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University of Colorado Orthopedic Residency Program, Denver, CO
User reviews
4 reviews
Overall rating
9.0
Staff Surgeons
8.8(4)
Didactics/Teaching
8.5(4)
Operating Experience
9.8(4)
Clinical Experience
8.5(4)
Research
7.0(4)
Residents
9.5(4)
Lifestyle
9.5(4)
Location
10.0(4)
Overall Experience
9.3(4)
Rotating Medical Student Review
Overall rating
8.8
Staff Surgeons
8.0
Didactics/Teaching
9.0
Operating Experience
10.0
Clinical Experience
8.0
Research
6.0
Residents
9.0
Lifestyle
10.0
Location
10.0
Overall Experience
9.0
Program Review
Staff / Faculty / Chairman
Strong faculty and staff. Dr. D'Ambrosia met with every rotator personally, a nice touch to the process. Faculty was very approachable. I only met the faculty at DG (Denver General) and the VA, but they seemed to representative of the program as a whole. Apparently, there was a characterization of the program as "malignant". I have heard these particular attendings have left the program and I can confirm I had not witnessed a single case of improper behavior toward residents.
Didactics / Teaching
Wednesday teaching sessions from visiting attendings, faculty, and upper levels lasted 4 hours. Residents were challenged and, sometimes, medical students were asked questions, but it was done in a supportive way. Medical students were required to prepare a 15 minute presentation for the residents toward the end their rotation.
Operating Experience
The residents seemed to get plenty of operative experience. The chiefs were running rooms on their own. I witnessed a R3 just crush a knee scope; incredibly impressive. R2 seem to be big operative years, with the interns handling a majority of the floor work.
Clinic Experience
At the DG, clinic occurred 1-2 times a week. Upper levels handled a majority of the appointments. At the VA, residents helped with clinic when they were not operating.
Research Opportunities
Probably their least impressive aspect, though they are making a concerted effort to rectify this. Their residents are still publishing at an impressive rate.
Residents
The residents were an impressive group. They were all very close and seemed to genuinely enjoy being around one another.
Lifestyle
Denver is a great city. The residents coordinated events throughout the year including: tailgating at CU football, ski trip, hiking, etc.
Location / Housing
Housing is expensive, but new apartment complexes are being built which will perhaps relieve some of the demand.
Limitations
N/A
Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion
I have never worked as hard as I did during the DG rotation, but it allowed me show what I was capable of and build report with the residents. On call, I was able to learn and hone my skills; allowing me to feel apart of the team and ample opportunity to contribute. I know if I were train here for residency, I would leave as an exceptional operator and capable of addressing most, if not all, orthopedic emergencies.
Qualification
I rotated as a medical student at this program
Date of Rotation
2014
M
mdb
Top 50 Reviewer
UC Denver Ortho
(Updated: January 30, 2013)
Overall rating
9.2
Staff Surgeons
10.0
Didactics/Teaching
9.0
Operating Experience
10.0
Clinical Experience
8.0
Research
7.0
Residents
10.0
Lifestyle
10.0
Location
10.0
Overall Experience
9.0
Program Review
Staff / Faculty / Chairman
The staff here are amazing. A definite strength of the program. <br />
<br />
Having talked to several people in and out of the beltway before my rotation here, I heard some negative comments about the program being malignant and the staff being discourteous to residents. I can say this is categorically FALSE. In fact, the residents are on a first name basis with several of the staff, and I even attended a resident party at an attending's house while I was there. <br />
<br />
Dr. D'Ambrosia (chairman) is incredibly nice and is a major player in the ortho world. The new PD Dr. Dayton is extremely resident friendly. The trauma guys are some of the best I've seen.
<br />
Having talked to several people in and out of the beltway before my rotation here, I heard some negative comments about the program being malignant and the staff being discourteous to residents. I can say this is categorically FALSE. In fact, the residents are on a first name basis with several of the staff, and I even attended a resident party at an attending's house while I was there. <br />
<br />
Dr. D'Ambrosia (chairman) is incredibly nice and is a major player in the ortho world. The new PD Dr. Dayton is extremely resident friendly. The trauma guys are some of the best I've seen.
