Overview of Residency Program Structure
The residency program at the University of Pennsylvania provides both a broad exposure to the entire field of Orthopaedic Surgery and an intense training environment that leaves graduates with the knowledge and skill to pursue either further fellowship training or immediately beginning clinical practice. The training program assists you in accomplishing this by a carefully designed progression of responsibility, autonomy, and expectation. Throughout your five clinical years, you are exposed to the pre, peri, and post-operative care of the Orthopaedic patient in a structured and hands on manner that facilitates your growth as a practitioner.
As a resident you will rotate through services that provide exposure to the sub-specialties of: trauma, adult reconstruction, pediatrics, spine, hand and upper extremity, oncology, sports medicine, shoulder and elbow, foot and ankle, neuro-orthopaedics, and general orthopaedics. You will be exposed to world class care at several facilities, including the first hospital in the United States (Pennsylvania Hospital), a brand new and state of the art level 1 trauma center (Advanced Care Pavilion at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center), the number one ranked children's hospital in the US (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia), our brand new Musculoskeletal Institute, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and the Philadelphia Veteran's Affairs (VA) Hospital. These diverse training environments will allow you to experience the true breadth and depth of the field of orthopaedics.
Six–Year Residency Program
As a result of its commitment to research and academics, the residency training program offers two residents a six–year program including a full year of laboratory based orthopaedic research after completion of the PGY–2 year. This timing is purposefully chosen so that the resident has had significant orthopaedic clinical experience prior to the laboratory year.
The selection for this six–year program is done through a separate match number in NRMP. The research year is designed not only as a time to learn lab techniques and conduct significant, high-quality orthopaedic research (both basic and clinical), but also to impart the "soft sciences", which include:
- Grant and paper writing skills
- Developing and designing a research project
- Posing a good question and hypothesis
- Conducting a multidisciplinary research project
- Presenting and publishing results most effectively
While there are no clinical or on–call responsibilities during this year, the resident will participate in departmental activities and conferences such as Resident Conference, Grand Rounds, and Journal Club. This year provides an excellent foundation upon which an academic career can be built.
