2011 Match Results

I'll kick this off:

Summa Health - Akron, OH...Woo Hoo!!!!

12 interviews, Summa was the best all around program I saw, hands down. I'm so excited to be training there. PM me if anyone wants any more information about my stats, programs I visited, etc.

Come on, guys. We've been reading your posts all interview season about the process. Its been a few hours since Match. Where'd y'all end up?

I'll kick this off]

Is it summa all year long there?

Come on, guys. We've been reading your posts all interview season about the process. Its been a few hours since Match. Where'd y'all end up?

I'll kick this off]

Is it summa all year long there?

It is as far as I'm concerned!

Med School: (Actual or just the region. School Ranking if known.)
Boards: Step 1:
Rank:
AOA]
Preclinicals: (Honors, HP, E, P, what ever your school uses.)
Clinicals:
Ortho: (Home and Away rotations and grades you received.)
Research:
Extracurriculars:

What I was looking for in a Program:


How many Programs:
Applied to:
Offered Interviews:
Attended:

Tier 1:
(Please describe programs here in detail)

Tier 2:

Tier 3:

NOT RANKED

Matched at:

My advice to future applicants:

for all you hopefuls out there who don't fit the stats/profiles of those typically posting on orthogate--> you can match ortho

Med School: No-name school
Boards: Step 1: 230s, Step 2: N/A
Class Rank: In top 33% or so, I think
AOA: No
Pre-Clinical Grades: Mostly Honors, and High Pass.
Clinical Grades: Honors in ER, Surgery, Neurology, Psychiatry, OB/GYN, High Pass in FM, & IM
AI’s: 2 away rotations
Research/Publications: Undergraduate research (no publications) in unrelated field, med school research in 2 different specialty areas (one as an elective, & one extracurricular), 2 publications (in an orthopaedic journal- one abstract & one full length article)
Letters: 2 from one AI, 1 from the other, 1 from the Doc who I published with & who I shadowed since before medical school, and 1 from my orthopaedic advisor.
Other stuff: Several extracurricular activities, volunteer stuff, sports team involvement (not professional, just amateur), a few not so commonly seen activities that made for interesting conversations in some interviews (NOT important to orthopaedics and will remain unspecified)

Applied: 55
Offered: ~12
Attended: All but one
Canceled: 1, due to conflict of dates
Ranked: 11, Did not rank one program, ranked one 6-year research track.
Rank criteria: In no particular order= operative experience (broad exposure, early operative experience), felt like my personality fit well with program’s residents and also most faculty (from what I could tell on Aways or interviews), happiness of residents and fellowship placement (not just “we get what we want in fellowships”), location (near family) & cost of living.

Interviews, The programs I remember decently well, alphabetically:

Geisinger: A community program taking 3 residents/year. Awesome operative experience there, with the resident DOING the cases not watching from what I understood. They have PA’s= u don’t spend unnecessary time on floors doing busy work, but get freed to go to the OR a lot because of them. Huge Moonlighting experience (starting half way through third year) which can boost resident salary by 40k even per year, means you will have more money than you can imagine to spend in Danville (i.e. way low cost of living). Almost everyone involved in the residency program was super nice. Great/humane attendings who would be awesome to have as mentors, not as well known though. Every resident was super stoked about being at the program, and Geisinger is like a mini-Mayo system of efficiency and quality. Super safe area/family friendly town, and food at hospital is pretty much free. The residents have their attending cell #s to call at anytime with any concern. That says a lot to me. A negative was that the Geisinger name is not that well known (although maybe climbing with the move of Dr. Smith from CO) and may affect where you have the ability to land a fellowship, as well as for some candidates, Danville PA may not be the most sought out place to spend 5 years, it is in Danville PA, ~1.5 hrs northeast of Harrisburg along I-80.

Henry Ford: An academic program taking 6/year. All the residents seemed very cool, and happy to be there, they have a tremendous say in the program and how it changes. The residents get treated very well there from what they tell. There is the mentorship model there as well in all subspecialties except trauma. Trauma call is Q3, which makes for a difficult rotation per the residents, but they are on it 2 months at a time, 2&2 (4 months) as PGY2, 2 months as a R3, and then home-call for the 2 months as a R4, and 4 months (2+2) as a R5. Outside of trauma, residents are on call ~3-4 times in 6 months, which balances the trauma months. The surgical experience there is pretty strong, and the seniors pride themselves on walking the juniors through the cases, showing their ability by the time they are 5’s and speaking to the resident-teaching focus of the program. The didactics are usually good per residents- every Wed/Fri mornings. Other days have rotation specific lectures. There is a very good moonlighting opportunity there too, with seniors earning quite a bit above and beyond the resident salary. They also have a nice lab (with a mock arthroscopy program) with all kinds of specimen to practice approaches, and techniques. The strengths are trauma/sports/joints. The program is good and conscious about getting the resident home if they are not on call/needed. 100+ ER bed hospital with 2 trauma bays. Residents get strong fellowships, one is doing HSS for shoulder/elbow next year if I remember correctly. Chairman is a big tumor guy who seems pleasant and is a positive force in the program. A negative is that the main hospital (a county type hospital) is in the worst area of Detroit and so the gun/knife club is rampant there, and the load is big too, but they also have satellite locations where you get a different experience. Residents also rotate through a MN hospital for peds (which may be a negative too).

Kalamazoo: Community program that takes 3/yr. All the residents were really happy to be there for their training, and you could obviously tell that they wouldn’t have traded it for the world. They have a very strong operative experience, although each day varies in terms of which cases you cover. As such there are no set blocks/rotations, each resident rounds only on their own patients (which may include some total hips, some spine, some trauma) except if on call over the weekend, when you see all the in-house patients. This in turn equals truly free weekends if you are not on call. The lifestyle these guys/girls have is one of the best I’ve heard of in any accredited program. Call though is very frequent in junior years, on the order of ~Q3, but decreases to ~twice/month as a senior if I recall correctly. All call is from home! However that is not to say that you will not be very busy at times, mostly during summer months. They cover 2 level 1 trauma centers, one being a really nice place, the other average. They have free food when in the hospital. All residents live within a short drive of both hospitals, and most own their own house- Cost of living is really good. Most attendings seemed super friendly, the residents had no complaints except for mentioning 2 that could be malignant, and the residents really enjoyed working with all their mentoring physicians. The PD is a fantastic guy who really goes to bat for the residents. Not a high powered research place though, and in fact this may impede the ability to do a high powered fellowship. Most graduates seemed to get fellowships, although usually not at big name places if that bothers you. Another cool thing about Kalamazoo, is that the residents get the chance to do 2 full months away as fourth years, auditioning for fellowships, without any hassle of insurance or bickering about leaving the program for 2 months- that is virtually unheard of and speaks to the flexibility/willingness of the program to help its residents.

Loyola: An academic program, taking 5/year which seems to be trauma heavy, with its location in Maywood Illinois and having the reputation of being able to handle anything that comes through the ER doors, that is, the attendings handle it in the OR. The trauma guys here are confident and do great work, however this corresponded to the residents doing more retracting than anything else while on trauma (besides the ER work of course). This place seemed pelvis trauma heavy saying that they get referred all the pelvic/acetab stuff that goes down in Chicago. One resident personally told me that even though they loved their program, they wish they could do more during their trauma rotation. Very cool group of residents who all got along great, and seem happy to be there. They have strong didactics- every Thursday mornings with frequent chairman’s hour to make sure all loose ends are tied and/or clean up anything in-house needing attention.. Most attendings are humane, and the residents get strong fellowship placement (example- one senior was going to Kerlan-Jobe for sports this year, which apparently is one of the premier places to do sports). They are mostly located in Maywood, but have a few satellite locations, where they have free food (at times) and where they get a varied experience than the usual in Maywood. They have a 6 month research block cut out, chairman is a very nice guy, who is well known in hand, and they have other well known attendings in other subspecialties. One negative is that there is no tumor exposure there, and Dr. Peabody from U of Chicago comes to lecture Loyola residents to offset this, in exchange for UofC residents rotating through Loyola for some trauma experience.

St Louis Univeristy: Academic program taking 5/yr now. Thought this was a pretty good program overall, despite the 6 years. The residents seemed happy to be there, their operative experience (including how much you do as a resident) was on the higher end. Their trauma guys are super well known apparently, and even though Dr. Moed is one who will come down hard on you if you slip up, a phone call from him will go a long way in the fellowship game even if you are not pursuing trauma. However, it is a mandatory 6 year program with a research year in between first & second year. This year you take ~4 calls/month, go to OR some, (so you don’t miss out on things ortho) but you do research (2 projects at least required) and residents say it’s a good year to relax a little before hitting the ground running as a junior ortho resident. AND it is a good time to read and get up to speed on literature as opposed to other places without the research year. no useless consults in ER for pus or diabetic ulcers (per residents). Great hands on experience, in all subspecialties (except perhaps sports but they were going to work on that), the residents were a great group of guys/girls, some big name mentors, good benefits+salary for the area. Good didactics & a strong program. Negatives to me were the 6th year, and little things like no stipends for necessary items- lead, loupes etc… St Louis is not the most happening of places and the gun/knife club is very active there. All together, considering that they AGAIN increased their residency spots, this is a growing and solid program.

Summa Health Akron: A community type program with somewhat of an academic feel, 4/year. Very friendly environment created there. The residents were very happy to be training at the program and have down to earth, friendly/humane attendings. Decent didactics and lectures. A preceptorship type program with cordial relationships between residents and attendings, residents are team oriented people who help each other out on many occasions. They see more blunt trauma than penetrating, have a great operative experience where the residents are the ones DOING the cases under the guidance of the attending surgeon. On interview day, I saw a senior resident calling all the shots and performing everything on a very complex case, while the attending assisted (even though it was a complicated case that was right up his alley of expertise). They are building a new ortho hospital, they have a decent opportunity to make more $ when on back up call. One thing that stood out about this program was the TRUE continuity clinic that the residents run. Once a patient becomes yours, you see them ALL the way through all their orthopaedic needs- that includes pre-op, operative, post-operative and even other injuries that may come up later on. They see you for 5 years, period. This gives the residents a real feel orthopaedic practice patients, and helps get a better grasp of follow up care, in my opinion. Negatives- heavy load even though in Akron OH, and the program name is not that well known… seemed residents tended to end up at the same fellowships as their predecessors, which could be that they ALL really want to go to that 1 place, or that the program name doesn’t carry that much weight outside of a few fellowships here and there. But overall, a strong place to train.

SUNY Upstate: not ranked…

UIC: Academic program taking 7/year. The one program that seemed to have the most resident autonomy when it came to the cases and they have a fantastic operative experience/load, although some will say that with this type of autonomy, the same mistakes will be made and residents will not learn to correct or improve their weaknesses at certain points during cases. Program rotates the residents through several hospitals in & around the Chicago area, some level 1, some level 2, some in-house call, some home-call. This varied experience is something that would be great to have since the residents get good exposure to different hospitals, teaching styles, patients, etc.. Residents seemed happy to be there, no real complaints apart from the weekend didactics every Saturday morning, and a program where you “need to work a little harder” for a great fellowship (per one resident). PD and Chair were not the friendliest of people, were actually quite intimidating even to some residents, but most didn’t seem to mind it too much. The Illinois bone and joint group is becoming more heavily involved in this program as was repeatedly stressed on my interview day, and with names like Dr. Goldstein, residents felt these changes were for the good. Negatives- Saturday lectures with required attendance, not the most reputable residency program, they just came off of probation too. Some say that the drive required between all these sites can make for a few bad months every now and then, depending on living location and rotation schedules.

