in the
same boat who are loo#ing to ma#e the opposite switch. 7all the program coordinators or
email them as soon as you #now about the conflict$ (on't rely on as#ing someone on
orthogate for a switch, however, this may wor#.
7anceling interviews) opefully you will all be in a situation where you have enough
interview offers that you will need to cancel a few. =lease do your colleagues and future
applicants from 7& a favor, cancel interviews as soon as possible. "f you cancel at the last
minute, programs will li#ely not be able to fill your spot so some poor soul is missing out on
the opportunity. "n addition, canceling the wee# of or the wee# before an interview reflects
poorly on our school. !hat program may be less willing to interview 7& applicants in the
future if we cancel at the last minute. ,ome may say that three wee#s is enough in advance,
but certainly cancel as soon as you can.
!ravel) -ost interviews start in the morning sometime between 4+93 and 1 am. !he day is
usually over by 4pm at the latest. !ypically there is a social event the night before. !his
means that you will fly in the afternoon or evening before the interview and can fly out
during the afternoon on the day of the interview. !here are plenty of e2ceptions though.
Wisconsin and 7olorado interview in the afternoon and have the social that evening. At &,7
or &tah your interview may go all day. "f you are serious about a program, considering
spending a little more time in the area to get a feel for things. %ou can always as# to spend
the day after the interview shadowing residents to get a better feel for the program.
Preparation
=reparing for an interview can be challenging because there is often a limited amount of
information out there. %our best resource is usually the program website that will hopefully
have some details about the faculty, residents, rotations, call schedules. One #ey is to loo# for
anything out of the ordinary in terms of how the rotations or call are set up. "f there is anything
unusual, your @ob on interview day should be to learn more and see if it is a good fit for your
training. Also loo# at the distribution of faculty, are all of the subspecialties well coveredD !his
is usually a good indication of how well balanced a program is. !ry to figure out how many
hospitals the residents rotate at) are you going to be spread too thin or traveling a bunch for
different rotationsD ow many fellows are there and does this potentially impact the trainingD
Other resources may include faculty at 7& or peers on the interview trail who may attend
or have rotated at programs of interest. "f your colleagues from 7& interviewed first, they may
be willing to tell you a little bit about their interview day and what to e2pect. Orthogate may
also have posts on programs from either interviewees or current residents that may be useful.
/H
Euestions
"t is very important that you have a set of Auestions ready for each interview day. -ost
interviewers will leave time at the end of the interview for your Auestions and a lac# of Auestions
may be interpreted as a lac# of interest on your part. "n e2treme cases, some interviewers may
not have any Auestions for you so you will be dictating the interview in this case. <elow is a list
of potential Auestions that we used or heard on the interview trail. !hin# about which aspects of
a program are of interest to you and chose the appropriate Auestions. %our Auestions should
stem from your research on the program. "f the program doesn't advertise research and has more
of a clinical feel, you probably don't want spend too much time as#ing about research
opportunities. On the other hand, if the program website mentions a uniAue call schedule or they
run the *( shifts differently, you will certainly want to as# about it and how the residents li#ed
that e2perience.
Juestions for >aculty+
(o you anticipate any changes in program or department leadershipD
"f so, how do you thin# it will impact the residency programD
Will you be adding any new faculty or do you anticipate any leavingD
Are there any changes being made to the residency curriculumD
What impact if any do fellows have on a resident's trainingD
,trengths of the programD
8elationship between faculty and residentsD
ow early do residents get operative e2posureD
What is the overall case)load at graduationD (oes this include reductionsD
What are you loo#ing for in applicants or what characteristics do you thin# will ma#e
a resident successful in this programD
What percentage of the residents go on to do fellowshipsD
>aculty support for fellowship applicationsD
Availability of research pro@ectsD
What type of pro@ects do residents typically do (basic science versus clinical)D
ow do residents perform on <oards or O"!* e2amsD
What is the department's reputation in the hospitalD (o other services en@oy
consulting your serviceD
Juestions for 8esidents+
Why did you pic# this programD
What do you do for fun outside the hospitalD
(o you spend much time with your co)residents outside of the hospitalD
What is the call schedule li#e as a @unior and senior residentD
ow well does the program support you in terms of boo# funds, conferences, loupes,
lead, par#ing, and money for foodD
What percentage of the residents are married or have #idsD
,trengths of the programD
Any areas where you wish you had more e2posure or operative e2perienceD
What is your relationship li#e with the facultyD
Where are you headed for fellowshipD "s that what you were hoping forD
Where do residents typically liveD
Average home costs in the area and what percentage of residents ownD
/1
)3aluating Programs
=rogram evaluation is a personal process. We say this because it greatly depends on your
career goals. "f you want to be a community orthopod with a general practice you will want a
well)rounded program with good trauma e2perience. "f you want to go into research and or
academics, you want to loo# at more research heavy academic programs. "f you already #now
your subspecialty, loo# for programs with good mentorship and a good reputation in that field.
