Program Review
Staff / Faculty / Chairman
Used to be a top notch program when Dr. Grana was chairman and Dr. Ruth was program director. After Dr. Grana stepped down (and unfortunately passed away), the culture in this program has been downhill. New faculty members are recents graduates of the program are malignant (most from east coast) and the direction of the program is heading in that direction. Malignant pimping is common and certainly not a laid back program.
As a medical student from this place, there is very little motivation from program director to recruit or mentor students from U of A. Since number of Ortho programs are limited in the southwest, students from U of A are at a disadvantage when applying due to lack of support, ability to get letters or research opportunities. More students from Tucson, rotate at banner, since the atmosphere is friendlier and preference given to Arizona residents. The program director who took over after Dr. Ruth was promoted to chairman, openly is biased against students from Arizona and ranks students from East Coast schools to where he has connections (e.g. Georgetown) and has not matched any students from U of A the past two years even though we had many qualified students that matched at good programs outside of the state despite ranking U of A high.
The faculty members are very bitter and don't like the recent circumstances with the surgery department (chairman ousted, lack of funding, new administration). They were openly against the chairman who was ousted (still was head of surgery when I was rotating) and that trickled down in terms of bitterness and lack of enthusiasm. Hopefully with the new administration that will change.
Didactics / Teaching
The only good thing about the program is that it is close knit and plenty of didactics and teaching within the program. Although M&Ms and resident presentations have some malignant pimping (mostly due to some of the faculty members), there are some good resident run teaching sessions.
Operating Experience
Another strong point is the residents are trained pretty well in the OR. Lot of freedom is given by the attendings. Disadvantage in terms of rotation is that your Peds rotation is done in Utah and Oncology is done in Phoenix, so if you are interested in those subspecialities you will have a poor experience since they are not part of the home institution.
Clinic Experience
Residents are given good independence and experience. Hand/Foot&Ankle/Trauma are strong specialities in this program and residents are trained well for those subspecialties.
Research Opportunities
Very poor. Some changes made with one foot and ankle attending that dedicates most of his time with research. The program tries to flaunt its research during away rotations with a dedicated Orthopedics surgery research lab. Due to poor funding, very few publications come out of the department and residents don't get a great experience compared to other programs. Not the fault of department for the current situation in terms of lack of funding.
Residents
While residents get along pretty well with each other, they are for the most part unhappy with the faculty members and experience at the program compared to their peers at other programs. The current program director is not responsive to their concerns and brushes off any recommendations made by residents by telling them to "deal with it". Significant change from when Dr. Ruth was program director when he was more responsive to resident concerns.
Lifestyle
Due to the small nature of the program, residents work harder than other programs with limited time to study for OITE. In addition, there is lack of PAs/NPs due to once again lack of funding forcing residents to do more scut work than usual.
Location / Housing
Not much to do in Tucson if you are around the area. Housing is extremely cheap (Can get a 3-4 bedroom condo at a really nice area in Catalina Foothills for 900-1000 dollars). Lack of fellowships around the area, makes it important for residents to make connections outside the state after finishing the residency. On the other hand, there is no fellow to fight over for cases (which the program tries really hard to emphasize during interview, although the real reason for lack of fellows is due to lack of funding).
Limitations
As a medical student from this institution, it is disappointing to have a program that completely dismisses or makes no effort in recruiting people from the home institution. Most residents that train tend not stay in arizona and further adds to shortage of physicians we have in this state. In addition, due to competitive nature of orthopaedics, I was forced to do aways at other instutions and work my but off to get chairman/PD letters that helped me secure a residency spot that I was unable to achieve at this institution (letter was given, but poor effort from them to get to know me in order to write an excellent letter).
For residents matching here, Peds/Oncology training is probably one of the worst in the country since you go to another institution for it. If you are interested in those specialties, you will have to gain exposure in fellowship. The department is bitter due to lack of funding and in fighting between the Surgery department. No resident support from PD and although the chairman was good when he was PD, currently has winded down from his responsibilities with residents.