UMass: Academic place taking 3/yr + 2 research/yr. This place boasted one of the best surgical case logs per resident AND the residency program was geared towards the resident DOING the cases under the senior or attending’s supervision. When a senior resident chooses to walk a junior/intern through complex cases, this shows how comfortable they are with the doing complex cases and they don’t need more cases to get comfortable with X. It speaks volumes to the mentality of the program- one where residents are seen as doctors in training that need to learn to do the cases not merely watch. Many residents said they were the ones doing cases even from their intern year. Trauma heavy place- 2nd busiest ER in New England per chairman, a mentorship type program where you spend blocks of time with one attending, and then rotate. Huge research center, they just became the National Joint Registry. New looking facilities, 4 trauma bays in ER, ER is always busy, will see everything here and not get phased once graduated. (Lots of highway trauma). There is a TEAM atmosphere among the residents, with those not on call typically swinging by the ER to help the resident on call if they seem to be backed up. That was admirable. Humane attendings, good didactics, morning conferences M-F, easily get research done here and many residents were happy to travel all over the USA to present posters/papers and even have opportunities abroad. Cool group of residents, both guys/girls. Big stack of books provided each resident at start of residency, + $750 stipend to get other needed things. Residents get strong fellowships. However, reading required of residents maybe more difficult to accomplish (per chairman) given their load.

Wright State University: Community type feel of a program, with some academic touches, taking 2/yr and 2 research tracks/year. Residents seemed to be ok with being there, and glad to be doing ortho. They have free food/parking, have a NICE new ortho wing just finished for inpatients. Busy trauma 1 center in Dayton OH. trauma is very heavy here but the operative experience didn’t correspond from what the residents told me. Attendings seem to be decent people, although I heard there are some who are more stiff. Salary was good per cost of living, and area is reasonably safe for a smaller city. Hours seemed to be on the heavier side of things, all things being considered due to the trauma (ED sees ~100,000 people/yr). Didn’t find impressive fellowship placements, and the name Wright State is not that well know either- in fact some confused it with another program having similar initials and the residents mentioned something about this on interview day, but not a horrible place if you want ortho. Program coordinator was a little on the unorganized side.


MATCHED at: program in my Top Tier!

A few pointers to the hopefuls without amazing stats, IT IS POSSIBLE TO GET ORTHO!Look at my stats and know that you can match ortho.

One suggestion is to look at places where your medical school has matched in the past and consider those places first before others. I say this because those residency programs are familiar with the quality of applicants that come out of your institution and therefore will not hesitate, as other programs might hesitate despite a flawless AI on your part, when considering where to rank you. However, that being said, don’t let this hold you back if you are really interested in a particular program (for whatever reason).

Think seriously about where you would want to match, BUT also be realistic about where you CAN match as well. Consider your application strengths and weaknesses and try to do as much as possible to improve the aspects you can.
You can match. Don’t overlook details, no detail is insignificant in my opinion, and you never know when it will make a difference. Be positive, a team player and do your best to go on as many interviews as you can (including pre-interview dinners) as long as you are interested in their program.

Thanks, Orthop0d, and congratulations!!

Boards: Step 1: 240s Step 2:250s
Rank: Top half of class
AOA: Nope
Ortho electives: 1 home 3 aways
Research: 4 projects, no pubs
Extracurriculars: a whole bunch...i'm serious like a ton. its all they talked about in my interviews

What I was looking for in a Program: I wanted a place that gave me good operative experience through out all of the subspecialties. I didn't want a place that would have me just getting in the OR by my 4th year. I also wanted a place that would set me up for an academic career, but that was well rounded enough that residents to leave and do private practice right out of residency if they wanted (without a fellowship). I also wanted to work with down to earth, cool residents.

# of Programs Applied to: 76
Offered Interviews: 15
Attended: 11



Tier 1:

Hopkins: Amazing hospital with unlimited resources. All services covered with peds and tumor being its strongest programs and trauma probably being its weakest. However the program is still in Baltimore, so you get a healthy amount of trauma. I was particularly impressed with their trauma attending who seems like a great guy to work with. The atmosphere wasn’t malignant at all. The residents were much cooler than you would expect and diverse too. You work extremely hard there but they also have 24 hour PA and NP coverage when you are on call to handle all the scut so at least you are doing educational stuff when on call. I guess the biggest detractor from Hopkins is that its in Baltimore and while they have regentrified the area, it is still either too dangerous to live or too expensive to live. They do have a good balance between supervised and unsupervised operative experience. For an academic program I was really pleased with how few fellows they had...only 1 peds fellow, 2 spine fellows (that take all the painful cases anyway, and only at the main hospital), and I think a Shoulder fellow that you barely interact with. Overall I was very impressed with how cool the residents were and how great the attendings were at a place that was so academic.

UVA: I love Charlottesville!!! For a family man there is no better place to raise a kid. Besides the city, the program was really strong in absolutely every way. First off the PD is the nicest man I’ve ever met and I would gladly train under him. Their residents are extremely smart but extremely chill and nice. Most of the residents have families. The resident pool is extremely diverse and the program seems more committed to it than other programs. While going away to Roanoke is somewhat a downer, they get so much operative experience there that the residents don’t want to cancel the rotation. The research opportunities there are limitless with the opportunity to write multiple book chapters with Dr. Miller. The residents get amazing fellowships and truly function on the national level.

Baylor: When I interviewed at this place I just couldn’t believe how amazing it was. I figured it was just “interview euphoria” so I went back to do a second look and I left even more impressed with the program than I was before. There are no residual effects of the split between Methodist and Baylor except that that the attendings who didn’t really like to teach residents anyway left and the ones that really enjoyed teaching stayed. The biggest draw of Baylor is the ABSOLUTELY INSANE amount of operative experience the residents get. By their chief year the residents were so comfortable in the OR that they were leading their juniors through pretty complex cases. Heck the PGY-3s were taking PGY-2s through cases without the attending in the room. At first I thought there might be too little supervision (which may have been true 5 yrs ago) but after my second look I was pretty sure that they only allowed you to do cases after you were competent with the procedure. Also, the residents do so many complex revisions their last year that they described it as a mini-fellowship. If you trained at this program who will be a very good surgeon, with no issues getting a good fellowship. I was also very impressed with their hospital system which had a modern EMR and PACS and an unlimited # of patients. Heck their VA hospital (where the residents basically run ortho service) is the second largest government building…second only to the Pentagon. The place is just humongous and really provides an awesome training environment. I could probably write 2 more paragraphs gushing about how great this program is but I will summarize to say that I would be very happy if I matched here. The only downsides would be that you have to work hard yourself to get research projects done as there isn’t dedicated time. Most of the residents go into private practice so if you are dead set on academics it may not be the best program to train at…although you can do academics if you chose because of the big names in Houston that you have access to.

Loma Linda: I think this program is truly the best kept secret in California. I would put them at #1 for shear operative volume out of all the Cali programs. Because it doesn't have that big of a name most folks wouldn't even think of it like that, but the program is very well balanced. Its a university program that operates more like a community program. Residents get to operate at the University Hospital, Children's hospital, VA Hospital, and County Hospital one on one with the attendings with no fellows present to interfere with their training. Their county hospital experience is amazing and they get a crazy amount of autonomy there with the attendings mostly popping their head in occasionally to make sure everything went well. Its a Christian hospital that doesn't shy away from that, which I think is a big sell. I especially liked their new chairman, Dr. Botimer, who is the most kind and compassionate chairmen I have met on the interview trail. The residents get great fellowships but not because they need to...they can operate VERY well right out of residency. They used to have all services covered except for tumor, but they just got a tumor guy so now the program is truly well covered. I guess the only con I could list about this program is that while research is encouraged, Loma Linda isn't an academic powerhouse, but I think you can publish papers if you work at it. I just can't say enough about how much I liked this program.

Tier 2:

Temple: This is a good inner city program with a lot of hands on operative experience. Its in the rough part of Philly with lots of shootings occurring 1 block away, but with that said, they really get a ton of trauma. For an inner city hospital their facilities look very good and new and the resident-attending interactions seemed to be very collegial. Even though Temple doesn’t seem to get a lot of recognition when compared to Jefferson or UPenn, some really big names have worked at Temple including Dr. Lachman (i.e.- the Lachman’s test). While they require you to do a research project, I get the feeling that research isn’t really that big of a deal there. It seems like the residents get a lot of their hands operative experience at the main hospital, because of its location. They also rotate at a bunch of community and children’s hospitals close by. Overall I was much more impressed with this program than I thought I would be and ranked them pretty high.

Atlanta Medical Center: This is a community program that isn’t really known too well but the residents get great…and I mean great operative experience. At their main hospital which is in midtown they basically get the same patients that Grady does without all the craziness that comes along with being at Grady. At their main hospital they have a big trauma guy Dr. Ziran, but I think the strength of their program is that they spend basically year 3-5 at other places working with big name guys one on one. Their hand doc is the team doc for the Atlanta Braves. Their sports guy is the team doc for the Atlanta Falcons. They do their peds rotation at the Children’s Hospital of Atlanta which is an amazing facility. The residents were super cool and really seemed like they got along well. They just opened up a new skills lab. They have dedicated ortho ORs which were paid for and designed by Stryker. Cons would probably be that the didactics could be stronger and most folks seem to go into private practice. But overall, if you just want to straight operate, this place is probably a good choice.

SUNY Buffalo: This program has Dr. Krackow, which automatically makes it a great place to train, lol. Honestly, I was actually surprised how much I liked this program. The residents were super cool and they operate A LOT, probably as much as Baylor. The city of Buffalo isn’t as bad as I thought, and is actually very pretty in the summer. The cost of living is great for those looking to buy a house or raise a family. Overall, I think it’s a program that I would be happy training at but the location drops it down in my list.

Monmouth: I must say that this truly is a great program for sheer operative experience. It's a small community program that only takes 2 residents a year. The program is staffed completely by private ortho guys. This is somewhat good and somewhat bad. It's good in that you have attendings teaching residents because they really want to not because they have to, but its bad in that the environment is not very academic at all. The biggest selling point of this program is their operative experience. Some of the interns were boasting about how they got to do a couple of cases without the attending in the room because they had done enough to be comfortable with the procedure. NJ isn't really a desirable state to live in but this hospital is located on the Jersey Shore which makes up for it, especially during the summer when Snookie is roaming around. The residents remarked repeatedly on interview day that if you were interested in research and publications that Monmouth may not be a fit for you. But if you wanted to be a operating machine by the time you graduate then they would be a good fit for you.


Tier 3

Howard: This is an academic program that has more of a community feel to me. Their operative volume is pretty low at their Howard hospital probably due to its proximity to Washington Hospital Center, but you only spend 3 months each year at that hospital. For the rest of the time they rotate at other hospitals and get great operative experience. Although I still felt like their overall operative volume was probably lower than average. The residents were very nice and were cool to hang out with, but I just didn’t get a vibe that I fit in.