Another thing to consider is where you intend to practice. While you don't necessarily
have the freedom to choose the program and the region, as# Auestions about where graduates end
up. What is the program's reputation in the regionFcountryD "f you can't be where you
ultimately want to end up, can you get thereD
Also thin# about your learning style. (o you prefer to study up on your own or do you
want a lot of scheduled learning timeD =rograms vary greatly in the conference schedules,
cadaver labs, and dedicated teaching time. !hin# about what fits your learning needs.
?ut feeling is ultimately going to be your guide. When it comes time to evaluate
programs, you already will have all of these aspects in mind. When you wal# out of the
interview day, you will have a gut reaction. W8"!* "! (OW5$ %ou were li#ely analyzing all
of your priorities during the day without realizing it, leading to your final solidified reaction to
the program. ?o with your gut. %ou #now what you want, don't want, love and hate. !a#ing
notes can also help you sort out the programs on the bottom of your ran# list.
>inally, ta#e a personal inventory first. <efore you hit up classmates, fellow applicants,
orthogate for the s#inny on a program, thin# about it yourself. (on't be pressured by name,
reputation, other's opinions of the programs because we are all)different and want different
things from a program. !his is your career decision$ (on't get suc#ed into the game (e.g.
ran#ing a particular program more highly because you #now they li#e you)$ Also, ta#e all of the
overtures made by programs with a grain of salt. !hey may tell you that you are at the top of
their ran# list, but this isn't necessarily true.
Second Loo/s
,econd loo#s are a way of showing that you're interested in a program. !hey aren't
necessary at most programs, but if you're hoping to go to (u#e or =ittsburgh you li#ely have to
ma#e the return trip. %ou can always as# the secretary if the program li#es 6
nd
loo#s and they are
usually straightforward. (itto for than# you letters. %ou usually contact the program
coordinator to set these up. %our goal should be to interact with as many residents and
attendings as you can. opefully you can snea# into the O8 as well to evaluate the operative
s#ills of the resident and how much they get to do during cases. ,econd loo#s can also help you
land a spot at some programs because they want to match people that want to come there.

Ran/ List
,it down with advisors before finalizing your ran# list. ?et their opinion on programs at
the top of your list. 7onsider having them ma#e a call on your behalf if you #now them well.
,ome advisors may focus on names and which programs have a stronger reputation or well)
#nown surgeons. !his isn't necessarily all that helpful, as you need to determine which program
/I
is the best fit for %O&. !ell them about your interests and what you are loo#ing for. A good
advisor should help match you to a program that fits your interests and personality.
-a#e sure you ran# programs based on where you want to end up. "t is very tempting to
ran# programs that li#e you higher so try not to fall into this trap. While it may feel good to ran#
in your top three, if one of those programs isn't the best fit you won't be nearly as happy.
Alumni
<e sure to ta#e advantage of the 7& alumni as you set out on the interview trail. !hese people
can be great resources (and advocates) as you interview at their programs. !hey may also offer
to put you up for the night or show you around if they have time. ,ince this is a new pro@ect, we
don't have any contact information for the fol#s ahead of us, but the school websites or program
coordinators will li#ely get you at least an email address. %ou may also want to chec# if the
surgical society has any of their contact information.
