Residency Review Thread 2011-2012

[buckets30]

Med School: Public
Boards: Step 1 and Step 2 in 270s
Rank: No rank at our school
AOA: yes
Preclinicals: All H, 1 HP
Clinicals: All H
Ortho: H for home program and two aways
Research: Did ortho research summer after 1st year, one presentation, no pubs
Extracurriculars: Typical stuff (clubs, TA, tutoring, sports)

What I was looking for in a program: Balance between operative experience, didactics, and program reputation were key for me. I'm very strongly considering a career in academics so going somewhere with strong connections was important. However, it's no mystery that some of the most prestigious academic places are a little lacking in terms of operating so that's where I felt "balance" came in to play.

How many programs:
Applied to: 80
Offered interviews: 47
Interviews attended: 16 (I only went into detail for my top tier)

Tier 1: in the order of my rank list

1. Iowa - One of the best overall programs in the country. This place has it all: amazing reputation, great operative experience, incredible research productivity, down to earth residents and faculty, great place to live, amazing call schedule, only two hospitals which are practically next to each other, and of course the obligatory comment about Dr Buckwalter (this guy is a rockstar yet very humble and welcoming). I could go on and on but a lot has already been said on this thread and others. Iowa city seems to be the big thing that comes up as a potential deal breaker, I loved the city and thought it would be a great place to be for the next five years. In terms of academic orthopaedics, it doesn't get any more big league than this place. I encourage anyone looking into academic ortho to check it out.

2. Vanderbilt - This place surprised me. I had heard nothing but great things about it from my classmates that rotated there, so I was really looking forward to the interview. They have a great program with tons of trauma and operative experience, and the academics and research are certainly there. The residents I met at the social were some of the nicest on the trail, and you certainly can't go wrong with Nashville. This is definitely a top program in all regards, and I would have been very excited to have matched here.

3. CMC - Someone else already called this place a sleeper, and I would go further and say that this place is already a well known great program. This is a community program turned academic, and they do both very well. Residents here operate a ton, get great exposure to private practice, and have the opportunity to get very involved with research if they want to. This place is turning out great orthopaedic surgeons, and it's only getting better, fast.

4. Mayo - This thread had already written a novel on Mayo so I wont add anything other than yes, it's Mayo and it's that good. The only drawback for me was the size of the program, I was looking for something more tight-knit and the 12 residents a year and mentorship model weren't my favorite. Clearly those are personal reasons, and based on what I was looking for otherwise Mayo had all there is to offer.

I'd write more about the other places I went, but quite honestly I just dont have that much to say about them so I dont know how useful it would be.

Matched at: Top tier

Advice to future applicants: I'll assume most people looking at this thread are 3rd or 4th years about to be going through this process. The best advice I think I have is to just be humble and work hard. I know that's not rocket science but, honestly, it's incredible how far that will take you. Especially on interviews, just be nice and be yourself and people will recognize what you've done and you will stand out. It's easy for me to say all this now that I'm on the other side of things, but don't worry, the vast majority of you that are willing to prepare and put in the time to research and understand this process will be right where I'm at before you know it. Best of luck to all of you, it's a great process and 100% worth the time and effort!

[orthorover]

Since I have visited this site hundreds of times preparing for away rotations and interviews, I am going to reply to this thread a little differently to pay it forward. My intention is to provide future applicants with information that will assist them in their upcoming decisions. That being said, I’d like to say a few things off the bat concerning advice in general and rank lists:
1) Always consider your source. Inherently, previous applicants will base their advice primarily on their own anecdotal experience and that of fellow applicants/friends. Even in anonymous message boards like this, whether conscious or subconscious, people’s opinions will be influenced by their experiences throughout the process. Your best source of information regarding your competitiveness is current program directors/chairmen. They know with certainty what makes a candidate desirable-not recent applicants. Beyond that, they will have access to your entire application (not just your board score) and determine your status. That being said, my advice is obviously flawless and the best you will read…
2) Orthogate is an intimidating beast. Looking over the previous posts on this thread, I would be trembling in fear if I were applying this year. Not everyone has a 260-270 step 1 and first author publication in JBJS. Not everyone gets interviews at the majority of places they apply to. I know people that matched with scores that would be torn apart on these forums…and I know others who did not match with very competitive scores/grades.
3) Rank lists are very subjective and conditional. Subjective in that if you are a city person, you will rank city programs higher. If you are engaged/married, it won’t bother you if the program is not in a hot spot. If you want a big name program, you will rank big names highly no matter what. If you want to live in a certain geographic region, you will rank all programs outside that area low. Conditional in that you can’t rank a program you didn’t get an interview at, and if a program pleasantly surprised you it will knock other programs down your list that you still love.
4) There are no true tiers. Sure it is fun to try and name the “top 5 programs” or rant about how “hands down this is the best program in the country,” unless someone interviewed at every potential top program no one really can say. Much like medical schools, all ortho programs are great. The best “tier” is the one that best fits your personality and aspirations.

I am not going to give my stats here because I honestly don’t see the point. There are two aspects to getting into a program: the invite and securing a position. To get an interview you need to meet that program’s minimum criteria for grades, steps, ECs, LORs and they need a reason to want to meet you. To secure a position, take the interview very seriously and sell yourself better than other applicants.

What I was looking for in a Program: I am leaning towards academics, so having a program that left doors open for me and had great fellowship placement was important. Beyond that, it was all fit.

NOT RANKED-rank everywhere. You would rather be an orthopod at your #20 than have to fight the long uphill battle of scrambling/reapplying.

Matched at: #1

Advice for future applicants: Be humble, polite, respectful, know your application, smile, have fun with fellow applicants, sign up for frequent flyer miles, buy a new blue/gray suit, and enjoy the ride/free drinks.

Good Luck!

[orthoguy123]

Well said orthorover. There really is no way to rank all the programs in the country, because like I said before there are so many good programs and everybody's rank list is so subjective. I think you give some good advice that applicants need to look at our rank lists with the idea that many factors went into how we ranked our programs. However, I do think this board is helpful and that you can get a lot of great information about programs around the country that you might not have access to otherwise. I think most of what you read on here is true information but how people rank their programs might not be the best way to consider what program is right for you.

[strykerjackson]

Med School: Top 40 Research
Boards: Step 1: 250, Step 2: 240
Rank: Top 25%
AOA: No
Preclinicals: Pass
Clinicals: Honors: Surgery, Peds, Psych
Ortho: Honors at home and 2 aways
Research: Ortho research, no publications. 1 submitted publication (non-Ortho)
Extracurriculars: Random interesting/awesome stuff.