The PD and Chairman does the rank list and completely ignores the comments or recommendations from other faculty members. So as long as you can impress them, you can match and have a good time during the residency. Burn bridges with them (especially the PD), you will have a miserable time. Some residents have dropped out of the program for multiple unknown reasons the past few years (mostly due to the malignant nature of the program and significant shakeups within the surgery program).
Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion
The student rotation is very important part of them ranking you if you rotate. I rotated through 2 (2 week) rotations that are chosen randomly. There is any 30-40? question MC (poorly written test) that heavily weighs on the final rotation grade. The whole rotation is not useful and it is quite stupid that the poorly written test can determine your grade. You also have to do a presentation in front of attendings (with some malignant pimping) that always will affect your grade. You also get to do nothing in the OR as a student and are just shadowing as opposed to other away rotations around the country where I learned more and had more OR/clinic responsibilities. I didn't even suture once during this rotation. As my first rotation, I got very little experience and made it difficult for other aways after (e.g. suturing).
Overall, if you have great stats and aren't from this institution, I would highly recommend not doing an away, since it can more likely hurt you rather than help you. (many residents from past did not do a rotation here). If you are from this institution, due to the preference of the PD you are at complete disadvantage of matching here regardless of your stats. (you have a better chance of matching at Banner in Phx which is ironic). The quality and experience of the residents are getting worse every year and only way the program will get to the point where it was when Dr. Grana was chairman is change in PD/Chairman and culture of the program.
If you perform on a rotation, they are really fair. They give you an interview if you rotate without exception. I have never been encouraged to post on here to "boost the program". I logged in when I saw this just to write this reply. They do expect a lot out of residents because they want to take good care of patients. All pimping will feel malignant if you don't know the answers. They don't judge you if you get the answer wrong. The idea is to get you to think independently and study via the Socratic method.
After graduating from this program, I felt like It was really solid and I was able to perform all aspects of patient care without a problem. I look back fondly on my time at U of A. I learned how to take care of patients really well. I loved all of the residents and attendings.
Now, as an attending, I still contact them and get advice. I have formed lifelong friendships with the co-residents and attendings. I care for all of them like family.
I think I remember you Jack, and I thought you were a great med student by the way. I think that some of your opinions may be colored by your personal experiences. I don't think it's generalizable.
DeSilva, Ruth and Smith do a great job of running the program. They were very responsive to us as residents. The residents have a ton of say in resident related decisions. I got into a great fellowship and got a great job out of this residency - but more importantly, I have the resources to take good care of orthopaedic patients with a very wide veriety of issues.
I have never regretted my decision to come to this program. It was fun, challenging and rewarding. I still suggest it to everyone as a great program.
1. 100% board pass rate
2. Never been on probation
3. Residents are awesome
4. Residents operate early and have autonomy
5. Residents are skilled after graduation
6. The attendings teach great patient care
7. It's an academic program
8. The residents and alumni are willing to get on a review forum website and defend the program.
This review by "Jack the Ripper" is all 1s, yet the program is good by all the above measures. I think we are dealing with the skewed perspective of a disgruntled medical student.
I actually went to this program and completed it and I would rank it 1st again.
1. "As a medical student from this place, there is very little motivation from program director to recruit or mentor students from U of A"
I wasn't a med student here, so I can't speak to that. But, in the legendary words of "The Dude"..."Well that's just, like, your opinion, Man". I will say that this has been a relative "weakness" in the past, but the process has been improving. Examples:
1. We have held "meet & greets" and "Q&A" sessions for medical students interested in Orthopedics.
2. Those that are most highly motivated also attend our Grand Rounds, Trauma Conference, and Resident conferences regularly.
3. Over the past year I've had poster presentations (4), Podium presentations (1), publications (1), and other active research involving 7 different medical students in different levels of training.