633I
(ale 7assidy) <rown &niversity, =rovidence (aleO7assidyPhotmail.com
?eorge 7haus) &niversity of 7olorado, (enver ?eorge.7hausPucdenver.edu
0enna ?odfrey) &niversity of 5ew -e2ico, AlbuAuerAue
*ric .inford) -edical 7ollege of Wisconsin, -ilwau#ee elinfordPyahoo.com
0osh ,y#es) &niversity of !ennessee, 7ampbell 7linic
6331
"mran 7houdhry) &niversity of 7incinnati
,arah 7lutter) &niversity of ;ansas, ;ansas 7ity
William ;ramer) &niversity of ;ansas, ;ansas 7ity
0ordan ,chaeffer) (u#e &niversity
-ichal !aylor) &niversity of 7olorado
633H
<ret =eterson Q (u#e &niversity
=at ,ipars#y Q ,t. -ary'sF,>O8=, ,an >rancisco
7hris *spinoza) &!,W
633:
7raig ogan) &niversity of 7olorado
!imothy 0ud#ins) &niversity of 7olorado
;elly -c7ormic#) amot -edical 7enter
7hristopher Cincent) "ndiana &niversity
Orthopaedics Programs
63
Alabama
&niversity of Alabama -edical 7enter =rogram
&niversity of ,outh Alabama =rogram
Ari:ona
<anner ?ood ,amaritan -edical 7enter =rogram
!he <anner program is an old program, -aricopa, revamped and will be accepting its
4
th
class of residents this year. !he program is based on an apprenticeship model, so
regardless of your year you will always be matched one on one with an attending.
?ood e2posure to different populations at both public and private hospitals. =rogram
director, (r. -c.aren is very hands on. .ots of teaching. 8esidents were very nice.
8eAuired yearly research pro@ect. Advice would be to apply and use as a bac# up
school, but as they have yet to graduate a class it could be a ris#y venture.
5ewer program (started in 633H), will have =?%/)4 in 633I. =rogram director is a
really nice guy who is super interested in education (he grills basic science into the
residents). Only program in =hoeni2 so there is a ton of cases available. 8esidents
all said the faculty are all pumped to have residents again. -y thoughts were this
program will be really good in a few years but may have growing pains initially. -y
general impression of newly started programs are the faculty are usually good, the
residents are a little sub)par because the program is forced to be a little less selective
based on the newness of the program.
&niversity of Arizona =rogram
Ar/ansas
&niversity of Ar#ansas for -edical ,ciences =rogram
California
.oma .inda &niversity =rogram
&7.A -edical 7enter =rogram
eavy academic focus, may not get as much hands on operative e2perience
aven't had much success landing an interview there amongst our class
&niversity of ,outhern 7aliforniaF.A7R&,7 -edical 7enter =rogram
,olid program in the heart of downtown .A. Cery hands on program with tons of
hands on operative e2perience with a huge amount of trauma. =rogram ta#es ten
residents per year and usually has very diverse group of residents. &niAue intern year
with : months of ortho (ortho onc, ortho id are e2amples). ,eemed li#e an awesome
program if you are willing to wor# hard and li#e life in a big city. 7overage of sub)
specialties seemed solid though they had lost a big name on their @oint faculty
recently.
.arger program with /3 residents per year located in downtown .A
=rogram is very busy as it is the only county hospital in the city and sees all of the
trauma in the area.
8esidents aren't Auite as close as a whole because of the large numbers.
.ots of independence and O8 time because of volume
=robably more balanced than 7& with strong sports and @oints.
ospital has brand new billion dollar county hospital
o &niversity of 7alifornia ("rvine) =rogram
o &niversity of 7alifornia ((avis) ealth ,ystem =rogram
6/
,ee above comments on e2ternship. Cery trauma focused, so if that's your
area of interest it is definitely a place to consider. (r. a# spent several years
there and is a great resource for this program.
o 5aval -edical 7enter (,an (iego) =rogram
o &niversity of 7alifornia (,an (iego) =rogram
Cery interesting interview day with 4 different panel interviews. >aculty seemed
very friendly and they are focused on finding the right fit. =rogram seems to be in
transition with lots of new faculty added of late. (on't #now how this will impact the
culture or Auality of training. ,an (iego is an awesome place to live and the residents
were e2tremely bright. !he program gets their pic# of applicants in part due to
location. Well #nown for pediatric orthopaedics, but this is the place to be for
fellowship and not residency in that regard. (on't get very much hands on time in
peds due to the fellows. AdeAuate but not overwhelming trauma e2perience. Overall
it seemed li#e a solid program with some very smart residents. "s a si2 year program
for all residents, everyone must do a research year.
o ,t -arySs ospital and -edical 7enter =rogram
o &niversity of 7alifornia (,an >rancisco) =rogram
-alignant intern year in the gen surgery department
,trong program and very well balanced.