UTMB: It’s a good program where the residents pride themselves in knowing how to operate. However I came away with the impression that they actually got a chance to chill way too much. They got a lot of vacation and call was pretty cush…so much so that call is OPTIONAL during intern year. They also have to drive around a lot as Hurricane Ike destroyed a lot of the hospital. I don’t know…it’s a good program, but I didn’t like it very much.

Henry Ford: I think this is the best programs in Detroit. While the city of Detroit sucks unless your family is there all the residents live 15 min away in Royal Oaks which is a nice suburbs. Their hospital is very large with great funding. They get funding for every book they would possibly ever need and the chairman there really seems like a resident advocate. They have a modern PACs system, an amazing simulation center, and pretty cush call schedule. They also have a pretty slick motion analysis lab and a research program that basically sets up a study for you without you having to do much work as a resident. The residents seemed very cool and the cost of living is great. I just can’t see myself in Detroit..its too cold and the city is too dead.

NOT RANKED: I ranked every program I interviewed at, as I think you should, especially in this competitive climate

Matched at: In my top tier.

My advice to future applicants:

You would be surprised at where you will match just by being a genuinely nice and cool person. At the end of the day, it seems like the residents and attendings cared a lot more about how hard working I was, how easy it was to hang out with me outside of the hospital, and what I listed under the interests sections of on my ERAS CV. They didn't mention my board scores, they didn't mention my resesarch, they didn't mention by 3rd year honors at all (even though I worked hard to do well in all those areas). So you read a lot on orthogate, but in the end remember that you need to be a cool and hard working student. You can have all the scores in the world, but if a resident or attending can't stand you for 30 days, what makes you think they will want you there for 5 years?

So study hard, get the good board scores, do the research, because I feel that at least got me through a lot of initial screens. Once I landed the interviews it was my character and work ethic that really helped me out. Those are both things that you can work on, so be encouraged and make sure you get as much advice from your upperclassmen who just matched as possible. Its always better to rotate at places you have a connection to (i.e.-family). Programs want to know that you will come there and having a concrete reason in addition to rotating there only helps your situation.

If you have any questions PM me on here or OrthoMatch forums. Congrats to everyone else that matched. I'm still celebrating!!!

Med School: Top 40, Public, In the west
Boards: Step 1: 251, Step 2: 243 (didn’t care…)
Rank: Top 25%, no official ranking
AOA: Nope
Preclinical Grades: Mostly Honors, with some High Pass Clinical Grades: All Honors except High Pass in FM and Peds
Sub-I x2: Home program and one away (Iowa).
Research: 5+ publications, abstracts, presentations, most ortho, one cardiac publication as an undergraduate.
Letters: 4 total letters; 1 home chair, 1 combined letter from two attendings/PIs, 1 well known trauma attending, 1 huge name from my away
Applied: 60
Offered: 37
Attended: 15, in order of attendance (Mizzou, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, UNC, Penn State, Iowa, Utah, Stanford, Texas A&M (S&W), Loma Linda, Oregon, Washington, UNM, BGSMC)
Canceled: 22 (JPS, Wayne State, USC, UCLA-Harbor, Cincinnati, Grand Rapids, Wright State, Kansas, Florida, Emory, Missouri-KC, Nebraska, Indiana, Baylor, SUNY, VCU, UVA, MCG, Oklahoma, Brown, UC-Irvine, AGMC) - Most cancellations were due to date conflicts, but 2-3 were canceled because I was simply burnt out.
Rejections: 23
Ranked 16: 15 + ranked one 6-year research track.
Rank criteria: balance of reputation, location (near family), cost of living (afford single family home), operative experience (broad exposure, early operative experience), lifestyle (prefer night float), rotations (prefer no away rotations, minimal clinical sites), felt like my personality fit well with faculty and residents, collegial attitude between residents and faculty.
BOTTOM LINE: Am I going to be well trained? Am I going to be able to live there for 5yrs? Do I like the people? Is my family going to be happy/safe?

Ranked alphabetically WITHOUT tiers…. IMHO, tiers are worthless. My tiers are not going to be the same as your tiers, and therefore pointless in my mind.

ARIZONA – Great program. Cohesive residents. Real nice PD that supports his residents to no end. Small program that seems to farm out the residents to the community guys to complete their experience. Tucson was a decent place with lots to do.

BGSMC (Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center) – Phoenix!! Nuff said. Newer community program with a very good, motivated PD. Most if not all sub-specialty training at Mayo-Scottsdale. Seemed to have a variable operative experience that was highly dependent on which attending you were operating with. I questioned the trauma experience…. There is something to be said about working your tail off doing consults and reductions in the ED but I got the impression that these guys don’t get that experience…

IOWA – (Ranked this program #2) Rotated here. Loved it! This program strikes the perfect balance between academics and operative experience. Residents are very comfortable in the OR, often times operating by themselves as PGY4-5s. Great attendings that love to teach. There are quite a few big names with a rich orthopaedic academic history. Iowa City, not much going on if you are single, but the college town atmosphere is enough to keep it on the radar. If you are married and looking for a nice, safe town for the family this is definitely the place for that.

LOMA LINDA – Decent program. Really nice residents. Interview day was a little…weird. Maybe only because I had never been asked about my spirituality in an interview before. I guess it comes with the territory though. In the end, these guys seemed well trained. Meatless meatballs made out of walnuts, tofu enchiladas for lunch was the deal breaker for me….

MICHIGAN – Very well-balanced program. Great leadership in Drs. Carpenter and Dougherty. This program is expanding this year from 6 spots to 8. Should be interesting to see how it is implemented. I got the impression that some of the residents were weary of the change. As a part of this change residents will be working more at one of the community hospitals. Residents seemed happy. Ann Arbor is a lot nicer than I expected. Its definitely not Detroit despite it proximity. The residents here are probably the best paid, most well taken care of in the country. Great benefits and salary due to the effects of the implementation of a resident union. This program was near the top of my list nearly the whole time, but much like Wisconsin fell down the list because of concerns my wife had….

MIZZOU – This was my very first interview. Didn’t know what to expect… Got to the get-together the night before and at that point all the applicants were informed that the program was on probation. This was a turn off. I must admit. But, the interview day was actually very good. They were very forthcoming regarding why the program was placed on probation. There has been a leadership overhaul and the new PD and chair were really great guys. Chairman seemed to have a vision for the program. They have a brand new ortho hospital that was really nice. Residents were good people.

NEW MEXICO – Well-balanced program. Almost seemed like Wisconsin and Utah’s little brother program. The only difference being the less desirable city, Albuquerque and less well known faculty. This program was impressive though. I ended up ranking it higher on my list because I liked the people (residents, attendings, PD) a lot.

OREGON – (Ranked this program #3) Great northwest program. Maybe a little over shadowed by UW to the north, especially with respect to trauma. Trauma does seem adequate however with both the OHSU and Legacy Emanuel Hospital experiences (both Trauma 1 centers). Likely a lot of bicycle trauma given Portland’s reputation as the most bicycle friendly city in the U.S. Drs. Yoo & Hart have been working hard to improve this program. Many new, future all-star, attendings that like to teach. I got the impression that their joints experience is on the up and ups with addition of a new motivated faculty member. Known for good spine experience if you are into that sort of stuff…. Great outdoor location. Lots of biking, hiking, skiing within hours of Portland. The residents were a great group of people and seemed very knowledgeable. Definitely the kind of people you would want to work with as well as hang out with at the end of the day. On the downside it rains A LOT. I felt like I could/would be happy and thrive here as a resident.

PENN STATE – The town of Hershey reeks of chocolate, so that’s a plus… The program seems to be fairly strong. Very good, down to earth leadership in Dr. Black (Chair). Interview day was panel type interviews and was awkward for many of the applicants I talked to. In one of my interviews a certain hand attending literally sat there said not one word and stared at me with a look of disapproval. Whatever though. Overall, this program seems to turns out good surgeons.

STANFORD – Great program. The PD, Dr. Cheng, was a really nice guy. He is young and was even seen dancing at the end of the get-together on interview weekend. (It was hilarious!) This program is on the up and ups and will soon be, if not already, a big player in the orthopaedic arena. It’s weakness is trauma. Trying to improve this experience with the Santa Clara rotation, but I was unable to adequately gauge their trauma experience based on talking to residents. However, any other sub-specialty is well represented and likely a strength to the program. Palo Alto is beautiful, but is an extremely expensive place to live. This is a potential deal breaker for many.

TEXAS A&M (Scott & White) – This place is a hidden gem. I went out there not knowing what to expect and was blown away. Easily the best group of residents I met. Tight knit, cohesive group that work and play hard together. These guys operate a ton and have fun doing it. When they are done for the day they go home to their families or go out wakeboarding/waterskiing on Lake Belton just outside of town. Temple is a small town, but very livable. Drs. Probe (Chair and next years OTA president) and Rahm (PD) were really nice guys who work hard to make sure their residents are competent. Whatever it is they do, it seems to work. Great, great program. Would have loved to match there.

UNC (5 + 6yr research track) – Probably a little over shadowed by Duke and Wake so not as well regarded, but definitely a great program. Good leadership. Mentorship model that seems to work well for them. Chapel Hill is a nice college town. Residents…. Well, I just didn’t get the best impression from them. At the get-together the night before a bunch of them just came in and hung out over in the corner by themselves and didn’t care to talk to applicants. On the other hand there were a few that went out of their way to talk to applicants. Sounds like their intern year is super laid back.

UTAH – (Ranked this program #1) Hands down the most well-balanced program I saw. Balance, balance, balance, in all aspects of the program. Balance in attendings (young v. old), (big names v. future all-stars), Balance in exposure. (all sub-specialties well represented with multiple exposures throughout the 5yrs). Balance in residents. (all types of characters makes it a fun group to work with). Unique trauma experience in that there is lots of interstate trauma coupled with recreational trauma (skiing, climbing, hiking, etc.). I have no idea why this program is not considered Top 5-10 by more people. Nice ortho specialty hospital, “the bone palace” apart from the main hospital with ~5 ORs that are efficiently run with quick OR turnover. Lots of fellows but doesn’t seem to directly impact the resident experience.

WASHINGTON – Undoubtedly one of the strongest orthopaedic programs in the west if not in the entire country. No doubt that you will come away from this program extremely well trained, especially in trauma. Harborview is a trauma gem. This hospital receives more trauma in single day than most trauma 1 centers receive in a weeks time. However, some of the other sub-specialties (sports, joints) are not as strong. Seems as though they work the s**t out of there junior residents, but lifestyle improves to some degree as a senior. COL is a little on the expensive side especially if you are a family man/woman. Seattle seems like a great place to live. On the down side it rains a lot and traffic is horrible.

WISCONSIN – Super well-balanced program. Great faculty. Awesome residents. This place was one of my top choices for the longest time, but in the end the freezing cold weather was a huge factor for my wife… lame I know. Had it not been a factor this place would have been in my top 3 without a doubt.

Results: I matched in my top 3 and couldn’t be more thrilled!! Can’t wait to get started.

