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University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
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University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Orthopedic Surgery Residency Program
User reviews
4 reviews
Overall rating
8.3
Staff Surgeons
9.5(4)
Didactics/Teaching
8.5(4)
Operating Experience
7.5(4)
Clinical Experience
8.3(4)
Research
10.0(4)
Residents
7.8(4)
Lifestyle
6.8(4)
Location
8.3(4)
Overall Experience
8.3(4)
Not for me
(Updated: December 28, 2012)
Overall rating
6.3
Staff Surgeons
9.0
Didactics/Teaching
8.0
Operating Experience
5.0
Clinical Experience
5.0
Research
10.0
Residents
5.0
Lifestyle
3.0
Location
6.0
Overall Experience
6.0
Program Review
Staff / Faculty / Chairman
Big names. Fu is a big name, but a strange dude.
Didactics / Teaching
Rotation specific conference once per week. Grand rounds/teaching on Wednesdays for 3-4 hrs. Several big names and interesting topics during the month that I was there, but hard to stay attentive for that long.
Rotating students present one case the morning after their night on call and are pimped thoroughly by trauma attendings/residents. If you're not prepared, you will be embarrassed. I felt like sometimes they would challenge student assessments to see if you really knew what you were talking about and to see if you would stand up for yourself and explain your decisions. Even though I hated trauma conference, I realized how well this prepared me for other rotations and increased my knowledge.
Rotating students present one case the morning after their night on call and are pimped thoroughly by trauma attendings/residents. If you're not prepared, you will be embarrassed. I felt like sometimes they would challenge student assessments to see if you really knew what you were talking about and to see if you would stand up for yourself and explain your decisions. Even though I hated trauma conference, I realized how well this prepared me for other rotations and increased my knowledge.
Operating Experience
The PGY 2's I operated with had very poor operating skill compared to other programs I observed. That being said, PGY 4 and 6 had a room they double scrubbed and did a majority of the case and they seemed fairly confident in their decisions.
Clinic Experience
I never went to clinic on my service and the PGY 2, 4, and 6 on my service didn't either. So I can't speak to any clinic experience.
Research Opportunities
Plentiful. Tons of money, opportunity, great facilities. If this is what you're interested in, then this is a great place for you.
Residents
Large program, very diverse, female friendly, not cohesive and don't work as a team. they've some issues with the PGY-2 class (class of 2013) and have lost some residents from that year and had to replace them. For whatever reason this occurred, it wasn't able to be answered at the interview. Pittsburgh is a big city and residents are spread out all over the place and rotate at lots of hospitals. Many residents don't know each other at all. About 1/3 of the residents I interacted with were awesome, 1/3 were people I thought I could work with, but weren't people I wanted to get a beer with after work and 1/3 were the most annoying, arrogant people I had ever met.
Lifestyle
PGY 2's get killed preparing presentations and are scutted out by senior residents on several services. Life seemed to get better as a senior.
Location / Housing
There is lots to do in Pittsburgh and housing is affordable. Traffic isn't terrible, but can be a nightmare if you're trying to go across a bridge.
Limitations
The lack of teamwork was an enormous turnoff for me. I really wanted to love this program because it has a big name and am from western PA. Terrible amenities, residents have meal coupons for use ONLY when on call and otherwise food is pretty expensive in the hospitals. No free books, no free loupes. Faculty readily admitted to me that their residents don't get along.
Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion
Not a place I wanted to end up at all. It was a very good rotation as far as learning goes and helped me at my other two away rotations because I had studied so much here and was ready for the standard pimp questions. If research is your thing or you're interested in a big name in an affordable city.
Qualification
I rotated as a medical student at this program
Date of Rotation
september 2009
BS
ben smith
Top 10 Reviewer
University of Pittsburgh
(Updated: December 10, 2011)
Overall rating
10.0
Staff Surgeons
10.0
Didactics/Teaching
10.0
Operating Experience
10.0
Clinical Experience
10.0
Research
10.0
Residents
10.0
Lifestyle
10.0
Location
10.0
Overall Experience
10.0
Program Review
Staff / Faculty / Chairman
The University of Pittsburgh has a rich tradition of orthopaedic education over the past 50+ years. <br />
<br />
Dr. Fu is a great ambassador for the program and works hard to keep the program well respected nationally and internationally. He is famous for his sports medicine contributions and has served on the boards of ISAKOS, AOSSM, etc. Truly knows and cares about each resident of the program, he will go out of his way help a current or former resident achieve their goals.<br />
<br />
The other faculty are very accomplished in their own right. Honestly, there are a few that could leave the program to become chairmen at other places. Many are nationally and internationally known clinicians and researchers. All are very good in what they do. These faculty come from diverse residency and fellowship programs bringing different perspectives on orthopaedic care to UPMC.
<br />
Dr. Fu is a great ambassador for the program and works hard to keep the program well respected nationally and internationally. He is famous for his sports medicine contributions and has served on the boards of ISAKOS, AOSSM, etc. Truly knows and cares about each resident of the program, he will go out of his way help a current or former resident achieve their goals.<br />
<br />
The other faculty are very accomplished in their own right. Honestly, there are a few that could leave the program to become chairmen at other places. Many are nationally and internationally known clinicians and researchers. All are very good in what they do. These faculty come from diverse residency and fellowship programs bringing different perspectives on orthopaedic care to UPMC.