5umerous research opportunities.
*2pensive to live in ,an >rancisco, but a great area.
o ,tanford &niversity =rogram) see comments above
o .os Angeles 7ounty)arbor)&7.A -edical 7enter =rogram
Colorado
&niversity of 7olorado (enver =rogram) you will get to e2perience this one for yourself$
Connecticut
&niversity of 7onnecticut =rogram
%ale)5ew aven -edical 7enter =rogram
=rogram was interesting because of the focus on private practice as part of the
training e2perience. Apparently the program has had difficulty retaining faculty due
to salary issues so many leave for private practice, but continue to teach. 8eally
friendly faculty and a close)#nit group of residents. 8esidents regularly spend time
with the chair outside of the hospital. Cery little didactics wor# during the training
here. !he program director emphasized how this program is really oriented towards
self)motivated residents who see# to learn on their own. -a#e sure you don't miss
the pre)interview dinnerE it was one of the best on the trail.
9istrict of Columbia
?eorge Washington &niversity =rogram
?eorgetown &niversity ospital =rogram
oward &niversity =rogram
;lorida
&niversity of >lorida =rogram
&niversity of >lorida 7ollege of -edicine 0ac#sonville =rogram
0ac#son -emorial ospitalF0ac#son ealth ,ystem =rogram
Orlando ealth =rogram
66
&niversity of ,outh >lorida =rogram
Georgia
Atlanta -edical 7enter =rogram
*mory &niversity =rogram
8eally solid program that you li#ely haven't heard about. ?et a ton of hands on trauma
starting as a two when you wor# at ?rady. .i#e 7&, residents cover several hospitals and
are spread out around town. !his means that you will ta#e more call and wor# harder, but
residents really seemed to love their e2perience. !hought the residents all seemed very
bright and enthusiastic. Cery good spine and tumor e2perience as well. (efinitely a
southern feel. *2ternship students do their interviews during the rotation and don't need to
come bac# during interview season. "t is hard to say too much negative about this program
other than the location.
-edical 7ollege of ?eorgia =rogram
(wight (avid *isenhower Army -edical 7enter =rogram
5a.aii
&niversity of awaii =rogram
!ripler Army -edical 7enter =rogram
#llinois
-c?aw -edical 7enter of 5orthwestern &niversity =rogram) (on't interview non)rotators
8ush &niversity -edical 7enter =rogram
?entleman's program
.ight on hours
>ellows teach in some rooms instead of attending (attending run 6 rooms)
&niversity of 7hicago =rogram
&niversity of "llinois 7ollege of -edicine at 7hicago =rogram
On probation (3I)
?o to a wide variety of hospitals T:ish
5ot service oriented (may do hand in the morning and finish with spine with some
@oints in between)
.oyola &niversity =rogram
,outhern "llinois &niversity =rogram
#ndiana
>ort Wayne -edical *ducation =rogram
"ndiana &niversity ,chool of -edicine =rogram
#o.a
&niversity of "owa ospitals and 7linics =rogram
*2cellent program
"owa 7ity is a drawbac#. Almost all residents are married with #ids.
!rauma poor
uge names in all other subspecialties.
5umerous research opportunities.
Aansas
&niversity of ;ansas ,chool of -edicine =rogram (;ansas 7ity)
?reat program with many 7& alums. !he attendings were incredibly nice on
69
interview day with a good mi2 of attendings who had been around for years and some
e2cited young faculty in trauma and sports. ,eemed to be a very well rounded
program with no strong emphasis on any one area. ;ansas 7ity has 6 programs, this
one being the strongest with the better reputation. 8esidents very friendly and happy.
ighly suggest chec#ing out this program, consider rotation here as well.
o !his is the good program in ;ansas 7ity (,ee &-;7 review below)
o igh volume of cases, little emphasis on research
o 6 7& alumns there
o 8esidents said hours are relatively easy
o Overall seemed li#e a rela2ed group of attendings and residents
&niversity of ;ansas (Wichita) =rogram
Aentuc/y
&niversity of ;entuc#y 7ollege of -edicine =rogram
&niversity of .ouisville =rogram
Louisiana
.ouisiana ,tate &niversity =rogram
Ochsner 7linic >oundation =rogram
!ulane &niversity =rogram
.ouisiana ,tate &niversity (,hreveport) =rogram
(aryland
0ohns op#ins &niversity =rogram
&nion -emorial ospital =rogram
&niversity of -aryland =rogram
" thin# the best program in -aryland
!rauma eavy with ,hoc# !rauma. As a chief you act as a fellow at ,hoc# trauma.