Advice/Suggestions: Chillax, the majority of you are going to be orthopaedic surgeons. Don’t let anyone tell you that certain programs are better than others, etc. Your #1 goal is to find one that fits you best. Its not always going to be the HSS, Mayo or WashU…. Ask yourself what is important to you and go get it. Be a nice person, easy to talk to, and most of all be true to yourself.
For you married guys/gals. You may notice that quite a few programs (Stanford, Michigan, Wisconsin) fell down my list for what may seem to be lame reasons (Climate, Location, COL, etc). But, in the end you and your SO/ spouse/family need to be happy or it will be a long 5 years.
Cheers,

B4B out

Med School: Mid-Atlantic, not a top research institution, unknown at some interviews
Boards: 260’s
Rank: Top ten, but unreported (Campbell Clinic was the only institution who seemed to care about this)
AOA: Junior
Preclinicals : 1 pass, 2 hp, rest honors
Clinicals: 1 hp, rest honors
Ortho: honors at home and 1 away
Research: undergrad projects, but nothing in med school. No pubs / presentations
Extracurriculars: weak at best. Mostly hobbies and some unique projects I’ve put together for my own shits and giggles

What I was looking for in a Program: Numero uno: laid back residents and faculty. Faculty who were obviously striving to put together a top notch curriculum for the residents, including early surgical exposure and opportunity to take on responsibility early. Also, I wanted to see that the curriculum was constantly evolving; that the PD was willing to axe a rotation that the residents didn’t like. Strong didactics lead primarily by faculty. Rotations with exposure to private orthopaedics practice. Location close to the coast and south of Philly so I can actually enjoy it. Im not looking to do research, and may go into community practice after 5 years.

How many Programs:
Applied to: low 50’s
Offered Interviews: 27
Attended: 17

** Except for the first two, the following descriptions were written the day / day after my interview **

Tier 1: (translation: “holy sh*t if I match here…”)

Duke: This is an interview you will remember, as they aim to impress. Residents and PD learn all of your names prior to interview day. Very friendly group of faculty and residents; I don’t remember feeling intimidated by any of the interviews (2 faculty, 1 chief, 1 with chair). During the interviews, the PD will come around and try to get to know each and everyone of the applicants. Buddy of mine rotated here and was very impressed. I wasn’t too happy about the 6 mo away rotation that (I think..) you do as a 4. Everyone seems to think that you either need to do an away or “second look” to match here, as well as have a “you’re my number one” chat with the program heads. This was a big turnoff to me, so I didn’t do a second look, but still ranked it high.

Vandy: Nashville is a great city and I would have been stoked to land here. Residents all seemed nice, and faculty seemed resident oriented. Well rounded program with a name that will take you anywhere.

Campbell Clinic: Another top notch place to do residency. Huge program with 40 residents and 42 staff. Big pluses include about a 60-40 academic-private practice experience, and the private experience is in a mentorship model like UNC. This place has roots, as the oldest ortho residency program, and it is retooled for perfection. PD is a young guy, super enthusiastic, graduated in 2004. Would be great to work with. All sub specialties represented with at least 3 fellowship trained guys. Residents seem to get along great within their classes, but I wasnt able to see much interaction between classes. Social could have had better turnout - probably 10-15 showed up and some just hung out amongst themselves. The guys I did meet were pretty laid back. They admit they work their asses off at the community hospital but things get much easier as a 3 and beyond. One negative is that if you lived in the middle of all of the rotation locations, youd be 15 min commute to all locations. Traffic isnt too bad and housing is super cheap. Everyone seems to like Memphis, saying it shouldn’t have the bad rep it has developed. Youd go anywhere for fellowship from this place, and some still going strait into general practice. Great surgical experience from what seem like level-headed guys.

Orlando: A very impressive interview day/social. Orlando was beautiful - 80 degrees and sunny in the middle of Januray. Downtown is big enough to have great options, but not big enough to feel crowded, dirty, etc. Night life a plus here. The program seems to be a great mix of community and academic experience, including recent acquisition of Koval. PD is one of the most laid back faculty met yet, saying “your board scores are stupid!” Residents all incredibly nice, Id say top notch compared to other programs. Early op experience, as residents start taking ortho call alone half way through the intern year. Only away rotation is 3 mo of tumor in Tampa, less than an hour away. Housing set up if you want it, but all weekends are free to come back home. This is done as a 4. Faculty take huge amts of pride is setting up the perfect schedule and listen to the residents. First year touted as very lax/doable. Most live within 10-15 min commute and traffic is easy to get around. Housing is cheap, most with houses. Half married and of those, half have kids but still great guys that enjoy hanging out. 50 min from cocoa beach, 1.5 hrs from the gulf coast. Not a big name in research but this may be changing, now with Koval on staff. Trauma heavy - residents say that without a doubt their 5’s could take on a fellowship trained surgeon. Coming from this program, I’d have no problem with this as my number one - Orlando would be a great place to live for 5 years!

UNC: Best program yet. Top notch program structure and faculty who can be looked up to. Preceptorship structure allows for incredibly early operative experience with NO double scrubbing. Didactics are strong – in fact, chair specifically mentioned that daily lectures are NOT given by residents. Beautiful campus. Parking on site, and furthest rotation site is 15 min commute from campus for 3 months. PD and Chair are both excellent. Residents very easy to get along with. Housing is incredibly cheap, and the area is beautiful. Hospital is in the black, and residents got a 1K bonus last year. 1K a year given for loupes, books, etc, whatever the resident wants. Food money given. About 4 hours from the Outer Banks, NC.

UVA: Very impressive group of residents and faculty who love the program. C’ville is a great place to live, and most residents find affordable housing both close and far from the hospital. Parking is paid for, and very convenient. Most facilities have been remodeled. Personal call rooms are brand new for the residents, including TVs, computers, and a gym. Will be integrating epic EMR over next 6 mo. 21 faculty in c’ville and 18 in roanoke where the majority of the trauma experience occurs over 40 weeks (split into 4 blocks, 2 as a 3 and 2 as a 4.). Residents seem to love the experience, where they have more autonomy and “pick what cases they want to do for the day,” as there are more attendings than residents here. Housing is set up in Roanoke. Intern year seems manageable. Vacation stated as 4 weeks + holidays as a 2 and beyond, but a resident said he didnt think this was true. Call is at home by the time you are a 3, unless you are at roanoke. Residents log a shit ton of cases, avg 2500 + at least 350 or more per year of working at roanoke. 75% for salaries nationwide, starting around 50K. Half of the cost of loupes paid for. Book allowance. 5 year accredidation with no citations.

Tier 2: (translation: “Would be stoked to have matched here “)

Jefferson: A “baller” program in the Northeast which recently stole a number of docs from UPenn. Faculty in all supspecialties except for onc and foot/ankle are leaders in the field and extremely well-published. Interview days was very efficiently run, and staff was nice. Program coordinator could have been friendlier but was obviously a bit stressed out trying to run the day. 50% of the residents were friendly, 50% were obviously not happy to be running an interview tour for a second day in a row. Although they seemed to get along great within each class, they really didnt seem like my type of guys. They obviously think very highly of themselves - as this is a top notch program. Vaccaro wrote a shit ton of books on spine, and spine is huge here. Also very good in joints and shoulder. PD and Chair also very nice but very focused on making/keeping this place a big research institution. Seemed to be much more academically oritented than I would like. 6 mo rotation at du Pont for peds also a negative. Trauma light. Philly wouldnt be a bad place to live, but not ideal. Most residents find what they are looking for when it comes to living situation. You can get a house but are looking at a 30 min commute. You wont get early op experience here. From other Jeff students, 2s arent even getting involved, so surgical skills are picked up later in the process. 2s are still managing floors.

UF Gainesville: Very well respected and well rounded program. Super well known in the oncology dept. All services well staffed except for peds, but this will change next summer with new faculty lined up. All facilities within about 10 minutes drive of one another. OSMI and South Tower are new additions with super nice facilities and resources for the residents, including a cadaver and skills lab. Faculty and residents seem to get along great, and residents are pretty laid back but know their shit cold. A couple of the 2’s talk about starting TKA’s up to the femoral cut without an attending in the room... sound more like 4’s. Lots of resources available: money for books, classes, loupes, and a push for ipads for journal clubs. PD and Assistant PD are both super down to earth and take a lot of pride in the program. PD is now the interim chair but probably soon to be chair. Gainesville is a small town driven by UF and sports. Lifestyle of residents also seems great - good parking nearby. On trauma as a 2 you do 6 months, half of which is a night float system. 2 weeks nights, 2 weeks days, and you swap. On the swap you get a “golden” 3 day weekend. The float service ensures that on every other service as a resident, your day always ends by 7PM. Good “fit” with the existing residents... everyone super nice.

Miami: Large program with 7 residents a year, but smaller number of faculty in the low twenties. In the heart of miami, surrounded by everything and anything. Residents are incredibly cohesive and seem to get great op experience. They think the program may be a bit trauma heavy but none of the specialties are under-represented. Most residents live in high rise appartments, some right on the beach. A number of them have houses, but it’s a minority. Some appartments are “dog friendly” - but this would be a major limitation living in such a big city. Social held right on the water at “the flamingo” apartment, many small dogs running around the grounds. Will have to do more research RE program outline via web and handouts. Resident led intro this afternoon a B+, but would have been better to hear from the PD. Hard to forget the evening after interviews; residents all super nice and love living the high life. A number of the faculty made it to the party, cheersing applicants. Residents seem to get along great with the faculty, and they seem receptive to suggestions for change. Easy parking for residents, and cheap. Negatives: no need to party like a rock star every night, older buildings, still transitioning to EMR, high cost of living. Major positives: great residents, great faculty still seem to love working with the residents, enthusiastic coordinator, some of the best benefits.

UT Chattanooga: A smaller community program surrounded by the mountains. 3 residents per year, and all seem very tight knit. Most are married and many have kids. All the wives were also out at the social and seem to get along great. All specialties covered but onc (shared with Vandy). Residents say that they score in the 98% on the OITEs regardless of the lack of onc faculty. No night float system but the residents seem to want it that way. Each month, the residents meet with the chair and PD to discuss changes to the program, and it sounds like they are very receptive - recently axing an away rotation for peds because no good op experience. Residents operate early with great autonomy and love the interaction with the faculty. Faculty are mostly on a “texting” and first name basis with many of the residents. You wont get a top fellowship from this institution but you will land a respected program. High % of grads go into private, general ortho. Senior levels say that they get awesome exposure to bread and butter cases, preparing them for the general world. Lower pay here (45K to start), but housing is cheap, most buying places within 10 - 15 min of the hospital. Parking is free and plenty of money for on call meals. Chat looks like a great place to live. Activities are great here. Almost never double scrubbed, and although there are 4 spine faculty here, there is NO spine call! Residents give out teaching awards each year, and the faculty seemed geared towards teaching; letting the resident struggle with a case for the learning experience. At the interview, PD and Chair were some of the most down to earth, and all of the interviewers were very nice. Kiner asked “whats the weirdest place youve ever taken a shit?”.... def a laid back traumatologist. Benefits for this program is off the chart - about 1K for moving expenses, covered lead and loupes, no income tax in tennessee, hosp. pays social security tax, etc. etc adds up to about $68K for the first year. Residents love having a good time and fucking with the applicants. All interns, 2s, and 3s seem like great guys to learn under. Still using paper charts on many rotations, but transitioning to cerner. Residents prefer the paper charts, and they dictate clinic notes. Even though there is a trauma fellow, residents get to tell him what cases they want; they say this is a resident program, not a fellow program, and thus, they get to pick cases OVER the fellow.