Didactics / Teaching
Present in every form. There is a dedicated half day on Wednesday mornings which include anatomy dissections in the summer, OITE reviews in the fall, nationally known and resident prepared grand rounds, faculty lectures, service specific conferences and journal clubs, etc. The program is known for its trauma conference which involves the junior resident or medical student presenting cases from the previous night which are then discussed. The residents try and teach each other as much as possible and are responsible for the anatomy dissections in the summer, the OITE reviews, grand rounds presentations and on the job training.
Operating Experience
By the time you graduate from the program you will feel comfortable doing the "bread and butter" orthopaedic cases and many of the cases in any specialty you choose to go into. In the past couple of years there has been a person from each class that has gone into general Orthopaedics which speaks to the strength of the operative experience. We get heavy doses of trauma, pediatrics, spine, and joints.
Clinic Experience
All of the orthopaedic subspecialties are covered, within 5-6 different hospitals, all within 10 minutes of each other (i.e. you don't leave town). You get enough exposure to everything so you can decide if that specialty is right for you, you can pass the boards, and you feel comfortable enough to become a general orthopaedic surgeon. All rotations involve at least a half of a day of clinic a week - some are 1-2 days of clinic.
Research Opportunities
If you want to do research I can't think of a better place. There are 5 different labs, each focus on some unique aspect of orthopaedic research (stem cell research is one of the more unique labs here). The ORS has accepted something like 70 abstracts from Pitt Ortho the past few years, we get millions in NIH funding, etc. Each orthopaedic class has 8 residents. 4 residents are in a 6 year academic/research track. Those 4 go to the AAOS/ORS in their research year regardless of production status and all have at a minimum a poster presentation. By the end of their year they will go to other subspecialty meetings (all funded) for presentations, get publications, get connected, understand how to write grants, etc. Research means more than churning out papers. Clinical research is also available to all residents. The department will pay for you to go to a meeting if you have a podium presentation.
Residents
We have 40+ residents; we are one of the larger programs. I find each and every one of my co-residents the smartest, funniest, and coolest person I have been blessed to meet, we are all so "tight". Let’s be real. We have a great group and everybody is accomplished and deserves to be here. We have social functions and do things as a group. If you want to meet us please come rotate or interview here.
Lifestyle
Pittsburgh is a medium sized city. It is not NYC, Philly, Boston, or LA. Rock stars and supermodels cannot routinely be found walking the street and most residents don't go clubbing all night long. Pittsburgh does have VERY affordable housing, a low crime rate, and great schools - it is consistently ranked among the nations most livable cities. We have fancy restaurants, opera, symphony, clubs, etc. We get all major and many indie music acts, etc. Pittsburgh is a GREAT sports town, especially for football. Most people from all the big cities are very surprised how much they love Pittsburgh and how much is available when they get here. There are great running/biking trails, some smaller ski resorts are in the area, great white water rafting, and fishing/hunting.
Location / Housing
See above. Most residents own their own houses because it makes financial sense. All hospitals are within the city. Pittsburgh is not hard to get around from a traffic stand point - it's actually very easy.
Limitations
Honestly, from an orthopaedic standpoint very little - no red flags. Dr. Fu and the faculty are very responsive to resident input to make the experience better.
Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion
Unbeatable. I would come here again in a minute. I can't think of a better place to launch an academic career or be trained to go into private practice. I will stay in touch with many of the faculty and residents long after I leave this place and will always feel indebted to them for giving me the opportunity to train here.
Qualification
I am a current resident of this program.
Date of Rotation
now
O
orthoapp
UPMC Review
(Updated: October 23, 2007)
Overall rating
9.1
Staff Surgeons
10.0
Didactics/Teaching
9.0
Operating Experience
8.0
Clinical Experience
10.0
Research
10.0
Residents
9.0
Lifestyle
8.0
Location
8.0
Overall Experience
10.0
Program Review
Staff / Faculty / Chairman
The staff at UPMC are all experts in their respective fields; in my experience they were all also interested in teaching residents, often printing out new literature on a topic to give to the resident or medical student. Dr. Fu is also an excellent chairman, who takes immense pride in the residency and is also willing to do all the legwork to keep the program functioning at a top level.
Didactics / Teaching
As above, teaching in the OR was excellent. Teaching in clinic can suffer sometimes due to the high volume, but residents and medical students see all new patients and present to the attending, then accompany the attending in for the evaluation.<br />
Didactics occur at trauma/ fracture conference, which occurs 7 days a week for about 30 mins. The teaching is excellent, but residents and medical students are expected to know their stuff and can expect to be embarassed if they don't. Full didactics are Wednesdays and are protected time. I was less impressed with these lectures, although they are all by faculty. They just sometimes feel a bit crammed.