?reat program with good group of residents.
Cery strong in @oints and trauma.
5ational 7apital 7onsortium =rogram
(assachusetts
<oston &niversity -edical 7enter =rogram
-alignant program with limited early operative e2perience.
!rauma heavy, but limited O8 time for @unior residents.
arvard 7ombined
!ough program because you are very spread out and you won't get to #now a large
percentage of your fellow residents as a result. !a#e a large number of residents.
!ufts -edical 7enter =rogram
Cery much a private practice feel to this program. 8esidents aren't reAuired to do
much of the dirty wor# than#s to 5='s and =A's so they get more operative time. !he
downside may be that they won't be as strong managing their patients down the road.
Well #nown for strong @oints e2perience at the <aptist but really lac# good trauma
training. ,ports seemed strong here as well. !hey spend three months at <rown in
order to see any level / trauma. !ufts hospital is only a level "".
&niversity of -assachusetts =rogram
(ichigan
64
&niversity of -ichigan =rogram
Cery well rounded program with very strong sports and pediatrics training. On your
sports rotations you don't ta#e any call and get to cover the -ichigan sports team of
your choice. "f you pic# football, you will be on the sidelines during games. .ocated
in a great college town about 44 minutes outside of (etroit. Cery competitive and "
was told that their board cut)off score was more li#e a 643. 8esidents seemed to get
along well and were very happy with their training. (idn't hear really any negatives
about this program while on the trail.
(etroit -edical 7enter =rogram
5ew program with a lot of baggage from a bad brea#up with Wayne ,tate and
subseAuent shut down.
,trange group of residents, but they seemed happy
"n downtown (etroit, they see a ton of trauma but you have to be in a pretty s#etchy
area of the city
*veryone on the interview day was straightforward about the shutdown and how
things are better now, but " thought it was a pretty ris#y place to go. ,ome of the old
residents that transferred when the program was shut down posted on orthogate that
the chairman (still there) stabbed them all in the bac# and wouldn't help them find
new programs etc. etc.
enry >ord ospital =rogram
-c.aren 8egional -edical 7enter =rogram
=retty interesting community program in >lint. ,mall group of residents (6 per year),
most with ties to the area. !hey have a ton of volume and everyone seemed pretty
happy.
One bonus is moonlighting is built into the call schedule so upper levels clear close to
G/33,333 per year
>lint is @ust about the most depressing place "'ve ever seen
?rand 8apids -edical *ducation and 8esearch 7enterF-ichigan ,tate
;alamazoo 7enter for -edical ,tudiesF-ichigan ,tate &niversity =rogram
William <eaumont ospital =rogram
Awesome community program in 8oyal Oa# (north of (etroit). >acilities are
amazing (they have /6 dedicated ortho operating rooms) and the hospital is a plush
private hospital. !his was the best community program " came across. 8esidents
have a concierge service to get them food and whatever else they need.
8eally good reputation in the -idwest, they have a ton of cases because most of the
area 5orth of (etroit gets sent to them
Only downside is you get #illed as a 6, but otherwise the schedule is pretty cushy
(innesota
&niversity of -innesota =rogram
*2cellent program with several past presidents of the board
?reat trauma e2perience with two level /s that residents operate early and often
Only invite around 43 for their 1 spots
7ollege of -edicine -ayo 7linic (8ochester) =rogram) see comments above
(ississippi
64
&niversity of -ississippi -edical 7enter =rogram
(issouri
&niversity of -issouri)7olumbia =rogram
&niversity of -issouri at ;ansas 7ity =rogram
o 5O$$$$ =rogram director is truly a crazy asshole, which he will say within the
first 4 minutes of his intro on interview day. Awful vibe here, bac#ed up by
;&-7 program residents and staff who will tell you the residents at &-;7 are
miserable$ 0ust say no$
,t .ouis &niversity ,chool of -edicine =rogram
Washington &niversityF<)0F,.7 7onsortium =rogram
o Cery strong program with, what seems li#e, fairly early operative e2posure
o "nternational e2perience during 4
th
year
o *2cellent didactics, for what that's worth
?ebras/a
&niversity of 5ebras#a -edical 7enter 7ollege of -edicineF7reighton &niversity
=rogram
?e. 5ampshire
(artmouth)itchcoc# -edical 7enter =rogram
o Cery solid program in a very, very small town in 5ew ampshire. "f you love the
mountains and want to wor# in a beautiful hospital, this program is for you.