Tier 3: (translation: “Hey… I guess it’s better than not matching?”)

San Antonio: Another trauma heavy program with some big names that seem to help launch fellowships. Resident turn out at the social (PhD’s house) could have been better but the ones that showed up were super nice. From a 2, program has a slack intern year and a 2nd year that isnt as taxing as most. Trauma is incredibly busy but on other private rotations you are doing 40 hour weeks apparently. Older facilities could be nicer but aren’t terrible, and a new tower is being added which would be done by late residency. Parking is good, and housing is incredibly cheap. Many buy nice size houses within 15 min drive for less than 150K. PD/Chair could have been a bit more personable (scratch that… a LOT more personable…), but met with many faculty (18 freaking interviews) and most were very nice. Trauma guy seems like a hard ass, and two PhD’s seem to think they are key to the program. Residents all involved in the interview process at all levels, so likely they have a lot of input when it comes to rank list. Cons: weaker spine (4 mo) and foot/ankle is done in the private community as opposed to the hospital. Most residents were nice but some slightly standoff-ish. Some seen on tour of hospital that didn’t bother to say hey. Coordinator could have been nicer but seemed on top of things. Chair is not the most friendly person Ive met.. but not outwardly rude. Lots of overweight staff/faculty. Large city but a small town feel, everyone says its a “Slower” city with little hassle/traffic. 3 hours from the beach. Residents seem to love it here, and each year has 1 who goes community. Only 1 in the past 6 years failed boards, and there are 6 in a class. Website sucks and little info given in the handout today. No formal presentation by the staff, just a few guys standing up and saying “hey, welcome.” Also, apparently mormons are shoe-ins here, so a large # of the residents are probably well into developing families.

Georgetown: Another “blue colar” program in downtown DC. Residents are well trained in all areas, but probably less than others in sports. The sports exposure is currently being revamped. A number of “sites” are used throughout the program, and most are within 20 min drive. One 3 mo rotation at dupont for peds during 4th year, but you live in a town house with 3 others. Residents usually make it home on the weekends during this rotation, which is 2 hours drive away. Program is small on research, a plus. Most residents live within close prox to the hospital, which can get expensive. However, plenty live in VA b/c they want more space, and the commute is around 10 minutes in the am. Very inbred program, keeping at least 2 of 4 spots from GT. Chair is super nice, as most of the interviews. However, a couple of negatives: Residents share some of the rotation sites with GW and Howard residents, Grey haired doc (foot/ankle) is fucking crazy, DeBritz tried his hardest to be a DB, and although the PD originally seemed cool he decided to line up 4 interviewees at the end of the day to discuss politics for 45 minutes. Dude – I don’t watch CNN, and couldn’t care less RE cap and trade, Sarah Palin for president, other bullsh*t topics. Most residents friendly, but not very impressive. I wouldnt see myself hanging out with some of the residents that were at the social event and for the tour. Some were very nice, though. Many of these guys get top fellowships, and seem well trained by pgy4. Parking is at most hospitals. Exposure to many different patient populations at different sites. Area around georgetown was very nice. Also, strict RE dress code here, req’ing residents in a tie when coming into the hospital, even if in the OR that day. BTW – some will show you an xray of a dog with 2 hip replacements… act surprised to see it. Needless to say this place was close to the bottom of my ROL.

Penn State: Very well rounded program in the middle of the “country.” All specialties well represented, and incredible chair and pd in place. Chair does research on how residents learn and presents to other PD’s - so hes a huge advocate. Resident group one of the best Ive seen so far; incredibly laid back but hard working. These guys are mostly married and many have kids. All their time is spent on campus with the exception of 3 mo. in Harrisburg which is only 20 min drive away. Hospital and other facilities look renovated within the last 5 years. Housing in the area incredibly cheap. Considering low cost of living, they pay extremely well, starting around 47K. Interview more “stern” than others, but many faculty seem friendly. One of the two interview rooms def. attempted to make you feel out of place; never smiling at your answers, looking like you just killed their dog... Joints and sports are huge at this place, but all other specialties covered. Only specialty with less than 3 is onc. Residents are super tight and seem to love the program. Major problems: you really feel like you are in the middle of nowhere, and residents are all fairly settled down. But, it looks like you get great training at this place. If the location was better Id say this is definitely top tier. Accredidation for next 5 years, no citations. One negative: it seemed like there were quite a few residents that ended up there even though it was lower on their ROL.

MCG: Not as good a “fit” as other programs but likely also secondary to “interview trail burnout” over the past week. Well rounded with exception of foot/ankle. 3 residents per year, but likely to take 1 MCG (of 17 going ortho) grad and 1 DO grad. May expand to 4 per year this year, and web site should state the status of this by end of Jan. All rotations on campus, and most live within 5-10 min drive. No traffic in augusta. Faculty all very nice and seem to get along well with the residents. They claim no malignant personalities at this place. Residents mostly southern, hard workers, married, many with kids. Not trauma heavy. No night float. No folder/marketing info given to applicants today. No meeting with the PD, which was very odd, although chair is nice and had applicants to his house for the social. Residents are double scrubbed on most cases. Everyone shows up to conference at 630 AM and no one prerounds before this time. Loupes/Lead paid for, no book funds. Avg starting salary and most buy without problem. Not a “work your ass off” type of program, per residents. Augusta looks nice. Prox. to the beach is very good, within 2-3 hours drive. 2.5 hours from atlanta. More of a “family” type of place.

George Washington: Well-rounded program in downtown DC. Residents are all great, seem to get along great, and really took a lot of time to get to know the applicants. No longer have a 6 mo rotation at NIH, seen as a downer by the residents. Now with a 3 mo research rotation during the third year. Campus area really nice, and residents live all over the place. Many in VA commute around 25 minutes but some live across from the hospital. Price of living is expensive but doable, esp. because PGY1 starts at 50K salary. Only 1K given for books/loupes for the total 5 year period. Chair/PD is the same guy and a jackass to the residents, even during interview day. 3 weeks vacation plus holidays. Intern year quoted as very slack, only on call once a week and during ortho 3 weeks you have weekends off. All residents spoke of supurb hands-on experience which starts earlier than anywhere else. Many residents seem to have matched here after ranking the program lower on their list, given wide variety of hometown locations. Many women in the program but all really nice during the stay. All rotations within the DC area. Residents dont mind working with georgetown residents but say its a “Beatdown” type of program. All in all a good, middle of the road program with great experience. Residency coordinator leaves much to be desired. DC has much to do and may be very exciting for 5 years, although traffic is def a negative.

UC Davis: Well-respected program in not-the-best location, but close to numerous top notch destinations. Definitely a trauma heavy program, and the traumatologists are well-known geniuses. Weakest in joints, F&A, Onc; although they recently hired another joint specialist and the F&A attending is world class. Tamurian recently left for private practice, and it didn’t seem like they were actively recruiting for onc. Facilities are top notch and everything is on EPIC. Residents mostly top notch – some of the juniors definitely took a couple of tries to get accepted. Chiefs all seem very impressive and get top fellowships. Although research is not heavy, they require 3 published projects, of which 2 can be smaller like case reports. Apparently the PhD and research track residents make it easy to find projects to fill the requirements. No money for loupes, but plenty of money for food. Pay excellent and most live within 10-15 min commute although you can live closer if you want. DiCesare really wants to see this program climb the ranks and is looking to greatly expand research to make this happen. PD seems incredibly dedicated/invested in education.

Ranked: 19 (2 6 years)
NOT RANKED – Are you crazy? I saw a couple lack-luster programs, but I would have rather matched than do this whole process over again.

Matched at: Top tier

My advice to future applicants:
- Ask for many LOR’s, and start early during 3rd year if possible. But, don’t worry if you are a bit behind, as I didn’t get any ortho LOR’s until early 4th year. You never know who has connections that you could use.
- Look at the CV of each of your letter writers to see where they have connections, and based on those connections, be strategic when determining which letters to send to each of your programs.
- Go on as many interviews as you can schedule. Before the interview offers start coming in, make a calendar with 2011’s interview dates for all of the schools you applied to. That way, when offers come in, you can start lining up interviews on less popular days, saving some of the more popular days for later in the process.
- Everyone says “I went on X interviews and then cancelled the last few”… remember, you might be incredibly surprised by a program later on the trail. My last interview ended up #1 on my list.
- Take notes on programs right after the interview day. When it comes to making the rank list, most of the order will come together without difficulty, but some programs may be hard to place above one another. Your notes will remind you how you felt right after the dust settled, and I found this to be a huge asset.
- Send thank you emails to programs you like, and programs you don’t. Keep a record of your emails, so that as you go through the trail, you can start copying and pasting more of your thank you’s. Not only do some people think this is a must, it opens the door to see if any of the faculty will volunteer how much they want your balls.
- Everyone says that their intern year is slack, so don’t let this factor in. No one says they have a hard intern year… seriously.
- #1: Enjoy the interview trail!!!! I spent almost 5 grand in expenses and have no regrets. Have fun at socials, not only with the current residents, but with the other applicants. Try not to feel like you are in competition…
- Don’t overanalyze your interview performance. I always felt like I aced interviews that I didn’t care about – whereas I was nervous as sh*t during interviews at programs that I was interested in, and felt my performance was much lower. I ended up matching at a program at the top of my list, and felt like I bombed the interview. You never know what people are looking for – so try not to let it get to you!

1. Take notes immediately after each interview
2. If you have any say on when you schedule interviews, realize that you will interview your best at your last interview
3. Go to all pre-interview receptions and write thank-you notes...think of it this way, if you're going to spend the money and time to go to an interview, you need to make that program think they're your number one choice. That doesn't mean to lie; it just means be respectful and act interested.
4. If you love a place where you didn't rotate, do a 2nd look

found this thing helpful when i was applying-

Med School: Top 10 USNWR
Boards: 240, 262
Rank: top half
AOA: nah, see below
Preclinicals: half honors
Clinicals: H in Psych. HP everything else
Ortho: H x 3 (2 aways)
Research: Posters from undergrad; 3 ortho projects started in 3rd year yielding 11 items in research category (abstracts, posters, podiums, manuscripts)
Extracurriculars: not really

LETTERS***: This is the most important part of the process. Getting strong letters (from well know or lesser known orthopods) is key. To get an outstanding letter 1. Work you ass off, 2. Don’t be a dbag, 3. Never show off, just know the answer when it is asked, 4. Take more call than your R2 and never go home early post-call, 5. Pick up research projects during 3rd year w your attendings and effing DELIVER. These things make the difference between “best student in 5 years” vs “top 10% of students” Strong relationships open doors.