Didactics / Teaching
They do all of their didactics on Wednesday mornings. It is protected time, and they cover a wide range of topics. They typically try to bring people in from other places and specialties as well to ensure that there's a breadth of topics covered.
Operating Experience
This is the major strength of the program. The residents here are some of the most competent and well rounded surgeons I've seen. There were second year residents putting in tibial nails as fast as some of the 4's I saw at other places. They operate a TON and they operate well. At Denver Health, you see any trauma you can imagine, and at University Hospital you see all of the bread and butter stuff - sports, joints, etc. I really can't say enough good things about this aspect of the program.
Clinic Experience
Clinic is clinic. It seems like a typical week includes 1 day in clinic (maybe two 1/2 days depending on the rotation), and they do a very good job of making sure the resident has autonomy - even as a junior. They have amazing clinic facilities, which is always nice.
Research Opportunities
The majority of the opportunities are with Trauma guys over at Denver Health. I think all of the residents would admit that it is not a research heavy program, but there are excellent opportunities if you're willing to seek them out. Each resident has to complete one project by the time they graduate, so obviously there is research, it's just not a focal point.
Residents
I rotated at 3 different places and this was easily the best group of residents I encountered. They all have each other's backs, get along, work hard, and play hard. They are a tight knit crew and even bought a monster truck together that they've pimped out to take to the CU Football games, resident get-togethers, and any other event where they think it might be necessary. It's hard to say a single bad thing about this group.
Lifestyle
C'mon, it's Colorado. It's freakin' Denver. The mountains are 30 minutes away (maximum) and there are 4 major sports teams (I guess 5 if you count soccer) within 10 minutes of anywhere you live in the city. All of the major ski towns are within 45 minutes (or less), and I heard a rumor that most people get a pass and use WAY more than their money's worth. Downtown is amazing and the outdoor life is second to none. If you like hiking, riding bikes, camping, sporting events/concerts - you'd have no problem finding people to go with you here.
Location / Housing
As an added bonus to the awesome surroundings, the cost of living here is very low compared to other similarly sized cities, and there are some really cool neighborhoods to live in (esp "Park" neighborhoods for people with families). Depending on where you want to live, you could be in the mountains or downtown and still be within 20 minutes of all of the hospitals that you work at.
Limitations
They are a little light on foot/ankle. They have a community guy that they work with, and he's excellent, but the experience is somewhat truncated. I know they are working to bring one on full time - but at the moment this is still a deficiency. <br />
<br />
Another limitation from the applicant side is that they get about 850 applications/year (according to invites/rejections they sent out last year). I have to assume this is one of the largest #'s in the country, so getting an interview is pretty difficult unless you rotate.
<br />
Another limitation from the applicant side is that they get about 850 applications/year (according to invites/rejections they sent out last year). I have to assume this is one of the largest #'s in the country, so getting an interview is pretty difficult unless you rotate.
Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion
If you couldn't tell from what I wrote above, I loved this place. I thought the rotation was excellent and I was thoroughly impressed by the facilities, the residents, and the staff. I would absolutely recommend that applicants take a look at this place - it's a very strong program.
Qualification
I rotated as a medical student at this program
Date of Rotation
Summer 2009
BW
Billy Williams
Top 50 Reviewer
UCD Ortho
(Updated: October 23, 2007)
Overall rating
9.7
Staff Surgeons
9.0
Didactics/Teaching
9.0
Operating Experience
10.0
Clinical Experience
10.0
Research
9.0
Residents
10.0
Lifestyle
10.0
Location
10.0
Overall Experience
10.0
Program Review
Staff / Faculty / Chairman
Excellent trauma attendings at Denver Health. I don't think the loss of Wade Smith has had any adverse impact on the program. Faculty at the University enjoy teaching and are happy to let the residents operate. I operated with the Trauma fellow at Denver health several times and the residents still did most of the cases unless it was a acetabulum or pelvis.
Didactics / Teaching
Once a week from 7-12 at the University. The residents at Denver Health have to rush to get there on time as it can take 30 minutes to drive over. Variety of topics with a good mix of resident and attending teaching. They also do cadaver dissections on these days. At Denver Health there are fracture rounds every morning where some serious pimping goes on but I never saw it get out of hand and the residents handled it well, with chiefs backing up junior residents.