8esidents described the program as somewhat @oint heavy though this has leveled
out somewhat in the past couple of years. .evel " hospital, but don't see a bunch
of polytrauma due to location. Also, not the best sports e2perience with no true
dedicated @oints faculty. -a#e up for this with four faculty who all do some
sports wor#. 8esidents still seemed to be able to land top)notch sports fellowship
though due to strong faculty support. >aculty were very friendly and they have a
very strong (plus informal) relationship with the residents. 8esidents were
e2tremely #nowledgeable of the literature. Cery family oriented program, almost
more ortho #ids than residents here. >our spots per year) two each year must do a
/ year masters program in outcomes research. Cery cool option if you li#e that
#ind of stuff. (o : months of rotations in <oston (peds and oncology) plus a
three)month rotation an hour away in Cermont that is private practice.
?e. 0ersey
-onmouth -edical 7enter =rogram
&-(50)8obert Wood 0ohnson -edical ,chool =rogram
&-(50)5ew 0ersey -edical ,chool =rogram
,eton all &niversity ,chool of ealth and -edical ,ciences =rogram
?e. (e=ico
&niversity of 5ew -e2ico =rogram
o ?reat program with strong 7& ties. =rogram director, (r. Juinn is relatively
new, having trained and wor#ed bac# east (&7onn, -ass ?eneral). e is very
committed to building a strong programE e2pect him to #now your 7C inside out
when you arrive. Juinn admits that &5- used to be more of a bac#up program in
the past, but this has changed in his time. %our dinner conversation with him is
essentially your interview so be ready. Well)rounded program with great trauma
6:
coming in from the reservations in rural 5ew -e2ico. 8esidents very nice and
down to earth, residents and faculty en@oy a good relationship both in and out of
the hospital. !here was an academic feel to the program with encouraged
research time and strong didactics but not overwhelmingly so. (efinitely consider
applying and rotation at this program.
?e. &or/
Albany -edical 7enter =rogram
Albert *instein 7ollege of -edicine =rogram
;ingsbroo# 0ewish -edical 7enter =rogram
-aimonides -edical 7enter =rogram
,&5% ealth ,cience 7enter at <roo#lyn =rogram
&niversity at <uffalo =rogram
5ew %or# -edical 7ollege (<roo#lyn)Jueens) =rogram
5,."0,)Albert *instein 7ollege of -edicine at .ong "sland 0ewish -edical
ospital for ,pecial ,urgeryF7ornell -edical 7enter =rogram
o *2tremely malignant interview. -ultiple panel interviews with pimping.
o 5o trauma, otherwise very well balanced.
o All home call
o Awesome facilities and top notch attendings.
o ,ubsidized housing for all residents.
.eno2 ill ospital =rogram
-ount ,inai ,chool of -edicine =rogram
5ew %or# =resbyterian ospital (7olumbia 7ampus) =rogram
5ew %or# &niversity ,chool of -edicineFospital for 0oint (iseases =rogram
Well)balanced program.
,trong research opportunities.
o 7hair is the new president of the academy
,t .u#eSs)8oosevelt ospital 7enter =rogram
&niversity of 8ochester =rogram
o !ruly e2ceptional program with top)notch research and orthopaedic training. !he
program leadership is committed to training residents rather fellows and the
program is very well balanced. 8esidents loved the program and didn't have
anything negative to say. ave a uniAue set up for their trauma call e2perience
that you should evaluate for yourself. 8ochester might not be the most appealing
place to live, but it is e2tremely affordable with plenty to do in the summer. -ost
residents could afford a three)bedroom house and could support a family on @ust
their salary. (efinitely worth chec#ing out if you wouldn't mind living in the
area.
,&5% at ,tony <roo# =rogram
,&5% &pstate -edical &niversity =rogram
5ew %or# -edical 7ollege at Westchester -edical 7enter =rogram
?orth Carolina
&niversity of 5orth 7arolina ospitals =rogram
6H
o =receptorship model
o " though the program lac#ed the academic feel and opportunities that other
programs had.