What I was looking for in a Program:
1. Operative experience
2. Research

How many Programs:
Applied to: 50
Offered Interviews: 25ish
Attended: 13

Tier 1: in no order

Pitt: Solid, top tier program. Cool residents. Lots of operating, ‘blue collar’ attitude. 5 and 6 year tracks are good for research interest, but seem to split the classes up a bit. Rotate at lots of good hospitals, w a good mix of University setting and private practice type.
Stanford: Liked it. Seemed like all the residents were from Stanford (undergrad/med) found that kinda weird. Nice location, don’t want to live an an apartment, and no Jr VA experience.
Iowa: One of the best, if not the best. Location makes it easiest for married ppl; all fields covered, pleanty of operating, leaders in all fields, 2 mo of research in yrs 3 and 4
Vandy: Similar to the 3 above, perhaps stronger in trauma. Lots of hospital benefits, strong research. Nashville is sweet- not too many residents at the dinner so cannot comment. Also, the entire trauma dept left recently, so all attendings are like 2 yrs out of fellowship.
CMC: Operating is a def strength- Charlotte seemed like a nice place. Very southern/boys club type of feel. Everyone is really good at golf there too. 1 year research fellowship available between 1-2 I think

Tier 2:
HSS: strong research; not sure how much operating residents get. No thanks living in an apt in NYC for 5 yrs. Fellowship please?
Yale: the most research time iv seen. Time at st Rayfields?SP is like an operating suite- round, then operate all day while PA’s run the floors. No thanks to Newhaven
Duke: A top program, I liked the location. Seemed like seniors were taking too much in house call, not sure how that works. 6 months in Ashville or Atlanta was a minus. 2nd look pressure was a turnoff
Case: Solid program++ op experience, ++research. Couldn’t do Cleveland tho.

Tier 3:
Beaumont: Cool location in a weird/depressed state. Royal Oak was full of young ppl on the social. If you want to operate a ton in a REALLY nice hospital with good benefits, go here. Research was not strong enough for me.
Jefferson: Strong reputation/research. Got interviewed by one prick that turned me off to the program. Seems like op experience is adequate
Tufts: +++working at NE Baptist (the reason I went on the interview), 1/3 of time at community hosp (+Operating), and 1/3 time at Tufts (pretty weak). No thanks boston
JPS: Most benefits anywhere- PGY 4’s and 5’s average about 90Grand/yr with extra jail clinics and football games. Tons of operating time, reputation and research were weak.



My advice to future applicants: see above “letters” section

Med School:Texas
Boards: Step 1:232; Step 2: 262
Rank: 1/225
AOA: yes
Preclinicals: 4.0
Clinicals: 4.0
Ortho: Away x 2; Home x 3
Research: Poster presentation/case report during MS1 summer and research projects from college

Extracurriculars: Typical medical school stuff (volunteering and admissions help), college football player

What I was looking for in a Program:
I wanted a well balanced program with facets of private care along with county care. Autonomy as a resident in the OR was big on my list. Great people to work with who were casual and wanted to teach. I also wanted enough research to help with fellowship applications, but I also wanted operating and clinical skills to take priority over research.

How many Programs:
Applied to: 45ish
Offered Interviews:25ish
Attended:12

(Programs listed in no particular order)

Campbell Clinic- I felt very comfortable with the people there. Great balance and operative experience. Good mix of county care with private care. Not a huge emphasis on research, but a lot of support staff to help you publish if you need to. I felt like there was an overall "boys club" feel, and everyone wanted to learn and work hard. Downside can be living in Memphis for some people and the amount of driving between the hospitals you cover.

Vanderbilt- Interviewed here. I didn't like the interview day b/c you don't necessarily meet the chair and PD personally. I felt like everyone there was very intent on doing things "the Vanderbilt Way." Everyone was very nice, and they have a very diverese group of residents. Good operative experience. I didn't think Nashville was as great as everyone else thought. Also, they seem pretty laid back.

Florida (Gainesville)- Really great program. You have to like living in a college town. They have some issues right now getting a peds guy, so make sure that the issue is addressed. The staff are really fun to work with and the majority of the residents are great. They have new facilities that are awesome. I felt like the junior residents had to do a ton of dispo/SW- like stuff there in comparison to other programs. The tumor guys and the trauma guy Vlasak are awesome. So is the shoulder/elbow guy. I felt like they were a little trauma light and I felt like they did more minimally invasive spine stuff than traditional open.

Carolinas- Really enjoyed this program. Great operative experience. The hand guy Gaston is unbelievable. The PD Frick is also awesome to work with. They have conference Q am at 0630 so they round on trauma at 0430. Also, you must be in shirt and tie at all times. There is a big up east influence vs a traditional southern program in terms of formality. A great program, but not for everyone.

Greenville- A program that I really enjoyed interviewing at. They are a community program, so if becoming chair at an academic institution is your goal this might not be the place for you. They have a lot of perks for the residents and the community is a small town feel. I really enjoyed the residents who I met there.

Oklahoma- I really enjoyed the people. Very well balanced an cheap to live in OKC. The majority of their joint experience comes from the VA. They could also use another hand surgeon. I really liked the residents and the faculty. The chair is a cool guy. They produce a lot of guys to go out and practice in their communities and are dedicated to doing that.

Loyola- I felt like it was pretty well balanced overall. Chicago can be intimidating, yet great. The chair there is a famous hand guy. I felt like residents got good fellowships. The residents said the OR experience was pretty good. I felt like they had some holes in a few places.

Case Western- Really nice people and great name in academics. 2 people have to do a research year, so I wasn't all that hot on the idea. I wasn't interested in doing a ton of research. I think their OR experience is really good and they get a varied experience. Some rotating med students question OR autonomy there outside of trauma (but I can't say this for a fact). Dr. Marcus is an awesome man who seems to really care about his residents and their concerns. Residents were really nice there. Cleveland doesn't seem as bad as everyone thinks.

Kentucky- Dr. Milbrandt (PD) is a really nice guy. They seem to get a lot of trauma there, where the residents seem to get quite a bit of autonomy. The chair is really big on sports. I feel like you'd get a great sports fellowship out of there. Until recently, they didn't have a tumor guy. Lexington is a really cool city with the University there.

UTSW- Very trauma heavy. The residents seemed pretty nice. It worried me that they did not have an orthopaedic foot/ankle surgeon on staff. They got f/a from podiatrists and trauma. The chair is dedicated more to research than the previous people. They have a cool rotation as a senior where you can go to Europe and work in the UK (I think).

Arkansas- Very nice people. You have to be ok with living in Little Rock. They have all subspecialties covered pretty well. There were some chiefs going to great fellowships.

UTHSCSA- Program with a lot of rich heritage. Rockwood, Greene, DeLee, Wilkins, Morrey etc. This program is going through a big transition. The chair is no longer there, and the interim chair has now stepped in. I'm not sure how active the chair is with the residency program. There are some really great younger faculty there. You won't find a better S/E experience and the new young joints guy is great. The residency has shifted from play hard/work hard to more families. They have also taken a couple of FMG's over the past couple of years. The trauma is plentiful and a strength, but can also be painful at times. F/A and spine and sports are with private attendings in the community (the amount you get to do seems varied). Research is not that robust.


Matched at: My first pick

My advice to future applicants:
-Look... you'll get a gut feeling about a place. I went with my gut feeling. Don't get wrapped up with the doctor's lounge food and perks that some places have. Go where you like the people and you like the education.
-Do aways to see for yourself. You might be pleasantly surprised or places might not be what you think they are. Regardless, bust your butt on any rotation. No one expects you to know anything, but they expect you to work hard.
-Don't let anyone pressure you into a situation. Do what you want at the end of the day.
-Never count yourself out anywhere. I got a call from a program that I thought I had no chance at. You just never know.

Med School: Top 25 US News
Boards: Step 1: 245-250, step 2 not taken
Rank: Top 20
AOA: no
Preclinicals: Mostly Honors
Clinicals: All Honors, except one HP (not surgery)
Ortho: Honors x3 (home and both aways)
Research: no publications, 1 poster, 2 presentations, a couple ongoing projects
Extracurriculars: Collegiate athlete, bioethics stuff

What I was looking for in a Program: Great operative experience, strong research, excellent fellowship program


How many Programs:
Applied to: 70-80
Offered Interviews: 30
Attended: 15+

Tier 1:
Mayo- 1 on1 experience I thought made for a great operative experience, research is 2nd to none, you get any fellowship you want. Residents seemed fun and weren't stuffy despite having to wear suits to clinic. City is awful, maybe they don't see enough trauma.
U of Washington- great training across the board, cool residents, cool city. Operative experience is late I think but still great. May have too many fellows.
Carolinas - so much volume, great operative experience, cool city.
Vandy - Great operative experience, great fellowship placement, great research opportunities, really liked the residents on interview day
Utah- good operative experience, fun attendings, residents were nice. Too many fellows?

Tier 2:
Wash U
UTSW
UC Davis
Case Western
Florida
USC
UCLA

Tier 3:
Uchicago
Indiana
Ohio State
UT Houston

Matched at: Top Tier

My advice to future applicants:
- go on as many interviews as possible because you never know who is going to like you
- work ethic and attitude count more than knowledge at this stage of the game.

Med School: Middle of the road US News
Boards: Step 1: 220-230 step 2 240-250
AOA: ha what is that?
Preclinicals: few Honors
Clinicals: All Honors
Ortho: Honors x4 (home and 3 aways)
Research: 1 poster, 2 publications a couple ongoing projects
Extracurriculars: lots of clubs, and worked every year in medical school to support my self

Applied to 100+ schools yes I did apply to that many... and so should you if you have a lower than usual board score below 230 think about mass shot gun approach the interview offers are RANDOM

interviewd at home and 2/3 aways... plus Tufts, BU, LIJ, Suny SB, and a few others... Ranked everything...

Matched at a VERY VERY VERY VERY prestigious program on the west coast ONLY because i did an away there... This is for all the people out there who are board score scared... YOU CAN DO THIS... your personality will trump any 260 d-bag out there who thinks he is gods gift to earth. Simply put, be yourself, be a hardworking honest and overall good person. DO NOT go out there and play the game of kissing ass and trying to outshine other students or act like an intern. I worked VERY hard on my aways.. did not have to ask for letters of recomendation they were written for me from program directors (seriously they offered to write me letters). Aside from aways I did alot of praying and hoping which i think was very helpful to stay sane during interview season when your buddy will have 29 interviews and you have only 3 early on.

THIS CAN BE DONE!!! Always stay humbled.

BEST OF LUCK!!

Med School: Small Primary Care Med School in South
Boards: Step 1: 227 step 2 235
AOA: no
Preclinicals: my school does letter grades, i got 2 A, 2 Bs, 2 Cs
Clinicals: honors in surgery, family, pediatrics
Ortho: 3 aways, honors

Research: not really, one case report that was published
extracurricular: alot, i did 4 international medical trips, helped to raise thousands of dollars for clinics out in Haiti, lots of volunteer work

what I was looking for in a program: a place where I got along with residents, this was very important to me as a double minority. I interviewed places where I was ignored at resident dinners...

How many Programs:
Applied to: 42
Offered Interviews: 7
Attended: 7

I ended up ranking 5 out of 7 interviews, because I did not want to be in residency at those two other places. I believe in placing yourself in an environment where you will flourish and be happy.

I matched at place where I wanted to be one of my top 3 programs!!

