| Q: How many years is residency in orthopedic surgery? |
| A: Orthopedic residency is 5 years total. Following 1 year of a rotating internship, residency in orthopedic surgery is 4 additional years. Electives during the internship year are in orthopedic surgery. |
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| Q: How many residencies are there? |
| A: There are 29 residencies in 10 different states. Each residency is approved for a certain number of residents, which varies from 4 to 21, depending on the size of the hospital(s), the number of cases, and the number of DO attending surgeons. In 2006-2007, 299 residents filled 341 of the approved residency positions. |
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| Q: : What is a “linked” program? |
| A: “Linked” to most people implies that acceptance into internship includes matriculation into residency upon completion of internship. Some programs participate in this type of “linking” while others do not. When asking questions about linking, the important thing to ask is does the program select medical students for internship AND residency or is there a separate interview process for interns applying to residency. In other words, when you are accepted for internship, are you also accepted for residency. The AOA Internship Guidelines maybe found at : https://www.do-online.org/pdf/sir_postdoctrainproced.pdf |
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| Q: How do I set up a rotation in orthopedic surgery? |
| A: Click here for the complete list of orthopedic residencies. Included are the contact numbers for the Office of Medical Education at each program. |
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| Q: When should I rotate in orthopedics? |
| A: Orthopedic surgery is an elective rotation for most medical students. Depending on when your medical school permits electives will primarily determine when you can rotate in orthopedics. When selecting you third and fourth year rotations, keep in mind that most programs begin interviewing students for internship/residency in late October or early November. Therefore, fourth year medical students should attempt to rotate in orthopedics prior to interviews. |
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| Q: What should I read to prepare for my orthopedic rotation? |
| A:
Orthopedic surgery, like most surgical subspecialties, tends to have few lectures during medical school. Therefore, most of what you’ll learn in orthopedics will be learned while on rotation as well as self directed reading. There are many orthopedic textbooks in publication and choosing what to read and from what source can be VERY confusing. In general, medical students interested in orthopedic surgery should have a reliable anatomy text, a good physical exam of the spine and extremities book, and a basic fracture handbook. Click here to see a list of suggested books. Please keep in mind, these books are in no way REQUIRED when rotating but suggested for those planning on applying for residency in orthopedic surgery.Additionally, if your medical school has a residency in orthopedic surgery, you may want to inquire about when the residents have fracture conferences, grand rounds and other educational programs. |
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| Q: How do I apply for residency in orthopedic surgery? |
| A: Click here for an application. There is a general application that all MS IVs applying to internship/residency must complete. The deadline is (DATE). Additional requirements are a personal statement, a Dean’s letter, transcripts from your medical school, and 2-3 letters of recommendation from DO physicians (not required to be specifically orthopedic surgeons). |
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| Q: What is a fellowship? |
| A: A fellowship is 1 additional year of training following graduation from residency. At the conclusion of a 5 year residency in orthopedic surgery, graduates are trained to begin practice in general orthopedics, which technically includes just about any aspect of orthopedic surgery the graduate is competent in. Some graduates choose to focus specifically on 1 subspecialty of orthopedic surgery and enter a fellowship. Fellowships, in general, include: Foot and Ankle, Hand, Joint Replacement, Pediatric Orthopedics, Shoulder and Elbow (Upper Extremity), Spine, Sports, Trauma, and Tumor. |
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