7arolinas -edical 7enter =rogram
(u#e &niversity ospital =rogram
o Cery academic program with 7& alums. *2cellent reputation in the field.
=rogram director, (r. arda#ar has been the director for over 64 years. e will
#now your name when you arrive and they have ta#en great care in selecting who
they interview and why. .ots of teachingFdidactics. =lenty of O8 time. Well
rounded, as they tend to have a strong reputation in many different areas. ?reat
residents. 7onsider rotating. !his is one place where you should do a second
loo# if you li#ed it during your interview.
8eally strong program, not much trauma but otherwise very well represented.
7hairman really tries to recruit people he thin#s will fit in well. >aculty are
e2tremely well connected and residents get choice of fellowships.
-ust do a second loo# and tell the school they are your number one choice to
match.
5o trauma
%ou do have to wear a short white coat and white pants as an intern.
,till a division of general surgery, so the g)surg department still dictates a great
deal.
Wa#e >orest &niversity ,chool of -edicine =rogram
o "f you are serious about research, they have a H)year research trac#, which can be
a great in. !hey interview these candidates early so get in touch with their
research director now.
Ohio
A#ron ?eneral -edical 7enterF5*O&7O- =rogram
o One of two (,umma is the other) private programs in A#ron. !hey have about 93
interview days because they only interview 6 per day (they pay for the hotel).
8esidents get treated really well with e2cellent benefits.
o ,ome Auestion of operative volume, they compete with ,umma for business
o .ebron 0ames house is within 4 miles of the hospital
,umma ealth ,ystemF5*O&7O- =rogram
&niversity ospitalF&niversity of 7incinnati 7ollege of -edicine =rogram
7leveland 7linic >oundation =rogram
o Cery good name and great fellowship opportunities afterwards
o " worry about operative e2posure, one resident told me he felt li#e he had to
practice on cadavers for sports to feel comfortable with procedures
&niversity ospitals 7ase -edical 7enter =rogram
o !wo spots are si2 years, but you do not #now if you will have to do a lab year
before you matriculate.
o ,trong well)rounded program.
-ount 7armel =rogram
61
Ohio ,tate &niversity ospital =rogram
Wright ,tate &niversity =rogram
&niversity of !oledo =rogram
O/lahoma
&niversity of O#lahoma ealth ,ciences 7enter =rogram
Oregon
Oregon ealth B ,cience &niversity =rogram
Pennsyl3ania
,t .u#eSs ospital =rogram
?eisinger ealth ,ystem =rogram
amot -edical 7enter =rogram
=enn ,tate &niversityF-ilton , ershey -edical 7enter =rogram
o 8eally strong program with great reputation
o 7hairman is =resident of Orthopaedic *ducators, really involved in resident
education.
o ershey is tiny, arrisburg is the closest city (/3 miles or so away)
o 0ust added a 4
th
resident, when " was interviewed the residents said they were
spread pretty thin and felt a little overwor#ed
o -ost residents have families
Albert *instein ealthcare 5etwor# =rogram
(re2el &niversity 7ollege of -edicineFahnemann &niversity ospital =rogram
!emple &niversity ospital =rogram
!homas 0efferson &niversity =rogram
o Cery fellow heavy program. !his definitely impacts your training while wor#ing
at the main hospital, but spend a fair amount of time rotating elsewhere. Cery
hands on with a tons of operative e2perience during away rotations) all the
residents raved about the trauma at .ehigh. eavy focus on ,pine and 0oints at
the 0efferson hospital, felt a little li#e a factory trying to ma#e money in this
regard. 8otate in Wilmington, (* for pediatrics. !ypically only have one
interview day so be prepared to interview with a crowd.
&niversity of =ennsylvania =rogram
Allegheny ?eneral ospital =rogram
&niversity of =ittsburgh -edical 7enter -edical *ducation =rogram
o *2cellent program with very enthusiastic chair. Cery dynamic guy
o About as academic as you get with large number of fellows and research focus.
4F1 residency spots are : year with year of research.
o >ellows definitely get the better cases and impact your education
o 5eed to do a second loo# or rotate there to be strongest candidate
o Wor# at several hospitals in town including several private hospitals owned by the
&niversity.
o 7rappy interview day since they interview /63 people in span of two days.