My words of advice, stay humble, trust in God, and dont change who you are during this process to "fit in"

First of all I want to say that I learned a lot from these threads over the last few years. Personally I dont think posting scores/grades/research exploits is important, so I'm not going to do that. I think these threads work best just to get applicants impressions of programs and then help you figure out where you want to rotate/apply/cancel when you have overlapping interviews.

Everyone lists the same programs differently because of what their priorities. My priorities were a program where I would get good hands-on technical training as a resident but also where there are plenty of research opportunities and people are happy (this was what I considered the "total package"). Just getting a "big name" was not that important to me although I am interested in going into academics.

General advice (in no specific order):
1. Rock Step 1 (obviously) - this will get you interviews
2. Write a good personal statement - cant tell you how many ppl brought up stuff from my PS
3. Have interests outside of medicine and put them on your app- talked a lot about these at most interviews
4. Research - Do it and be able to talk intelligently about it on your interviews
5. Get good clinical grades
6. The biggest "name" programs dont necessarly give the best training (although your grandma may be impressed that you are a resident there).

I applied to 30 programs, got 15 interviews and went on 14 of them. I'm going to copy/paste all of my notes/impressions that I wrote out immediately after my interviews/rotations, so this will be a very long post.

I broke my list up into just 2 tiers:

Tier 1: Programs that I would be elated to match at (in alphabetical order)

Mayo Clinic - The facilities and resources are mind-boggling. They have a very different program structure. There is a preceptorship model where you spend 3 months (quarters) on a service (each attending has a service) and learn how that attending works. Over the course of the quarter, the resident slowly becomes more and more independent. I thought the residents were at least on-par with other places and about one-third of the chiefs were going directly into private practice without doing a fellowship, so they seemed to be confident with their abilities. Lots of support personnel, every attending has his own PA and there are surgical techs to help with closing cases and putting on dressings so that residents could get work done and go home. They did admit that arthroscopy/sports was a bit of a weakness. Almost all rotations are one-on-one with the attending, the exceptions are Trauma and as a PGY-2 when you are a junior on Hands and Joints, commonly with a fellow. Each resident spends a certain amount of months on each type of service per RRC requirements, then they have 9 months of elective time as a PGY-5 to choose which services they want to be on to polish off their training. You can also do a year of research as a PGY-2 and still graduate in 5 years by being placed on the higher volume services and end up doing the same number of cases as someone who didn’t do research. I thought the didactic structure was the best I saw with 6 months of protected afternoons during PGY-2 for didactics and labs. This time included scope labs, microvascular labs, anatomy labs going over approaches, and traditional didactic lectures. This was supplemented by rotation specific morning conferences that are spectacular with leaders in the field going over cases and/or journal clubs with residents presenting them. I thought the residents were very well versed in orthopedic principles and basic knowledge. The program is large (12 per year) and this has its plusses and minuses. Plus: there are a ton of residents in the call pool, which leads to not having to take call very often. Minus: a non-uniform resident experience where they don’t necessarily get to work with the same attendings due to the structure of the program. (was told by an attending that there is an "A and B Track" for residents.) PD admitted it was a non-uniform experience but said with the 9 months of electives, residents got to get a very personalized experience. Residents also admitted that there are also attendings that are more difficult to work with and can lead to an unpleasant 3-month quarter. The residents seemed very happy and their lifestyle seemed great (no work-hours problems here). Also, a lot of thought has gone into the program design to maximize the resident experience. For example, you are always post-call on a clinic day (therefor never miss out on OR cases). That being said with all that free time, you have to spend it in Rochester. I actually found the city to be not too bad; of course I was there in the summer and spent a lot of time on the running trails and enjoying the outdoors (not an option for some of the year). I thought there was a reasonable social scene in the “downtown” area of Rochester. They twin cities were about a 1.5-2 hour drive away. Mayo also had the best gym facilities that I have ever seen. Overall, I thought it was a great program with an unrivaled ability to personalize your residency (ie 9 months of elective time, and research versus no research) but you have to ask the question whether you can handle living there for 5 years. I was also worried as to not knowing what rotations that I would or wouldn’t get in my 5 years there. Note: a great place to do an away because you get lots of one-on-one with famous attendings for a letter.

University of California San Diego - This is a program where residents are very happy. I think the training is pretty solid, with multiple VA and navy rotations. The faculty at UCSD is smaller than most, but this does not include all of the staff at Navy and VA. There is a strong trauma experience throughout the year due to the weather, the PD is the main trauma attending and is a strong resident advocate. They have a very strong spine experience, the chairman is a big-name spine attending. There is only one UCSD sports attending, but a lot of the sports/scope exposure the residents get is on the Navy rotations, which people claim is one of the more hands-on sports experiences out there. Rady Children’s is one of the best peds ortho experiences in the country, but per the residents is a difficult rotation. The hand department is pretty strong, with multiple attendings. The residents claim to be comfortable with all of general ortho when they finish here. All residents do a research year during PGY-2 that is spent in a lab. They have very strong orthopedic research, with almost all of their investigators having won the Kappa Delta award at some point. Residents generally get multiple pubs from this year, which helps with fellowships. The fellowship match is impressive with residents going to strong fellowships. San Diego is amazing; it is much more affordable than the rest of the big California cities. The weather is perfect, I spent a week here in beginning of February and it was 65 and mostly sunny all week. I could see how SD could be a bit of a distraction during residency though.

University of California San Francisco - Very trauma heavy, but probably one of the most operative heavy programs in the country. The tradeoff for this is there is 4 months of trauma at SFGH every year in the program. Also, the spine and arthroplasty services are very busy as well. PGY2 seems to be the most difficult, like most other programs. PGY4 is the most chill year. The faculty seems to be very dedicated to teaching and residents say they are doing entire cases with faculty taking them through them as a PGY2. The residents rotate at hospitals all over the bay area and have a block at the Shriner’s hospital in Sacramento as well. Per rotators there was a lot of paperwork and inefficiencies in the system, especially at SFGH that frustrated residents. Residents are over work hours rules when at SFGH, but the hand/sports/foot and ankle rotations, as well as the VA and private practice rotations are well below, so there is a balance. In addition to seemingly excellent training, there is the academic side of UCSF and the research and career opportunities that comes along with that if you are interested in academics. There is one 6-year research track spot that does a year of research after PGY-2. The entire year is protected research time and the resident seems to do very well as far as publications in either basic or clinical research. A very fun group of residents here. I heard the term “work hard-play hard” so many times in the weekend that I can’t even count. San Francisco seems like an awesome place to live, but also very expensive. Really liked the program, but thought that it was a little too crazy for me and rotators said that the residents didn’t seem as happy as they made it out to be on interview day.

University of Iowa - Another program with very happy residents. They have an incredible orthopedic tradition. Very down to earth and approachable attendings, even the most famous among them. They do each rotation as a junior and senior resident and employ a team-based model. The residents seem to be confident in their skills, some even go right into private practice without fellowship. They have one of the best call schedules of any program and PGY3-5 is mostly home call. They have an excellent didactic structure and the resident and attending have fun together during these sessions. There is protected research time during PGY 3 and PGY 4 for research and residents have to do 2-3 projects before they graduate. Iowa city is a relatively small college town with a large big-ten university in it. They have all the amenities of a large university, like big time college sports and co-eds. It gets very cold in the winter and they see plenty of snow. Residents can afford to own homes and many of them do. There are not many single residents and many of them have children, the interview social had dozens of kids running around. Coming from here they pretty much get any fellowship that they want and residents seem comfortable enough to go directly into general ortho showing they get a really good hands on experience during residency.

University of Utah - This program has the happiest residents that I met on the trail. I think it is very similar to WashU meaning that it is a program with fellows, but the focus is on resident education. The attendings were very cool and down to earth and got along very well with the residents, almost couldn’t tell the residents and attendings apart, even the chairman. The facilities are beautiful, with a brand new orthopedic center. They are a large Level 1 trauma center and also have a VA, a Shriner’s hospital and a tertiary care children’s hospital. Residents do each of the subspecialties as both a junior and a senior resident. I know one of the residents here and he says training is very hands on in the OR. Residents seem very happy with their training and get good fellowships. Rotators seemed to absolutely love their experience here. They have a night float system that covers the main hospital. Intern year was supposedly pretty cush. Most of the residents are married and many own houses. The wives seem to have a close social network. SLC is a very affordable place to live. There are more outdoor activities than you could ever do with world class skiing, hiking, mountainbiking, etc. Seem to have good clinical and biomechanics research opportunities and are starting a patient outcome database which should facilitate even more opportunities in the future. Also, there is the option for a month-long international rotation in PGY-4. Again, couldn’t believe how happy the residents were here.

University of Virginia - This program is a good mix of academics (UVA) and private practice (Roanoke) experience. They are very motivated to train academicians. This year they stopped matching the 6-year academic track because the NIH told them it should be a 7-year track to truly train physician scientists in their grant renewal. They are currently retooling this program. They have a great PD and all of the staff seem to be very excited to teach. There was great congeniality between residents and attendings. Possibly the best sports experience anywhere and an excellent Hand/upper extremity experience as well. There is plenty of research being done by residents (250 resident pubs in last 2.5 years). They spend 20 weeks of PGY-3 and PGY-4 in Roanoke doing trauma and getting a community/private practice experience and you are the only resident or fellow there and get to operate a lot. Charlottesville is a charming city with lots of college sports, concerts and other things that come along with being associated with a 20,000+ student state school. Residents can afford to rent or buy nice places and all seem to be very down to earth and have a good time together. I think this is really a good program that will train you as well as almost any program in the country and you’ll have fun doing it.

Vanderbilt - This place really surprised me on interview day. Everyone that I talked to that rotated here said that they loved it. They universally said that the chiefs here were the best, most skilled residents that they saw in the operating room. In addition to the great operative experience, the program is very involved in research and is motivated to train academicians. Vanderbilt is a busy level-1 trauma center and has three hospitals (Vanderbilt med center, a childrens hospital, and a VA) that are all essentially in the same complex. The PGY-2 year is very difficult, as is pretty standard. PGY-2 and PGY-3s take the in-house call and do 3 primary calls and 3 backup calls a month. Residents said that you don’t do call that often, but you are really busy when you are on. Senior residents are on home call and only come in to do cases. They do each rotation as a junior and senior resident and have one 3-month research block in PGY-3 and one elective block in PGY-4. The residents seemed to be across the board very happy. The chair gave a presentation along with a chief resident and there seemed to be a great camaraderie between the staff and the residents. The fellowship match is impressive, they literally get any fellowship that they want anywhere in the country. In addition to it being great training, it is in Nashville which is a very fun affordable city with pretty good weather to boot.