What I was looking for in a Program: Good vibe and nice feel + Well rounded academic program with a high volume Level 1 trauma center, research and excellent fellowship match.

How many Programs:
Applied to: 70
Offered Interviews: 12
Attended: 12

Programs: I don't find any benefit to listing programs and giving my version of "tiers." There a lot of excellent programs out there with well recognized surgeons. The best way to find out what you like and where you want to be is to research programs in which you would be interested (both geographically and academically) and apply for aways at a couple. Talk with your home program Chairman, PD and mentors to find out more info regarding programs and the application/interview/match process.

Advice for future applicants: Ortho is so competitive these days that there are far more than enough applicants who can meet or exceed the numbers threshold. It's the qualitative parts of your application that will set you apart. My best advice is to establish a relationship with a mentor at your home program who will write a strong letter, advocate and make calls for you. Crush your Ortho rotations and get strong letters from those you impressed. In the end, I felt that my board scores and grades got me through the filters, but my letters and established relationships helped me MATCH at a top notch program.

[gk1]

Look, everyone knows that you need great board scores, tremendous aways, letters of rec from big names...AOA...etc. But the key is to go here and try to find out what each of these programs is about. What do each of you find special in these programs as you have gone through this process? What are pros and limitations? That is incredibly valuable advice and the hope is that the true value here is in the totality of the advice that is described in this thread. Let's keep posting info about everybody's experience about each program...general advice is certainly helpful, but what I thought also provided guidance (at least for me) was multiple different opinions about programs.

[orthoguy123]

Since I was a little brief with my previous post, I wanted to expand a little bit.

Mayo - I really liked this program. The atmosphere at Mayo is incredible and it just feels as though you are part of something special. Also, the residents get strong fellowship placement, but as others have mentioned - this isn't really a stand out part of the program as many programs get people into great fellowships. The mentorship model isn't for everyone, but I think overall it's not a bad way to do things (although I'm sure some residents have amazing schedules and others get kinda screwed). The 2nd year you can make a research year without lengthening your residency, which is a nice bonus since the research opportunities are endless. The didactics are Mayo are the best in the country. Second year you spend 6 mos. in lectures/dissections every afternoon. Specialty conferences and grand rounds are well attended by faculty and residents. One thing I am a little skeptical about is the operative experience compared to other programs. Mayo compared to other residencies receives very little trauma, and subsequently offers rotations at SHOCK to make up for this deficiency. Also, there is no VA or county hospital experience - you just get the great subspecialty training that Mayo offers. Additionally, I'm imagining that alot of your cases are complex/crazy stuff, thus not allowing you to get much autonomy in the OR.

Cleveland Clinic - It's a really great program and they have a fun group of residents. It is relatively "family friendly" and the attendings are all very approachable. Another plus is that you only have to round on patients that you actually operated on. The fellows and senior residents can't dump their dirty work on you - which is a nice bonus. The facilities are beautiful and living in Cleveland wouldn't be all that bad. Just like Mayo, the research opportunities are plentiful. You do have to go to Akron for your Peds experience, but I've heard that rotation is great. Also, you go to Case for trauma, since CCF doesn't see much operative trauma. I've heard from rotators that the operative experience is good, although again there is no VA or county hospital experiences (so a similar experience to Mayo in regards to subspecialty training).

Pitt - Interview day is quite a show, but I have no doubt you will leave here a fantastic surgeon. Freddie Fu is great - he is extremely friendly and approachable, plus I've heard he is a great chairman and resident advocate. I do think the residents work hard (especially their PGY2 year), but it seems it all culminates in producing fantastic surgeons. They have great fellowship placement. Residents rotate through the VA and have a busy, busy trauma service. Morning report for the trauma service is a great learning experience, attended well by faculty. One thing about this program, the PGY2s get destroyed I've heard. They create many/all of the presentations and take alot of trauma call. By doing this though, it makes the PGY3-5 years a little more cushy. Pick your poison I guess.

Hopkins - Maybe a little high on my list because of the name, although I had a good experience overall at JH. The residents are all very friendly and easy to talk to. They just built a brand new $500 million hospital, which should be very nice. They have good fellowship placement. One knock - I have heard that younger residents don't operate as much as they should (I didn't see this directly, but heard through the grapevine). Also, while Baltimore has nice areas, I'm not sure it is for everyone.

Baylor - I felt this program is very similar to Pitt - these are the best two operative experiences in my Top 5. The residents work hard, but become fantastic surgeons (I really believe this is one of the best "academic" operative experiences in the country). They have a good group of residents, who like to work hard and play hard. The PD is a great guy and really easy to chat with. They have good fellowship placement - especially in hand and spine. The facilities are awesome within the Texas Medical Center - Baylor Clinic, HUGE VA (second biggest government building behind the Pentagon), Ben Taub, Texas Children's, MD Anderson, Methodist, and a Shriner's. In regards to the VA hospital - new building, lots of operating and tons of autonomy. Ben Taub is a busy county hospital and much of your trauma experience is spent here. It's an academic program with many research opportunities, but the time required to produce the research is not always available. They were trying to find a chairman a few years ago, but currently have an interim chair that has stabilized that situation.

[GoDawgs12]

Med School: Private top 25 USNWR
Boards: Step 1 230’s, Step 2 260’s
Rank: N/A
AOA: No
Preclinicals: N/A
Clinicals: A’s
Ortho: Home + 2 aways (I was unaware we got grades)
Research: Some basic science stuff from college (thesis and posters), 2 ortho projects with 0 pubs
Extracurriculars: This is the strongest part of my application, and I am pretty sure this combined with letters is what got me interviews. You have to make yourself look different from every other applicant. If you think something about you is interesting, list it. I know one guy put his golf handicap here, which was brilliant, he talked about it on every interview (granted, if my handicap was a 3 I’d put it too).
What I was looking for in a program: 3 Things: 1) Reputation- both that you train with big names who will make sure you get a great fellowship, and that people know the product at your institution is great, 2) Operative experience- this is why you go into Ortho, I wanted to know my way around all the bread and butter cases, be able to do them independently, and see some zebras, 3) Location- taking a family with me, New York, Boston and LA weren’t really options for me (and I hate big cities, so that works nicely)
How Many Programs:
Applied to: 90
Offered Interviews: 25
Attended interviews: 15 (both because of the reasons above in what I was looking for, cost and scheduling, that said I missed the Mayo and Oregon interviews, which in retrospect was a bad choice, I’ve heard great things about them)
Tier 1: In terms of reputation, may or may not have anything to do with my rank list
WashU- Everything here is great. Huge names (Ricci, Hand guys), you operate a ton. Bone Palace out in the ‘burbs. Night float. Cush 4th year. They get the best fellowships. All subspecialties covered. #1 in NIH funding for ortho programs. The chair loves having the best of everything and loves his residents.
Downside- St. Louis
Brown- Ehrlich is a legend. The trauma experience is surprisingly good. All subspecialties covered. Huge name. Operate a lot. Very strong in peds/joints. Tons of research (you have a 4th and 5th year rotation as well as 6 months in your fellowship year for research). Residents get the best fellowships. Everyone knows they can operate. Big names will get you the fellowship you want.
Downside- It’s cold, you only rotate on F&A and tumor once, 6th year requires extra commitment

