Program Review
Staff / Faculty / Chairman
Dr. Roberson (Chair) is very approachable and dedicated to improving the residency program and the faculty. Dr. Bradbury (new residency director) was huge resident advocate and focused on making a number of improvements to the program including improving resident didactics. All the faculty were very focused on resident education, approachable, and none were malignant. The program lacked a fellowship trained traumatologist, but it is adding one this fall. Only had 1 F/A attending, but is adding one of these as well. There is a good mix of older, well-established faculty with young faculty.
Didactics / Teaching
One of the weaker aspects of the program. At Grady, have daily morning trauma conference. On other services, have weekly conference. Has a morning didactic session following grand rounds and an evening session that are both chief resident run. Definitely not at the same level as some of the other programs I rotated at.
Operating Experience
The best I saw. Residents begin as interns with appropriate supervision and responsibility is graduated. I did not see a resident doing unsupervised work that was above their level. By the time they are chiefs, the residents are extremely comfortable with virtually anything they saw. The residents see a great breadth to various orthopaedic pathology.
Clinic Experience
Grady clinic allows for tremendous autonomy. At the subspec clinics the residents receive a lot of attention and great teaching.
Research Opportunities
Research is there and available. They have ample facilities and backing. With that said, the residents definitely have to pursue it and seek it out.
Residents
Great group that love their program. Strong camaraderie amongst them and they stick up for each other. Outside the hospital they all hang out. Majority were single. Chiefs get great fellowships.
Lifestyle
Residents work very hard, especially during time at Grady. Recently added PACS system at Grady definitely made life better, but still a lot of work while at Grady. While on subspec services, life is much better and allows for reading and research work.
Location / Housing
Atlanta is a great city with very affordable housing. Tons of nightlife and things to do. ATL traffic is bad, but not as bad as LA, DC, or Seattle. There are definitely a few bad areas in the city in terms of crime.
Limitations
In addition to the things previously mentioned, the sites are located around Atlanta. This makes life a little tougher when driving around for grand rounds and didactics while combating the ATL traffic.
Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion
Overall an excellent program, one of the best in my opinion. I ranked the program very high based on my experience. <br />
I don't think the rotation is set up well to get a letter of recommendation b/c you don't spend much time with a single faculty member. However, it's a great opportunity to get to know many faculty and get a good feel for the whole program.