Washington University in St Louis - This is a very well balanced program with really no weaknesses. They are dedicated to resident education, from the clinic to the OR to the didactic teaching. There were some of the best lectures here, Tue-Thu in the AM with grand rounds after on Wednesday, Monday or Friday were rotation specific conferences. Most lectures are faculty-run but very interactive. The residents operated quite a bit and were proficient as seniors. Some rotations are tough (ie Trauma and Night Float) and the residents work hard, but it is not malignant and is probably about the national average. It’s a busy Level 1 trauma center and the residents were comfortable with anything that came into the ED by the end of PGY-2. There is a very nice new outpatient center where you efficiently plow through cases on sports and hand and get a quasi-private practice experience. Residents seem to get along, there are 6 per year and they could certainly have more, but would rather keep the experience uniform than grow the program (per PD and chairman). There was a great relationship between the residents and attendings, but there was certainly a “yes-sir/no-sir” attitude towards some of the attendings. St Louis could be a downside for some, the Central West End was very nice as well as the park right next to the hospital, but certainly not a Boston/NYC/SF if that is what you are looking for. Great research opportunities including protected research rotations and an international rotation for everyone. This is really a top notch program with few if any weaknesses. They interview a ton of people (100+) and have a ton of rotators, so it’s certainly difficult to get in here.


Tier 2: Programs that I would not be elated to match at but would be happy that I was going to be an orthopod (in alphabetical order)

Cleveland Clinic -The residents get to operate a lot here, but it is very much a tertiary care setting. This means that there is very little trauma exposure here. The residents do two months at Metro during PGY-2 and PGY-3. Personally, I didn’t think this was enough of a trauma experience for my liking, because during the rest of their residency all call is done at CCF, which sees very little trauma in the ED. Otherwise, there is a ton of volume in the other subspecialties. There are a lot of fellows here (18 I think). There only service where fellows rule seems to be the sports service, but there are enough attendings and volume to go around. There are multiple anatomy/cadaver/scope labs to get lots of good hands-on practice. Residents operate early and often and are taken through total joints as PGY-2s, much like all places this is very surgeon dependent, some are more hands on than others. That being said, there is no VA experience, or county experience where you get to run your own service. Clinic is clinic and there seems to be enough teaching going on although this deceases slightly on busy clinic days. Research opportunities are there for those that are interested in them. Any resident can do a year off for research after PGY-3 if they wish, this used to be a 6-year program so the infrastructure is there. The faculty is incredible, they are down to earth and approachable and there is a great rapport between staff and residents. Didactics were done by residents, which was a minus for me. There are big names in multiple subspecialties, which is helpful for getting good fellowships. The residents were okay, about half of them I really liked but there was a subset that I just really didn’t get along with. Cleveland is the big downer for this program, it’s an okay city and they try to sell it, but I just wasn’t buying. It’s cloudy from November until March along with the cold and the snow. So in summary: mostly good training but weak in trauma, good research, mostly a good group of residents, all in a blah city.

Harvard Combined Orthopedics - The program is enormous. It consists of Mass General, the Brigham, Beth Isreal Deaconess, and Boston Children’s and has 12 residents per class and 120+ attendings. The rumors are out there (ie limited operative experience, stuffy atmosphere). They tried to dispel them on interview day, but I think the operative experience is much less than at some programs. A recent HCORP grad told me “yea, I didn’t operate that much as a resident.” The recent curriculum changes may have improved some of the weaker aspects of the program. For example, resident and fellow services were split so that residents wouldn’t be taking their time doing paperwork for patients that fellows operated on and rotations were lengthened to improve the operative experience. All residents say they are still pushing for more NP/PA support for floor work and other less educational activities. The faculty is very receptive to resident feedback and they make changes based upon what the residents say. The intern year is currently up in the air. It was traditionally that 4 residents each did a year at one of the three hospitals. Now, it may switch to each intern doing 4 months at each hospital. The operative experience is “top heavy” with chiefs on some services running their own rooms. There is a preceptorship model where you work in concert with one attending most of the time except on the trauma services. As a resident, you work with approximately half of the attendings during your time in the program. There is unmatched breadth and depth of coverage in all subspecialties in the faculty at these 4 hospitals. There is a nightfloat system at MGH and Brigham. Didactics are excellent and mostly given by the staff. The residents I met were very cool and down to earth. Attendings seemed approachable and the residents got along well with them. There is only one month of protected time for research during PGY-4, but there is plenty of research to be done if you want to use your free time to do so. Lots of perks: free books, tickets to Boston sporting events from faculty, free loupes, and subscriptions to JBJS Am, JBJS Br, AJSM, and JAAOS, among others. The residents literally get any fellowship that they want through phone calls by the faculty, same goes for jobs after fellowship. Boston as a city is very cool with lots to do and many nice neighborhoods to choose from. It is expensive comparably, but salary starts around $55K. Would have loved to be in Boston and get the Harvard name, but just didn’t think the operative experience was good enough here.

NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases - Very strong program in the heart of NYC. They have very much of a military/hierarchical atmosphere here (also very jock type culture) ie lots of egos. Everything is team based and they have rotations at Tisch (NYU), Bellevue, Jamaica Hosp, the VA, and HJD. Residents have a more hands on experience at Bellevue, where they run their own services versus HJD where it is a more academic center type experience. They also have lots of anatomy labs/scope labs with cadavers to work on their skills. They get very strong training and the chairman (Zuckerman) and PD (Egol) are very into resident education and research. The PGY-2 year is very difficult and heavy on call. All of the hospitals are within walking distance of each other and most residents live on the lower east side. Being in NYC there is obviously plenty to do. There is a limited amount of subsidized housing through NYU, but they get a very high starting salary to make up for it and have plenty of moonlighting opportunities starting in PGY-3. Great place to train if you can deal with the culture of the institution/program. Didn’t interview at HSS or Columbia, but I understand why my chairman said this is the best resident experience/training in NYC. Is the largest program in the country, along with Harvard and Mayo at 12 spots per year. They fill two 6-year spots outside of the match with phone calls and contracts, was offered one of these spots and declined which bumped it down my list.

Pittsburgh - Pitt is definitely a research and clinical powerhouse. The interview day shows off the sports complex and research labs. As a resident, unless you do a research year, you won’t have much to do with either of these. It seems like the residents get to operate a lot here, mostly in years PGY3-5. The PGY2 year is very difficult. The PGY2’s are on essentially Q4 call most of the year and are also responsible for putting together all of the powerpoints for conferences, so this year is brutal. Rotators said that during the PGY2 year there is utter disregard for work-hour rules. It is made up for with a great operative experience and less call responsibilities PGY3-5. Pitt has great facilities including a brand new children’s hospital and lots of renovations at the main UPMC campus. Call rooms and study areas were pretty nice, but it didn’t seem like there was a place, like a lounge, where residents could relax a bit while at the hospital. Obviously, any research project is possible here. Four residents do the 6-year track where then spend the 2nd year in the lab, while the other four do the 5 year track. Residents get great fellowships. The program is definitely a dictatorship with Dr Fu making all of the calls, including choosing the residents per one of my other interviewers. He’s very charismatic and seems to really care about his residents. I met a couple of nice residents, but for the most part the residents were not very approachable at the social and I couldn’t tell whether they got along with each other. Overall, I thought this was a good program and that you get good training here, but was not sure if I would be truly happy in the Pitt environment.

University of Minnesota - These residents work very hard. They cover 2 level one trauma centers and 4 hospitals around Minneapolis/St Paul. They have the largest VA in the country, which has 2 times the volume in ortho of any other VA in the country. Spend time there as an intern, 6 months as a PGY-3, and 3 months as a chief. The chiefs run the services at the VA and residents get a lot of hands on experience here. The sports experience here is at TRIA, a large high volume sports experience. The residents are well protected from scut/paper work in all parts of the program, with lots of mid-level PAs/NPs. That being said some of them said the experience was “like drinking from a fire hose” as a PGY-2 and PGY-3 because of the incredible volume of cases between all of the sites that they cover. There seems to be a great relationship between the residents and the attendings, with the attendings being very dedicated to the program and to education in general. 40% of residents from this program go straight into private practice but some do fellowships. The ones that do fellowships get pretty good ones, especially in spine, trauma, and shoulder/elbow. There are research opportunities that are encouraged for those that are interested, every resident has to do one project and it is not shoved down the throats of people that are not interested. Minneapolis seems awesome as a city, but it is also cold (it was -14 degrees F on the morning of my interview). I hear the summers are beautiful and there is a thriving downtown with lots of new buildings/condos and a very young nightlife.

Yale - This is a smaller program of 5 residents per year. They have a nice mix of academic and private practice attendings/rotations. Nice hospital facilities. Yale is an adult and pediatric level 1 trauma center. The residents work hard but seemed very happy. They really push the fact that they have no fellows (except spine) and therefor the department is very resident focused. Attendings for the most part are very hands off and allow the residents to get their hands dirty early and often. It seemed like a very stable program with a great PD and Chairman. Eight months of protected research time (10 weeks PGY 3-5) but it seemed these could be spent doing more clinical things if that is your cup of tea. New Haven seemed nice, on LI sound about 2 hours from both NYC and Boston. I thought it was an east coast program where residents could afford to buy a house and was a very livable place, although some of the city seemed pretty rough. Great fellowship matches, seems like a lot of residents do sports or spine. I thought it was a good program that will train you to be a good surgeon and will open doors for an academic career if that is your chosen career path. I was a little worried about the fact that it seemed like there was a lot of double-scrubbing going on here, with both a jr and sr resident on each case.

Hope this helps someone!

[quote="ortho250I ended up ranking 5 out of 7 interviews, because I did not want to be in residency at those two other places. I believe in placing yourself in an environment where you will flourish and be happy.

"[/quote]

It's really kinda scary that people like this post in the match thread and give this kind of advice to future applicants.

For those of you who will be applying soon: it's nice in an ideal world to be able to only rank the programs where you will be happy and "flourish" like the unique snowflake that you are. The reality of orthopaedic residency is that the competition for spots is so intense that you rank EVERY PLACE you interview at WITHOUT EXCEPTION. You are at you're most competitive and marketable as an applicant when you are a fourth year medical student. The question you have to ask yourself when you rank these programs is "would you be happier not ever being an orthopaedic surgeon than training atr this program?" If the answer is yes, then by all means. But I think for a lot of us, that's absolutely false.

So just rank every place you go so you spare yourself a lot of regret (possibly) 10 years from now.

ortho250 wrote:
Agent13 wrote:


Um, I believe that by telling us was they were ignored at some resident dinners and telling us that they did not want to be at those 2 programs, this person had indeed asked and answered the very question you suggested. Plenty of people here have done the same in match threads from years past. This person just phrased it in a different, albeit flowery, kinda way.

If you are not ranking a program because you caught feelings at a interview dinner then that really speaks volumes. Personally I think picking my career based on doing what I want to do for the rest of my life is a little more pragmatic but maybe I'm mistaken.

*sigh* Really? You really think someone would actually give up 2 spots JUST because of that? I'm sure there were alot of steps between the dinner and arriving at the conclusion that they did not want to go there. Every year someone posts their ROL and says that they would rather not match than go to a particular place because of their interview day experience where they met some douchey PD or were rubbed the wrong way by an interviewer. Somebody on page 1 of this thread didn't rank all the programs they interviewed at but they didn't say why. Another person said go where you like the people and don't let anyone pressure you. What makes this person so different? The language they used? The reasons they divulged/didn't divulge? I personally don't think I could risk doing what the poster did, as do most people that frequent this site, but to each his own.


Anyways, where are all the rest of the 2011 Matchers? I need current info while I begin my year-long freakout ahead of next years match.