Emory- Big name. You operate a ton starting really as an intern. Very trauma heavy Everyone in the country knows you know your way around the OR. I was a home student here and can say that the residents are both very good at what they do, and a lot of fun to hang out with. The attendings were all very nice and approachable (very few exceptions to that). Very strong in Trauma, Spine, Joints and Sports. Tons of research. Grady (massive county hospital) is a ton of fun.
Downside- geographically you cover hospitals that can be pretty far away during traffic, lots of home call, F&A and Hand aren’t as strong as other subspecialties according to the residents (I didn’t work on either service so I can’t speak firsthand on that, its just what residents stated)

CMC- By now, it’s a well known commodity. Its Dr. Hanley and Dr. Frick’s show and they have done a great job building this program to what it is. You work with the CMC guys and OrthoCarolina, and get a great idea of what academic and private practice is like. All subspecialties are covered (extensively). You operate a ton, get great fellowships, and work with the guys who wrote your textbooks (Hanley, Frick, Kellam, Bosse, Sims, D’Allesandro, Kneisl, Bob Anderson). I rotated here and would highly recommend it to anyone. The residents are very well taken care of. Night float, you get absolutely destroyed, but if you can handle it, you can handle anything. It’s a huge, and insanely busy hospital. Night float works great since all the call you have is under one roof (peds and trauma center in the same spot). Almost totally preceptorship model. Great residents, great/fun attendings (very few exceptions).
Downside- currently the OC guys have operating privileges at the charlotte outpatient surgery center and the residents don’t, so on those days you can get farmed out a little bit (you notice how far I had to stretch to get that?)

Tier 2-
Greenville- sleeper program, but that won’t last long. Steadman-Hawkins is there, so if you want to do sports, Hawkins makes a call and you get it. Jeray is phenomenal (also a great collegiate soccer player as it turns out). Great priveledges. Great operating experience.
Downside- maybe not as many big names as other places (outside sports), not a big city (that was a plus for me), I think you do some spine with neuro guys-not sure if that is a downside

UAB- a few years ago, this was a place people weren’t excited about. Trauma people left, scandal at one of the hospitals, Andrews moved to Pensacola. Now, it is definitely headed in the right direction. All subspecialties covered, great residents (kind of like the guys at UTC, MCG, Arkansas) if you like the southern program type guys (who doesn’t?). Tons of operative experience. Andrews is still there one day a week when you are on sports. Very trauma heavy, which I think is a good thing. Residents get very good fellowships.
Downside- if you don’t like Birmingham. You are betting on the future of this program, but after meeting the chair, I think it’s a safe bet.

UMDNJ- Great residents, operate more than any other program in the country allegedly, operative experience starts as an intern. Residents and faculty get along great. All subspecialties covered.
Downside- cost of living can be a bit high, but it is super close to manhattan if that is your thing, also not the biggest name, but most everyone knows these guys can operate an incredibly well for their pgy-level of training.
Tier 3
MCG- Great community style academic program. Again, I like the city of Augusta, but most people don’t. I also like the group of residents. Married southern gentlemen for the most part. They have a really nice hospital and peds hospital under the same roof. They get great trauma/sports/joints. The residents were a happy bunch. I unfortunately had a flat tire and couldn’t go to the reception, but I understand the residents like their poker. You stay in augusta for everything, but do some traveling clinics/golf on peds.
Downside- not the biggest name, they are actively recruiting an F&A guy, but currently use a podiatrist. There is no tumor rotation, but there are 1.5 tumor trained surgeons there ( I think one is part time).

UTC- not the biggest name, but great trauma. Operate a ton. Residents love the place. Erlanger (county hospital) is awesome. Love Chattanooga.
Downside- no tumor, you work with plastics guys a lot for hand, and neuro guys for spine

Ochsner- fantastic operative experience. You work in Chabert for 8 months and basically run the ortho program there. Dr. Meyer, the PD, is very focused on resident education. The new Chair is from Mayo and has an interest in improving the research facilities/output of the program.
Downside- No level 1 trauma service, that said, Dr. Mautner (traumatologist) is supposed to be a young bright star and gets a lot of cold pelvis/tab trauma shipped in, the Chabert rotation is great- but bringing a family with me it was a massive turnoff for me

AMC- massive trauma heavy operative experience. Dr. Ziran is an amazing traumatologist, huge name and technically brilliant. Dr. Schlatterrer (traumatologist) is also fantastic. Dr. Kane, the chair/PD, is dedicated to resident education and is building his sports practice to improve the AMC name. You operate 9 out of 10 days as a 2nd year, all at AMC. It’s a pretty brutal call schedule q4-5 for a year on every other weekend, leave at noonish on post call days (unless it is a didactic day), but you know your stuff after your 2nd year, and again you are rewarded with operative experience. You’re 3rd year you go out into the community and work with some fantastic physicians there (Dr. Gilogly, Dr. Steve Smith, Dr. Dantuluri-sp?). Then in your 4th year you do tumor with the Emory guys, do a trauma rotation at Grady taking chief call there and do trauma at AMC again. They have a “general” rotation since the VA in Atlanta is run by Emory. The best operative resident I saw on all of my rotations was at this hospital, which goes to show the quality of the operative training here. I rotated here, and thought if I ended up here I would be completely comfortable in private practice without a fellowship and be able to take call at any trauma center.
Downside- not the biggest name (though Kane and Ziran are VERY well known), weaknesses are sports (being addressed by Dr. Kane building his practice) because Gilogly got a fellow and spine. Also, you take call with guys like Schlatterrer and Ziran at a level 1 trauma center, but private guys also take call there which can lead to some unevenness in training.