Operating Experience
Probably the best strength of the program. Interns do not operate very much but after that they operate extensively. The PGY-2s do more here then any other program I rotated at. The chiefs are able to run their own rooms and were the most competent and confident I encountered. From what I understand the VA rotation also allows a great deal of autonomy. OR Turnover was never an issue.
Clinic Experience
Not uncommon to see 80 patients in a day at Denver Health. The clinic setting is more laid back at the University and the facilities are top-notch.
Research Opportunities
Everyone is active in research with publications in prominent journals. Much of the research is in trauma but there are plenty of other opportunities. Residents are required to complete two research projects. I am not sure if they get a dedicated research block.
Residents
Another strength of the program. A great group that stands up for one another and get along great. They enjoy hanging out (Skiing, Biking, etc...) after work. They all enjoy teaching especially on call.
Lifestyle
Work hard, play hard. They work their butts off at Denver Health but the rest of the rotations seemed average in terms of hours.
Location / Housing
Denver has something for everyone especially if you enjoy the outdoors. Skiing is 1-2 hours west, Mtn biking is close by. Great sports teams/venues. Excellent brewery scene. 330+ days of sun. Housing seems reasonable for a big city.
Limitations
No major limitations. I'm not sure how long Dr. D is going to be the Chair so that might be the only uncertainty
Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion
Excellent program. Operative experience is second-to-none. Residents come out of this program ready to practice or move on to competitive fellowships. I would be more then happy to match here.
Qualification
I rotated as a medical student at this program
Date of Rotation
Summer 2009
EO
Erik Olsson
Top 50 Reviewer
CU Ortho
(Updated: October 23, 2007)
Overall rating
8.2
Staff Surgeons
8.0
Didactics/Teaching
7.0
Operating Experience
9.0
Clinical Experience
8.0
Research
6.0
Residents
9.0
Lifestyle
8.0
Location
10.0
Overall Experience
9.0
Program Review
Staff / Faculty / Chairman
Staff: All very capable and enjoy teaching. University setting is more relaxed compared to the Denver Health experience. Faculty expects/demands more than most programs and that is why these residents are better trained upon completion.<br />
Chairman: Extension next five years easy going laid back influential in the sports world.
Chairman: Extension next five years easy going laid back influential in the sports world.
Didactics / Teaching
Didactics: Every Thursday from 7-12 protected time. Lectures including trauma, pathology and rotating cirriculum. Usually combination of resident lead discussions with staff. Impressive that local Ortho MDs attend.
Operating Experience
Phenominal, as second years you are in the OR handling the bread and butter cases as the intern on day call fields the ER stuff. Operate as interns on Ortho at Childrens hospital. Upper levels comfortable at everything maybe need a little more dedicated sports time. VA expereince is untouchable with joint replacements etc.
Clinic Experience
Probably a strong point. Residents and med students get nice autonomy. Nice facilities. Great help from nurses and staff. Fair amount of teaching. Hosital has all computerized med records and notes which is great!
Research Opportunities
This is a clear weakness, but you can certainly find things to do. There is some infrastructure, just not a focus. They do have a 20 week!!! research rotation which is cush! Residents love it. They will even support you to go overseas. One resident as a 3 went to south africa and had his own OR for one month.
Residents
Four residents per year, could possibly increase to 5 or 6 as there is that much volume in Denver. Awesome guys and girls who hang out together outside of hospital. Very team oriented and willing to help out.
Lifestyle
Denver, beautiful in the summer with hiking, biking, mtn climbing, fishing, red rocks, sports (Denver Nuggets, Colorado Rockies, Colorado Avalance, Denver Broncos). Night life is phenominal from dive bars to hip and trendy lounges.
Location / Housing
You will pay a pretty penny for a good location
Limitations
Faculty turnover, minimal research, not a big name program
Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion
Excellent<br />
Super competitive as many rotaters are not asked back for formal interviews.
Super competitive as many rotaters are not asked back for formal interviews.
Qualification
I rotated as a medical student at this program
Date of Rotation
Summer 2007
EL
Eric Lenehan
Top 10 Reviewer
Program Information
Residents per class
10
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