OHSU has several great qualities, and a few detracting factors.
First the assets:
1) You operate early and often. you will do total joints as an R2, and by the R5 years you can pretty much operate on any part of the body with no hesitation. There is only one fellow (spine), and therefore you are one on one with the attendings from your intern year on.
2) The residents are very close and it is a very family friendly program. There are quite a few residents with children, and everyone seems to get along well.
3) The residents rotate at Emanuel Hospital for 8 months, which has a great group of orthopaedists. There you operate with autonomy, and it is a great preparation for being out there on your own. Definitely one of the best parts of the program.
4) Fellowship placement is excellent. Given the connections that Dr. Yoo (the chairman) and others have, there has been no difficulty for residents in obtaining top fellowships of their choice.
5) Portland- 45 minutes to Mt Hood, 1 hour to the beach, great city to live in!
The Downsides
1) There is little biomechanical research, aside from that at Emanuel hospital, which has an excellent biomechanics lab. The biomechanics lab at OHSU is deficient, however this should improve with Dr. Yoo in charge
2) As mentioned previously in another post, if you want to be a chairman you might go elsewhere, although Dr. Yoo has strong ambitions to turn OHSU into Case Western - west (where he came from). He is hiring new staff as fast as possible with strong research interests, so stay tuned.