Indiana- this was my first interview and thusly I remember it poorly, they had a strange call system, but the residents seemed to like it. Very strong in peds. Indy is a great town. Small enough, but also having a city feel.
Downside- they seem to have gone through a number of chairs in the last five years, there is an awesome sports practice in town they don’t seem to have a relationship with

Arkansas- I liked little rock as a city, but I may be in the minority here. The residents all seemed quite happy. Many had families. This is in the same vein of residents that you see at MCG, UTC and UAB. The interview day is brutal though, 17 interviews. You do get to meet everyone. The PD was incredibly invested in his residents education and well-being. They have a weekly “beer church” where they discuss the program in an informal settings, and the residents really like the amount of input that they have. The hospital is very very nice. They also have great research facilities that you can use… or not.
Downside- I kind of discounted this program out of hand because they informed us they were trying to expand the faculty by 2x in the next 4 years. To me, that meant I had no idea what my training would be like. That said, I have heard whispers of who their new trauma person is going to be, and this person is awesome.

South Carolina- community style academic program. Good operative experience. Your 2nd/3rd years are down right brutal. Q4-5 in house call for 2 years. Very small program, 2/year.
Downside- you go to Greenville for a rotation at the Shrine for 2 months. I’m not too sure how long that is going to last. Not the biggest name/names

Jacksonville- Shanz is a huge trauma center, very trauma centric. Kirkpatrick, the Chair, is a well known spine guy, and definitely making the name of the program grow. They work with the Mayo guys for joints, and will work with them more for F&A
Downside- not a great name, but they operate a lot.

Matched at- top tier

Thoughts- what is important to you is not going to be the same, figure out what you want out of a program and really pay attention to what is similar/different. If you find you can’t really decide b/t 2-3 programs, that is a great thing, it means you can be happy at more than one place. Also, you don’t have to have eye popping numbers to match at a fantastic program. I thought far too many 270’s type people posted on here. I’m not that, and did just fine.

[BallSoHard]

Med School: Northeast state school
Boards: Step I and II: 250s
Rank: We’re not ranked
AOA: We don’t get that either
4th Grade Spelling Bee: 2nd Place
Bench Press: 225ibs
IQ: 105
Astrological Sign: Pisces
Rotations: Home and 2 aways
Research: Random pre-med school stuff. 2 pubs (one first author) and a couple other projects “in progress” or “in composition”
Extracurriculars: Balling so hard

What I was looking for in a Program: Location (for family reasons) was my priority. Within that geographic radius, I was looking for a program with strong training and research opportunities. Also where I would be comfortable and have fun. Yea, the same as everyone else…

How many Programs:
Applied to: 77
Offered Interviews: 57
Attended: 22


Harvard: “The ultimate ortho buffet”

OVERVIEW: If you want it, they have six of them. It doesn’t even matter what it is. They have it. This place is legendary: they work at 4 of the (arguably) greatest hospitals in the world. Think about it, what other single program puts you in that many big league places? The thing you need to know when coming here is that they’re comfortable with who they are. They are training you to be a specialist. They do not intend for you to go into general practice. When you start asking, “yea, but I just want to make sure I’m REALLY good with trauma…” No. You’re thinking about it wrong. You go to Harvard, you will be a subspecialist. Period. (Yes, you’ll be competent in the OR, but you won’t be slick).
SERVICES: MGH. Brigham. Beth Israel Deaconess. Boston Children’s. Come on now.
ATTENDINGS: Faculty seem very invested and approachable. But about 150 surgeons, many of whom with big names, so you need to make the effort to find people to establish a relationship. After that, my guess is that you’re set for life.
RESIDENTS: Residents were awesome. Fun. A little nerdy (I thought that I would fit in well). They seemed competent and swore that they didn’t need a trauma fellowship (again, “comfortable but not slick”). It’s a big program so naturally they are not as tight knit. But they also seemed to enjoy each other’s company and worked together well. They went out and really enjoyed Boston. Great people. Also, they’re well taken care of: about 10 “events” a year (holiday party, BBQ, etc)
FELLOWS: This is the big knock, right? Fellow-driven program? I have to say, it seemed like there was some truth to that. I spoke very candidly with several attendings on this topic and their take home point was that, yes, you will have lots of fellow interference. However, they also add that you will get to learn what you need to. And not to worry, you’ll always have your own fellowship to because masterful at your chosen subspecialty (remember what I said earlier?). But I will say this, at MGH in particular, they are making a substantial effort to improve the resident OR experience. There, they have separated the fellow and resident services entirely so that there is zero double-scrubbing. I don’t know how this works in practice, but I think the fact that they are trying to correct a problem says a lot about the administration of this program.
CURRICULUM: They have everything (see above), that’s clear. One thing that came up a few times is that since its such a big program with big services, it can be easy to get lost. That means you can sit back and coast if you need to, but if you’re ambitious, you can do/see/study anything you could ever want to.
RESEARCH: It’s Harvard
BOTTOM LINE: I think you’d be crazy not to seriously consider it, if you are offered an interview. Great group of people. All of the resources and learning opportunities you could hope for. If you come here, you wrote your ticket. Just remember, they know who they are and are comfortable with that. Those who are happiest are the ones who fit in with that character (career?) type and are comfortable in those shoes as well.


Iowa: "Perhaps the best program in the country...in Iowa."

