Program Review
Staff / Faculty / Chairman
Chairman: Cato Laurencin = very approachable; world-class bioengineering research<br />
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Faculty:<br />
Sports (David Diduch, Mark Miller, Eric Carson): one of the top sports programs in the country; Miller is an excellent teacher / clinician - great to work with; Diduch and Carson are technical experts<br />
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Hand (Chhabra, Dacus): Chhabra is the foundation of this residency; excellent teacher (key contributor at Miller Review, Maine Review, etc.); avid supportor of the residency and residents; Dacus is a new faculty member, well-received<br />
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Spine (Whitehill, Shen, Arlet): great operative experience on Spine for residents; Arlet very involved on international level<br />
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Foot/Ankle (Caycedo): Caycedo is relatively new, but he is a top-notch clinician and teacher<br />
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Adult Reconstruction (Saleh, Mihalko, Brown): Saleh and Mihalko are pioneers in the world of arthroplasty; Brown has all the residents wanting to do joints after operating with him<br />
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Trauma (Kahler, Cui): Kahler is unquestionably a pelvic master - expert in computer-guided acetabular surgery; the residents seem to love working with Cui<br />
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Tumor (Foster): not of ton of tumor, but enough to get a strong experience
Didactics / Teaching
Very strong didactic schedule - daily conferences<br />
Monday: Fracture conference (residents present all the weeks fractures from diagnosis to definitive management)<br />
Tuesday: Core curriculum (covers all aspects of Orthopaedics)<br />
Wednesday: Grand Rounds (consistently great guest speakers, i.e. Freddie Fu, Doug Dirschl, Frank Frassica, etc.)<br />
Thursday: service specific<br />
Friday: Basic science / Radiology (world-class MSK Radiologist, Mark Anderson frequently lectures)<br />
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Excellent visiting professors.
Operating Experience
Seems strong; interns in the OR on daily basis; 2nd years do majority of trauma cases, lots of scopes, etc. Chiefs have almost complete autonomy on most cases as appropriate
Clinic Experience
likely the same as most places; strong clinic teaching
Research Opportunities
Abundant. Offers six-year track with one year of research after intern year. Dedicated research block during third year
Residents
Great group of people. Diverse. Get along very well both in the hospital and outside. Some of the strongest I've seen.
Lifestyle
Very manageable. Many of the upper-levels have families. Engage in many outside the hospital activities.
Location / Housing
Charlottesville has great cultural and outdoor activities. Very strong music scene as well. Beautiful weather. Housing a little expensive for a small town, but in the current market most likely manageable. Charlottesville consistently voted among the top places to live.
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
Absolutely awesome. I rotated here and then ranked it #1. Very happy to be here.
