Program Review
Staff / Faculty / Chairman
The faculty at Jefferson is absolutely first class. Jefferson has arguably the strongest spine, joints, shoulder/elbow and hand departments in the country.
Didactics / Teaching
The Jefferson curriculum is constantly adapting to provide residents with a top notch education. The current teaching consists of individual department conferences throughout the week. Didactics are on Monday afternoon, anatomy and arthroscopy lab are Wednesday afternoon and M&M and Grand Rounds are Thursday morning.
Operating Experience
The operative experience is certainly one of Jefferson's strengths. Working along side the leaders in the field of orthopaedics provides incredible learning opportunities. Chiefs on all services run their own room and junior residents get exposure to all subspecialties.
Clinic Experience
The clinical experience is really dictated by the attendings with whom you work. Since Jefferson has many leaders in their respective subspecialties, residents get comfortable with 'bread-and-butter' orthopaedics but also get first hand experience with some of the less common orthopaedic conditions.
Research Opportunities
Jefferson orthopaedics is in the top two nationally in both NIH funding and research productivity. The opportunities for residents are abundant and highly encouraged. A research block has recently been added to the third year rotation schedule to reinforce this expectation.
Residents
The residents have varied backgrounds and clinical interests but are a tight group that has a great time both in and out of the hospital.
Lifestyle
The lifestyle at Jefferson is great. The residents work hard but have fun doing it. They enjoy coming to work each day and demonstrates that through their enthusiasm for orthopaedics.
Location / Housing
Jefferson is located in Center City Philadelphia. It is in the heart of downtown with a vast array of nearby, affordable housing and all the activities of any major city.
Limitations
the only limitations that I could percieve are the paucity of research experiences available and/or location. But, I am not really looking for a very research heavy program and I love outdoor activities so this place will rank highly.
Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion
The overall experience at Jefferson is excellent. Residents graduate from the program with confidence in both patient assessment and surgical skills, with their choice of fellowship and with relationships to many of the learders in the field of orthopaedics.