OVERVIEW: It doesn’t matter who you talk to; everyone knows Iowa is a bomb program. From the people to the educational experience to the career opportunities, Iowa has it all. The only thing is that it’s in Iowa. I don’t need to tell you that this location is a strength for some and a deterrence for others.
SERVICES: They’re all great. You have to understand, this is the only real hospital around. That means that the state concentrates all of their resources here, so the services are very strong. They’ve got a beautiful setup at the hospital and are building a new sports facility. Each department is filled with legends and/or young rockstars. You will find no fault in the services at Iowa.
ATTENDINGS: Attendings are awesome and want to teach. Some are famous, some are super famous and others are super-duper famous. They have a long rich orthopaedics tradition here. They (allegedly) were the first ortho dept in the country. In the last 100 yrs (yes, the department is 100 yrs old), they have had only 4 chairmen! Moreover, the faculty responsive to needs of the residents. The residents asked for iPads and a few days later, they got iPads. Also, because the location is such a polarizing factor, they can afford to attract and retain attendings who are truly dedicated to resident education (these guys WANT to teach). They are talented enough to be anywhere else in the world, but they’re in Iowa for one reason: to train amazing residents.
RESIDENTS: They were a great group of guys. Very mature people with families. There were a lot of kids running around the social and they set up another social for spouses of applicants. Again, fit and family are important here. For the few (maybe one?) single residents, they talked about professionals social clubs, etc to help with one’s dating life. Also, you won’t find residents who love their program more…and wrestling…they love that too.
FELLOWS: I think they have some fellows, but again, resident training is a priority and they will not interfere with your education.
CURRICULUM: They seemed to be good. Standard lectures. 2 year curriculum. Etc. They did have an arthroscopy lab on site but no one seemed to use it. I’m not sure if this is completely true but that was the general sentiment from my tour guide. But whatever they’re doing works because they have grads comfortable enough to go straight into private practice.
RESEARCH: Resources amazing; residents have money to do whatever they want. Like many programs, how much or how little research you want to do is up to you. However, I did get the feeling that this was expected. They can carry out any project that you dream up and they have lots of big time grants already floating around. Additional services for grant-writing etc are available. There is a biomechanics lab on the undergraduate campus.
BOTTOM LINE: If you go here, you can rest assured that you went to one of the most well-respected programs in the country. You will have been comfortable with trauma since you were a 3 and you’ll be able to pick your fellowship. Basically, if you can live in Iowa, go here.


Yale: "Follow your bliss"

OVERVIEW: Truly a great program. In my opinion, it has a community feel about it and by this I mean that the residents run the service (seriously). They handle everything on the floors. They operate all the time (log way more than the national average). That means you’ll work hard straight through your 5th year, but you’ll also leave slick in the OR. Known for producing academic surgeons and they have a fellowship match that reflects that influence.
SERVICES: All services represented with weakest being sports, which was just okay. However, they just hired a new shoulder/sports attending so that may likely improve. Spine, tumor and trauma are big time. The residents get a good amount of OR time throughout their training and have a minimal amount of scut. Minimal double scrubbing.
ATTENDINGS: Attendings were great, all willing to teach but also involved in the case. So they walk you through as opposed to just leaving you in the room. Some very famous (first past-president of the AOA, current president of AO North America, yadda, yadda, yadda).
RESIDENTS: They were the best part of the program...fantastic group, laid back, lots of fun, worked hard and joked around all day. They hang out quite a bit; first, because the program gives them time, and secondly, because they click so well.
FELLOWS: One spine fellow; doesn’t seem to affect the residency training. New shoulder fellow starting next year.
CURRICULUM: This is the big knock against Yale. During my time there, I attended ~3 hrs on Wednesday for a lecture topic (50% from an attending and 50% from a resident) in addition to bone board. Also, 2 hrs on Friday for visiting professor lecture and grand rounds. Plus all the journal clubs and specialty specific conferences, etc. that you experience on each service. This was more like small group teaching with the attending. My overall rating: average. I’ve seen better but I’ve also seen worse.
RESEARCH: Abundant research time is available, but it seems like for any major study, it is up to you to take it from start to finish. There are smaller projects floating around, if you have the initiative to pad the CV. Spine is big time; very active lab. New shoulder attending will likely increase work here too. Some residents use the research time to crank out projects, others chill, and others follow their bliss…they do service work abroad or spend more time in a subspecialty they are considering for a fellowship (or whatever).
BOTTOM LINE: Coming from Yale, you’ll be a slick surgeon and will have had access to some of the strongest fellowship and alumni networks in the country. However, it’s probably not for everyone. You need to be accountable, everyday for 5 years because, again, you run the service. Also, their didactics are just okay, so those with the discipline for self study seem to do better. But during your time there, you couldn’t ask for a better group of people to work with.


Brown: "Stats driven”

OVERVIEW: They go by the numbers. Their interviews are based strongly on numbers. The interviews themselves are numbers driven. They rank their list and evaluate their current residents based on even more numbers. You went to an Ivy League school? +1. Went to a public high school? -1. But this also means that they get rigorous training because attention to stats means that you will boast the best numbers (case logs, etc) in the game. There is no question that you will leave here well trained. The chair, Dr. Ehrlich, is the heart and soul of the residency but he may be retiring in the next few years. Everyone knows that the knock against this program is the 6th year. I don’t think that anyone is excited about 6 years instead of 5. But I do think that some people just don’t mind it. If you’re one of those people, look closely here because they have the education and fellowship opportunities that as good as anyone else out there.
SERVICES: Service strengths are Trauma, Peds and Hand. Less strong on Spine, Recon and Sports. Trauma, especially, is a strong point at Brown; it’s a very busy service. OR time tends to come a little later on this service though. You will find an intern on the floor, 2’s in the ED and 3’s coordinating who goes to the OR. The other services were more reasonable and 2’s got in the OR a bit. Another heavy favorite at Brown is Hand. They have the ASSH president and president-elect. Crazy busy. Mad connections. Lots of fun.
ATTENDINGS: All of the attendings I saw were very good about teaching. Again, trauma and hand have some great teachers. Dr. DiGiovanni, the PD and foot/ankle attending, is equally amazing and will make you fall in love with his field. He is a consummate mentor. Although the attendings made clinic and OR educational, they were very hands on with the actual operations. Also, there were many fellows who took actual operating experiences from the residents (see below).
RESIDENTS: Residents were a good group. Several took time to teach. They all knew their stuff cold; very smart and definitely picked for some serious academic achievement. I did notice that they each seemed to do their own thing outside of work (not a lot of team field trips to the bar) Again, it’s a very rigorous program and I’m not sure that it left a lot of time for socializing. They worked very well together, but didn’t seem to strike me as a group of BFFs.
FELLOWS: During my time here, I was surprised to find that there was an abundance of fellows (the only knock I ever heard was the 6th year). However, on all services, there were lots of fellows running around. This added up to lots of double/triple/quadruple scrubbing. In my humble opinion, you will leave here technically skilled, but that may be because they lean on that 6th year for OR time.
CURRICULUM: Good didactics. They’ve made a lot of changes recently and starting to focus more on OITE review (they want those stats!). Again, the attendings make your clinic and OR time very educational.
RESEARCH: This place is a machine. If you have the interest, you can publish like crazy. Lots of canned projects to jump on. They have the resources around to let you do whatever you want. The biomechanics lab is off site, but very productive. I will say that here, more so than other academic institutions, research is stressed. They will pressure you to be productive. Lots of residents go for grants and things like that. Its expected.
BOTTOM LINE: Overall, if you can handle the 6th year, you’ll leave here as well-trained as anyone. You will also have your pick of fellowships. This is a well-respected program. If you’re about the stats, you’ll get everything you need here but for me, personally, I felt like it was more of a grind than some other places.