-eans you feel li#e cattle as you are shuffled through /+/ interviews. *veryone
gets 4 minutes with >u and residency director.
6I
o -a#e sure you write (r. >u a than# you note.
o "f you did not rotate here you again will need to do a second loo#.
Puerto Rico
&niversity of =uerto 8ico =rogram) are you really going to apply hereD ,eriouslyDD
Rhode #sland
<rown &niversity =rogram) see comments above. 7ontact (aleO7assidyPhotmail.com
for additional info or with Auestions.
South Carolina
-edical &niversity of ,outh 7arolina =rogram
=almetto ealthF&niversity of ,outh 7arolina ,chool of -edicine =rogram
?reenville ospital ,ystemF&niversity of ,outh 7arolina ,chool of -edicine
%ennessee
&niversity of !ennessee 7ollege of -edicine at 7hattanooga =rogram
&niversity of !ennessee =rogram
Canderbilt &niversity =rogram
o Another very well rounded and e2cellent orthopaedics residency program. All
of the sub)specialties with the e2ception of spine possibly (they were loo#ing
to add additional faculty) were very well covered. !he trauma service is
especially strong with plenty of volume. !hey have a guy there who is well
#nown for his pelvis and acetabulum wor# if you find that interesting. ,trong
relationship between residents and faculty, the chair is going to wor# as a
bartender at one of the residents wedding's this summer. 5ew chair in 633I)
guy was the residency program director for many years so there won't be too
much change. (efinitely a southern, friendly feel. ospital is staffed by the
most friendly nurses and staff ever. 8ated one of top /33 places to wor# for
that reason. 8esidents are well li#ed and respected by other services. Wor# at
three hospitals (CA, 7hildren's, &niversity) that are all within wal#ing
distance of one another. !he way call is set up, you ta#e call for all three at
the same time. !his means you get #illed on call, but you only ta#e call J/3
as a 0unior so it isn't so bad.
%e=as
&niversity of !e2as ,outhwestern -edical ,chool =rogram
o 5ew chairman (6yrs ago) with faculty still in flu2. Only seven faculty currently.
o ,trong trauma and pediatrics.
o Wea# in everything else, unless you li#e doing your foot and an#le primarily with
podiatry
William <eaumont Army -edical 7enterF!e2as !ech &niversity (*l =aso)
,an Antonio &niformed ,ervices ealth *ducation 7onsortium (<A-7)
0ohn =eter ,mith ospital (!arrant 7ounty ospital (istrict) =rogram
&niversity of !e2as -edical <ranch ospitals =rogram
<aylor 7ollege of -edicine =rogram
&niversity of !e2as at ouston =rogram
,an Antonio &niformed ,ervices ealth *ducation 7onsortium (W-7)
!e2as !ech &niversity (.ubboc#) =rogram
93
&niversity of !e2as ealth ,cience 7enter at ,an Antonio =rogram
!e2as AB- 7ollege of -edicine),cott and White =rogram
'tah
&niversity of &tah =rogram
Virginia
&niversity of Cirginia =rogram
5aval -edical 7enter (=ortsmouth) =rogram
Cirginia 7ommonwealth &niversity ealth ,ystem =rogram
Vermont
&niversity of Cermont =rogram
>ashington
&niversity of Washington =rogram
o ?reat program in a fun city.
o ?reat trauma reputation, but si2 fellows here that may impact your operative
e2perience.
o (ifficult panel interview format
-adigan Army -edical 7enter =rogram
>est Virginia
-arshall &niversity ,chool of -edicine =rogram
o 5ewer program in untington. " thought they were much farther along than some of
the other newer programs. 7hairman is an e2tremely competent guy who is really
involved in the community and tries to get the residents involved as well
o ?ood operative volume, small number of residents currently as they fill their
program. 8esidents seemed happy, li#ed being involved in building the curriculum of
a new program
West Cirginia &niversity =rogram
>isconsin
&niversity of Wisconsin =rogram
o *veryone " tal#ed to around the country really thought C*8% highly of this program.
=rogram director and chair are very down to earth, Auite honest and you will get to
#now them well as residents. ave created a very well balanced program with a very
happy bunch of residents. -adison is another fun college down with plenty to do
outdoors. (efinitely consider applying here.
-edical 7ollege of Wisconsin Affiliated ospitals =rogram
o 7ontact *ric .inford (elinfordPyahoo.com) for info
9/