Program Review
Staff / Faculty / Chairman
There are now 7 per class (started in 2012). Staff here are very well rounded, and overall excellent. Dr. Maloney is chairman, relatively hands-off of the program, but does a ton in the shadows to support the resident experience. Dr. Avedian is the program director and is very resident friendly and approachable. There is a good mix of young ambitious surgeons (Abrams, Bishop, Hunt, Cheng) and experienced big names (Safran, Maloney, Goodman, Hu).
Didactics / Teaching
Once weekly required teaching from 6:30-9 including grand rounds. Anatomy course with cadavers in the fall, and once a month intern exclusive teaching with faculty, sometimes involving hands-on cadaver, scoping, skills sessions. Educational courses mostly attending driven. There are also monthly journal clubs for each service at restaurants, and weekly Monday morning and friday morning conference, which resident attend depending on the service.
Operating Experience
Overall very good, but depends on the service. Best experiences for early exposure are at Stanford trauma, the Valley county hospital, and the VA. Interns and 2's routinely operate at the sites. It is expected that the most junior resident is the primary surgeon while the senior walks them through the case. On joints and sports at Stanford there is some competition for cases with fellows, but does not appear to limit the experience. NP's and PA's on most services help with floor coverage to allow juniors to get to the OR.
Clinic Experience
Typical, well balanced, friendly attendings, not painful. Most clinic is at the outpatient center in Redwood City.
Research Opportunities
Abundant and beyond. Research focused, but not enforced. At one of the premier research institutions in the world, and the ortho department is no exception.
Residents
Tremendous group. Have each others backs, love to hang out, and laid back in general. Good mix of academic minded and private practice ambitions. The strongest part of this program is the residents.
Lifestyle
Very good. Moderate trauma (2 level-1 centers), but not overwhelming and can typically get some sleep on call. Palo Alto is a fantastic place to live, with tons to do within an hour. Home call at all institutions, which can be a blessing or painful (if busy overnight) as there are no post-call days. q7 at Stanford, q4 at the Valley. There is discussion of adding a night-float system in the future.
Location / Housing
Palo Alto: very ritzy, suburban feel. 45 min to Santa Cruz, San Francisco, 3 hours to Tahoe, Yosemite, Santa Barbara, Redwoods. Tons to do, fits every niche.
Limitations
Moderate number of fellows, does not seem to get in residents way except on sports. Plenty of operative experience and Call system can be great or painful, and may be changing in the future.
Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion
Overall a fantastic, well rounded program. Good exposure to all fields, and multiple attendings in all sub-specialties. Laid back California feel, but opportunities are endless. Residents get top choices in fellowship due to the big names and research experiences.