Jefferson: “We’re a machine.” – Richard Rothman, MD, PhD

OVERVIEW: They are truly a machine. Crank out the patients. Crank out the procedures. Crank out the research. This is the pinnacle of efficiency.
SERVICES: Strengths are spine, joints, everything really with the exception of trauma and tumor. Fair warning, I did not rotate here. With that said, the residents said they feel comfortable with trauma and enjoyed their time at Shock (where they rotate). At present, Jefferson Hospital has recruited a trauma attending and is building a trauma program. According to the chairman, this will blossom into a strong service and eventually they’ll develop a fellowship. Similar story with tumor. The chair said he has an “insatiable” desire for excellence in all areas of orthoapedics. This means that you can expect fellows, rockstar attendings and heavy research in every subspecialty.
ATTENDINGS: They all seemed like good guys from my limited experience during the interview process. Some more personable than others. Some were looking for a few good people. Others vetted you in search of significant academic accomplishment. I’m told they teach, but also have significant obligations to their private practice and high patient turnover.
RESIDENTS: Seemed like a good group. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. They all were proud of their program and were a lot of fun at the social. Would be very happy to train here.
FELLOWS: Lots. Could not say how they affect the education, but you’ve heard the rumors.
CURRICULUM: Has undergone some adjustment recently. On paper is seems like a very complete and well-planned curriculum.
RESEARCH: Big time. Machine.
BOTTOM LINE: On interview day they really rolled out the red carpet. It was in shocking contrast to what I heard about the program from some close friends who rotated there. It’s a big name place and, as such, people love to take shots at it. It’s difficult to tell if these rumors are well-founded or completely false. My impression was that there was at least some truth to them, but again, I can’t say first hand.


NYU: “Bone Palace, NYC”

OVERVIEW: This is a great program from top to bottom. They work you hard but you’re better because of it. Much like NYC, it’s a lot of fast-talking, down-to-business personalities, but make no mistake, they know what they’re doing when it comes to running a residency. They also have access to a resident-run hospital so you’re constantly alternating between hands-on academic attendings and the chaos of residents running the show. Probably gives you a good learning experience.
SERVICES: It’s an orthopaedic hospital; they’ve got it all.
ATTENDINGS: Lots of very academic, very ambitious people. Chairman, PD and many faculty are legends. The PD said, “research is more important than patient care” and I got the impression that he was only half joking. Their interview day was a lot of fun with the attendings looking for people with high energy, good attitudes and fun personalities. Overall, the attendings seemed like hard-working, good guys, who were looking for similar qualities in their team.
RESIDENTS: They’re in NYC and they take advantage of it.
FELLOWS: They’re around. But its high volume and doesn’t seem to be an issue.
CURRICULUM: Tough. 2nd year in particular has this iCARE clinic which is basically run by the 2. It sounds like they have the support if they need it, but they still run the clinic until the last patient has been seen (not uncommon for this to occur around midnight). Yes, it’s a brutal year. But you’ll be rock solid by the end of it. On the other end of the spectrum, their 5th year is one of the best around. Their didactic curriculum is quite comprehensive. They borrowed the curriculum created by Dr. Jay Lieberman at UConn (who is the ortho education guru) and made it their own. Good stuff.
RESEARCH: Machine.
BOTTOM LINE: Rock solid program that fits best with the, “work hard, play hard” personality types. But there’s a lot of work to be done, and if you’re not with them, you’re against them. So before you sign up, make sure that you’re with them.


UPenn: I agree wholeheartedly with abcd1234’s post on March 17th, 2012 8:39am. I have nothing more to add.

Okay, that’s all I’ve got. My advice: embrace the process. It’s lot of hoops to jump through and it can be stressful if you let it. But if you try to enjoy yourself, you’ll do better and you’ll have more fun. Hope this helps!

[captn]

bump.

to the guys who just matched, i understand that for the most part programs are pretty steady over the years and you can find info out on them through past threads and rotators, etc, but some programs are in a state of transition or have recently lost faculty and not everyone is privy to that info (like myself), so the most current thoughts are much appreciated. thanks...

[subspinatus]

Med School: MW
Boards: Step 1 230’s, Step 2 240’s
Rank: N/A
AOA: No
Preclinicals: No fails in P/F curriculum
Clinicals: H in Surgery, Medicine, Psych, Family Medicine; HP in Peds, OB/GYN
Ortho: Home + 2 aways (H at home, HP away x 2)
Research: Some basic science stuff from college (thesis and posters), Multiple ortho projects including presentations, posters and publications
What I was looking for in a program: A place with an excellent didactic history, operative volume, and research exposure.
How Many Programs:
Applied to: 60
Offered Interviews: 14
Attended interviews: 10 (scheduling conflicts)

Rank List (Alphabetical Order)

Tier One:
Rush (Lots of fellows, more than made up for in big names and research opportunities)
Vanderbilt (Great didactics, great city, well-rounded operative exposure)
UCSF (All concerns as a malignant program gone, great group, great attendings, unbeatable research)

The Rest:
Cedars Sinai (May have been in Tier one, except the interns this summer will be the only orthopedic residents in a 958-bed hospital)

Loyola (hear great things, unfortunately I red-eyed into this interview, didn't feel like they sold themselves as well as other places, and there are circulating rumors that high profile faculty may slide into Northwestern)

Miami (fun group of residents, impressed/surprised by research availability, scared about my productivity with the resident lifestyle in Miami)

Northwestern (large portion of faculty leaving/left, expect quick rebound with new Chair)

North Shore/LIJ, NY (unknown going in, left thoroughly impressed, brand new hospital)

UIC (new rotation sites sound impressive, residents end up at better fellowships than anticipated, research opportunities seemed too limited to basic science, biomechanics and engineering)

Wash U (top 5 program in every conceivable criteria, except it's St. Louis)

Matched into Tier 1.

I only used brief thoughts for the sake of reading and scrolling time for everybody. If you have further questions about specific programs please PM me.