4. Medical students often attend resident social functions
3. " New faculty members are recent graduates of the program are malignant (most from east coast) and the direction of the program is heading in that direction. Malignant pimping is common and certainly not a laid back program"
No malignancy here. Socratic method at our weekly Trauma conference, but not malignant. None of the faculty came from "east coast" programs. Faculty are warm, friendly, approachable. They take us to lunch on clinic days and slow days in the OR, invite us to their homes, and often spend time with the residents outside of work settings.
4. "The PD and Chairman does the rank list and completely ignores the comments or recommendations from other faculty.."
Having been involved in the Interview and Rank process for two years, I can tell you that this is false. I have seen the PD and Chairman overruled by the votes of the remainder of faculty on numerous occasions.
5. "You also get to do nothing in the OR as a student"
Obviously this is highly variable. In the past month, I walked fourth year med students through a tibial nail, cephalomedullary nail, and application of two external fixators. When I rotated as a med student I reduced a hip in the ED an did plenty in the OR. I'd say that in general, the amount that students are allowed to do in the OR is related to their overall ability, which is a principle that persists throughout residency.
6. "They privately force and encourage residents posting on forums like this in order boost the image of the program"
I've never been encouraged to post on Orthogate or any other forum. I am one of two residents to review the program on here, with two additional from med students before yours. I don't see that as a "Red flag"...I think residents are the best able to provide insight and accurate opinion on the program. Rather, I would consider a 1-star review, posted anonymously by a clearly disgruntled former medical student to be a "red flag"
Orthopaedics is a competitive specialty and regardless of pitfalls of any program they will continue to get qualified applicants. I want the Orthopaedic residency program at U of A to improve and get better, dismissing any recommendations on improvements reflects the culture of the current program.
I know your defense of the program is of well intention but not all reviews for this program in this forum is "honest". It is completely unnecessary for example last year to post before the match that the particular resident rotated as a medical student, loved it and would rank it number 1 when I know for a fact that the particular resident did not do an away rotation or even interviewed at U of A as a medical student. Rather he got the position outside the match during his prelim surgery year. Dishonest reviews and artificial 9s/10s are the reason that I gave all 1s so that the ratings average out to be more accurate.
I hope that the program pursues to improve on its weaknesses rather than covering it up and stop using forums like this to dishonestly promote their program.
That's my review, and I most certainly did rotate as a med student. After not matching, I arranged a rotation at the end of my 4th year. All told, rotated at 5 programs as a med student, and did 3 months of Ortho at another institution as an intern, and ranked UA number one when I reapplied..... Thus, my rankings reflect a comparison to 5 other programs.
Hope that clears up your confusion. And thanks for clarifying that you artificially rated this residency low to "cancel out" the opinions of others.
Stay classy.
You are actually hurting medical students who are hoping to become great orthopaedic surgeons by steering them away from a program that will mold them into a great and highly experienced orthopaedic surgeon.
It doesn't make sense to me that you would burn calories posting something so untrue.
1. The program director in place now has no connections in georgetown. U of A does not recruit from G-town or really anywhere. Since 1971, they have stood on the high quality of their residents and graduates.
2. Almost all U of A residents happen to come from the western US, and we happen to have a proportionately strong representation of U of A grads in our program. U of A doesn't discriminate on things such as state, coast or program of origin. They look at the quality of individual applicants and they simply try to pick people who would make the best surgeons.
3. U of A has never had a resident voluntarily leave the program.
4. Almost all UofA students who want to go into orthopaedics match in a program. Attendings go out of their way to help and support them.
5. Dr. Ruth has not been the residency program director for almost 8 years. You can verify this on our website. I don't know how this person would have a reference for when he was program director to make the comparisons made.
6. The facts are simply wrong in this review - Half of U of A faculty are from the west, and none are even from what would be considered “East coast”. U of A has no bias for or against anyone's coast of origin, but I don't know who the "bitter east coast faculty" are that are referenced. Maybe there is some confusion there.
7. This person does not recognize that fellows are money makers for an institution and not "funded". The comment regarding lack of funding for fellows is odd in this regard, and as a student rotator to have knowledge of the program finances is unlikely.
I don't think any of the flowery reviews are dishonest, forced or exaggerations.