Didactics occur at trauma/ fracture conference, which occurs 7 days a week for about 30 mins. The teaching is excellent, but residents and medical students are expected to know their stuff and can expect to be embarassed if they don't. Full didactics are Wednesdays and are protected time. I was less impressed with these lectures, although they are all by faculty. They just sometimes feel a bit crammed.
Operating Experience
I thought the residents operated well and often, especially from the 3 year on. It has come to my attention, however, that on some services this happens more than others. Fellows certainly do play a role in the operative experience, although often there is little overlap in cases, with a senior running one room and a fellow the other.
Clinic Experience
Clinic space is beautiful and well run, but like I said, the volume is high so attendings will not often stop to emphasize teaching points. Residents will see all new patients, however, and a lot can be learned from repetition.
Research Opportunities
Pitt is a research factory. There is literally about a dozen labs running high level orthopaedic research. The infrastrcture is in place for a resident who is interested to easily get involved.
Residents
I really liked the residents at Pitt. They are all very smart, very impressive people who like to teach. But they weren't bookish, and they loved to party, too. I think this is a major strength of the program.
Lifestyle
Depends on the rotation. PGY-2s get killed on trauma, etc. From 3-year on, though, things are fairly cushy.
Location / Housing
Pittsburgh has a lot to offer, and the housing market is CHEAP. It can't be beat. Downside is that it's not a bustling singles scene.
Limitations
The downsides to the program probably are the growing pains in adjusting to becoming a level I trauma center and creating a night float system and having only one dedicated joint reconstruction rotation and one sports rotation (both come as a chief). The growing pains are minor, but there. This will be worked out within the next year. The joint reconstruction and sports experience will likely improve as the program increases in size, but when there were only 3 residents per year, there were only so many rotations to go around. You still receive 3-4 months of training as a chief in each area.
Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion
I consider Pitt to be one of the finest programs in the country that I was exposed to. I thought the fellows were a little bit of a downside, but the facilities, faculty, residents, and the opportunities Pitt affords after graduation are tough to beat.
Qualification
I rotated as a medical student at this program
Date of Rotation
Summer-Fall '07
CG
Chris Graham
Top 500 Reviewer
Pitt
(Updated: October 23, 2007)
Overall rating
7.8
Staff Surgeons
9.0
Didactics/Teaching
7.0
Operating Experience
7.0
Clinical Experience
8.0
Research
10.0
Residents
7.0
Lifestyle
6.0
Location
9.0
Overall Experience
7.0
Program Review
Staff / Faculty / Chairman
Big names, especially in sports with Fu and Harner. Fu works very hard to make the Pitt name very reputable.
Didactics / Teaching
Half hour trauma conference every morning to go over what came in the previous night. Med students and residents get pimped thoroughly.<br />
Wednesday morning devoted entirely to didactics. I can't focus that long and don't learn much after an hour of lecture. I would much prefer a short conference each day rather than one lump sum on Wednesday.
Wednesday morning devoted entirely to didactics. I can't focus that long and don't learn much after an hour of lecture. I would much prefer a short conference each day rather than one lump sum on Wednesday.
Operating Experience
Can only speak to trauma and sports. Trauma wsa very good. Residents did the cases and appeared comfortable and skilled doing them. A lot of operating during the night too (at least during late summer months when I was there)<br />
Sports... fellows and attendings do the case. Junior resident was often double scrubbed and even the senior resident did a lot of watching during the important parts of the cases (drilling tunnels, tensioning grafts...)
Sports... fellows and attendings do the case. Junior resident was often double scrubbed and even the senior resident did a lot of watching during the important parts of the cases (drilling tunnels, tensioning grafts...)
Clinic Experience
can only speak to sports clinic... beautiful clinic facility. Take care of real athletes. Less instruction and teaching from attendings than I have seen at other institutions where I rotated.
Research Opportunities
Incredible funding and opportunity. 4 of 8 residents do a research year. Great place to go if you're looking to churn out papers and go in to academics.
Residents
Larger program, more residents, less cohesive than I have seen on other rotations. There were definitely some great guys there, but there were also a few residents who were a little stiff.<br />
Seems like it is about half married, half single.
Seems like it is about half married, half single.
Lifestyle
Get worked pretty hard as a junior resident with call. Trauma was a killer rotation. Of course that is true everywhere, but significantly more busy than the 3 other programs I am familiar with. Gets better as you get older.
Location / Housing
Pittsburgh is under-appreciated as a city. It's not a steel factory anymore. Downtown is very nice. Plenty of places to go out. Very affordable. Most residents own homes. Takes a while to learn all the crazy winding roads.
Limitations
The program director has been very receptive to the needs of the program, as you can see above. In one year, we have addressed many of the shortcomings noted in the previous review. While this program, like all, has areas that can be improved, it is obvious that the administration behind the University of Florida program is committed to addressing those deficiencies quickly.
Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion
Big names. Great research opportunity. Junior residents get worked very hard. Would be a great place to go if one is looking to be an academician.
Qualification
I rotated as a medical student at this program
Date of Rotation
2006
RK
Rob Koch
Top 50 Reviewer
Contact Information
City
Pittsburgh
State/Province
Pennsylvania
Program Information
Residents per class
8
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