[Medink24]

As others before me, I am sharing my opinion because I used these boards to help gain perspective throughout the application and interview process. Be VERY cautious in using any of these reviews to rule in or out a program.

Med School: Midwest, Public, Top 50
Boards: 250s both Step 1 and 2 (average last year for ortho apps was 241 for step 1, and i would guess it will be around 245 this year)
Rank: Top third
AOA: No
Preclinicals: Who cares. All about Step 1.
Clinicals: Mostly H, a few HP
Ortho: Home + 3 aways (H x4)
Research: 1 non-ortho pub, 1 ortho paper submitted
What I was looking for in a program: Close to family, culture of program, op exp, didn’t care if big name.
How Many Programs:
Applied to: 70
Offered Interviews: 17
Attended interviews: 15

Tier 1: (alphabetical)
Cincinnati: Very underrated program. Renowned chairman Dr. Stern will be retiring here shortly, though I hear he will still be involved in teaching/operating. Strong peds/trauma. A few interesting attending personalities. Dr. Kenter (PD) is also pretty well-known and strong resident advocate.

Mount Carmel: Dr. Fankhauser is one of the nicest guys on the trail. Interview 45ish people for 2 spots, which obviates how competitive this program is. Ample moonlighting. Good hours. I rotated here, and the residents were ridiculously nice and knew their stuff (historically perform well on the OITE).

Ohio State: Good group of guys/gals. New chairman is more CEO-like than personable, but obviously isn’t necessarily a bad thing: he’s turned OSU around and has hired a TON of new faculty. Research will be top 10 shortly. Light on trauma/F+A, strong in pretty much everything else. Lots of construction going on, which has its pros and cons. Prison service was in substitute of any sort of VA experience, but the brakes have been put on it since it is government funded. Not sure what the new plan is to supplement op exp.

Summa (Akron): Overall probably the most well-rounded program I interviewed at. The only knock people have is location, which I thought was a positive because I’m from Ohio. Interview 1-2 people at a time, which speaks to how they run and select their program. The morning conference before interviews I learned a lot but probably laughed even more. Some of the best personalities I came across, both attendings and residents. After interviews, I scrubbed a couple cases where the residents proficiently/efficiently did them, with attendings making verbal suggestions along the way.

Tier 2/3 (alphabetical):
Akron General: Dr. Thompson and Dr. Vrabec have this program headed on the rise. Good group of residents. Rotation schedule is a little different, cover multiple subspecialties on any given day/week. Don’t appear to be as busy as Summa, which has its own set of pros/cons.
Beaumont: Famous spine chairman, Dr. Herkowitz, is also the PD. They interviewed 50 something people the day I was there, with big group interviews. Residents were pretty cool. Royal Oak seemed decent, though still Detroit. They said they had the 2nd most cases in the country behind HSS, but not sure how that translates to resident exp.
Grand Rapids: Interview a small # of people, so if you get an offer the odds are in your favor (no, not a Hunger Games joke). Decent group of residents. Good op exp. Great facilities.
Kalamazoo: Still affiliated with Mich St, but will be changing to Western Mich here soon, which I guess will mean better research structure/funding. Attendings were cool, but only met like 3 residents bc the social is a smaller dinner. Probably rivals Mt Carmel for most cush hours in the country.
Kentucky: Chairman is kind of a cocky dude, but it seems like he looks out for his residents. PD Dr. Milbrandt was very personable. Brand new hospital. Apparently they get killed on trauma. Lexington seemed pretty nice.
Medical College of Wisconsin: Another very well-rounded program. Chairman said he was retiring, but resident education and such wouldn’t be affected. Good group of residents. I wanted to rank it higher but the fiance’ wasn’t feeling Milwaukee for 5 years. Apparently they interview 100+ people for their 5 spots.
Penn State: Awesome program. Hershey, not so much. Dr. Black is a real cool guy. If you don’t mind a small town in the middle of nowhere, this is a top program.
Temple: In the middle of one of the most dangerous shit-holes in the country, but the penetrating trauma experience seems 2nd to none because of that. New med school is nice, which is where they have their conferences.
Toledo: New coordinator was on the unorganized side and the program seemed good, but not great. Dr. E is an eccentric character.
Wayne State: Will they even be a program in a few years? Seemed like they interviewed everyone who applied. The chairman/PD were both age 65+ and openly talked about retirement.
West Virginia: Good program. Very vanilla facilities, seemed strong in all subspecialties.


Matched in top tier.

The process can be nerve-wracking, but it works out for most of us. Be confident but humble at the same time. I have multiple stories of people more qualified than me who did not match. If you want to go to a big name place, your ticket is research and whoever wrote your letters (and obviously numbers). Select aways wisely: there are multiple threads with details on this topic.

My advice is to convince every interviewer that their program is where you want to be, even if it’s not. The # of interviews you go on becomes irrelevant if you act like you are disinterested, even if it’s only to 1 person.

PM if any questions about specific programs. Good luck.

[bonejam]

As mentioned before don't take anything you read here too seriously. I'm only posting on here because these reviews helped me figure out which places I might be interested in applying. Hope this is helpful for someone out there:

Med School: Public
Boards: Step 1: 259
AOA: Junior
Gold Humanism Honors Society
Preclinicals: Pass/Fail (all P)
Clinicals: All Honors
Ortho: Honors x4
Research: Nothing really – some undergrad stuff that never panned out
Extracurriculars: Sports, student run clinic, some outdoors stuff

What I was looking for in a program: Really 3 things. 1) A place where the residents are happy and get treated well. 2) Where the emphasis is on education and teaching 3) A heavy but structured operative experience (this is really hard to judge based on interviews alone but you can get a good sense from talking to rotators etc.)

Applied to: 48
Offered Interviews: 30
Attended: 18

My Favorite Programs:

Mayo – This place definitely lives up to the hype. It’s like no other program in the country – you can pull cadavers at will just to practice approaches (many places say they have this option but almost none give their residents unrestricted access like this), the research infrastructure is the best I saw anywhere and the mentorship model works very well here. It seems like publishing papers here would be almost effortless. The call schedule is ridiculous (something like q9 or q10 as a PGY2-4 and NO CALL as a PGY5). Also moonlighting opportunity seems like cake. The 2 big things to consider are the non-uniform rotations and the location. I wasn’t worried about the rotations because no matter what, you will work with some of the best surgeons in the world here. The location really is as bad as it sounds though. Would have been my number 1 if it were in a better city.

Dartmouth – This was my biggest surprise. The operative experience here has to be among the best anywhere (the other places I know of that are similar are Vanderbilt, WashU and Carolinas). Residents are doing primary joints as PGY2 and starting to do revisions as PGY3. The faculty members are universally invested in resident education and 75% of the faculty show up to every morning conference. The residents spend 3 months at Harvard for tumor and another 3 months at Boston Children’s for Peds. All operative experience is 1 on 1 with attending and usually resident is doing majority of case if not the entire thing. Research may be the only relative weakness, but there is the option to do a 6 yr track in which you get a Masters in outcomes research. Somehow, despite the great op experience, the lifestyle here is still excellent - many residents have kids and spend a lot of time skiing/doing outdoors stuff. Call is q6 as junior and q8 as a senior. One of the biggest issues will probably be the location for most people, but if you like skiing, hiking, snowboarding, cycling or touring microbreweries this is an ideal place.

Vanderbilt – This place is the best of all worlds. Incredible operative experience, good research opportunities, resident focused, great location. The residents here were some of the happiest, most fun people that I met throughout the process. They work really hard but play hard enough to make up for it. Start operating almost immediately but always supervised and taught to do things the right way. Great didactics. Faculty is extremely invested in teaching. Strong on all services, particularly trauma and tumor. If I had to pick a weakness it would be joints – but they may be working improving this. Nashville is an awesome city – I walked around downtown on a Thursday afternoon and found lots of bars open with live music playing and people out. Loved everything about this place.

Penn – (rotated) Don’t get turned off by all of the rumors about Penn. This really is an outstanding program and probably the best Peds experience in the country at CHOP (arguably with Boston Children’s). The trauma rotation is absolutely brutal but the residents operate so much while on trauma that it makes the experience worthwhile. Dr. Mehta (trauma) and Dr. Sennett (sports) are outstanding teachers but in return expect a lot from their residents. Chairman Dr. Levin actually seems very nice and reasonable. The residents here are some of the happiest I saw anywhere. Also Philadelphia is an awesome city and way more liveable than most big cities.

HSS – (rotated) A lot has been said about HSS (lack of operative experience, too many fellows etc.). On some services the residents do get to operate a fair amount – but no means as much as most of the places I interviewed/rotated. Great starting point for an academic career. The one thing that bothered me most about HSS was that there seems to be an unspoken competitiveness between residents. Maybe I got a skewed view (it’s hard to make sweeping statements about places like this b/c they are so big you never get the full picture) but it seemed like the residents weren’t exactly collegial here. Also there is a LOT of pressure on residents to keep publishing all the time. Lifestyle is unreal compared to other NYC programs though. Subsidized housing on Upper East Side makes living very affordable.

Other great programs:

Yale – Another program with great operative experience and great lifestyle. The location is actually better than most people think, as it is only an hour train ride away from Grand Central in NYC. New Haven isn’t that bad either...one thing that bothered me was that most cases are double scrubbed. Another thing was that all didactics are run by residents with little or no attending involvement – this may be a plus for many people but I wanted the opposite.

CMC – Like many others have said Carolinas provides a very complete experience. Great operative experience, lots of research opportunities, extremely trauma heavy. They recently expanded also from 3/yr to 5/yr. Good group of residents but almost all married and definitely more of a southern feel. Great perks here – get lead, loupes, etc.

UCSD – Amazing location. The program is also very well rounded and the PD (Dr. Schwartz) is very committed to resident education. Very strong in spine (Dr. Garfin) and peds (Rady Children’s). Instead of a hospital tour they took us to the beach and to a hill from which you have a panoramic view of the city. Didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked with the residents/program due to travel issues but would have been very happy to match here.

Temple - This is a really great and totally underrated program in Philly. The operative experience is great and the faculty is heavily invested in teaching residents. The residents here are also really happy and go out of their way to get to know applicants. Don't get turned off by the location (nobody lives in the neighborhood near the hospital because it is very accessible by train/car etc. from other areas of Philly). Because of its location in such a bad neighborhood, they get an incredible trauma experience. Not a lot of research going on but now they have their own orthopedic journal so this is improving.

Brown – Not as great as I would have thought based on everything I had heard prior to interview. It seemed like people here were not as happy as many other places I interviewed and not interested in getting to know applicants. At dinner and interview it was hard to get residents to talk to applicants - that may have just been my experience though. Also, although chairman really is great, it seems like the program depends too much on him and he is close to retirement. If you can deal with the six year track and the location though you would get good training here.

Duke – Also not as impressed as I thought I would be. Yes, the interview day is impressive and they do dazzle you. I went back for a second look and thought that the operative experience is not nearly as good as many other programs I saw. If you have never wanted to go anywhere but Duke then this is the place for you. Otherwise, be ready to feel pressured into telling them where you are going to rank them.

Florida (Gainesville) – This place is awesome. Seems like the residents operate a lot and get tons of perks (that’s what it’s all about right?). Location is actually not as good as other Florida programs, but being in a college town provides enough stuff to do. Chairman and PD are both excellent and love teaching.

NYU – Liked this program. Some problems being so large (12/year) and with the ancillary staff. Otherwise residents seemed very happy and got along really well. Fraternity type feel, which I would count as a plus but may turn off many. Goes without saying that New York is a sick location, but there is no subsidized housing for most residents (with a few exceptions).

Vermont – Really liked this program. Amazing staff and great didactics.

MUSC – I loved Charleston and got along great with the residents. I would have ranked this place really high but had heard about some issues with operative experience from rotating students. The residents seem very happy though and have a pretty good lifestyle. The faculty seems invested in resident education and was very collegial with the residents.

DID NOT LIKE: Pittsburgh

Matched at: #1

[Elbowpod]

Med School: Top 40
Boards Step 1: 260
Rank: Unknown
AOA: Senior (no Junior AOA at my school)
Preclinicals: P (Pass/No Pass at my school)
Clinicals: Honors in Surgery, Medicine, Pediatrics, Ob/Gyn, Neurology, and Family Medicine, HP in Psychiatry
Research: 7 submitted/published clinical articles and basic science manuscripts, over 20 posters/presentations, all ortho
Extracurriculars: Ortho group, Research Chair, tutoring, nothing too great

What I was looking for in a Program: Academics, didactics, training, residents I got along with

How many Programs:
Applied to: 69
Offered Interviews: 46
Attended: 19 (HSS, UCLA, Harvard, UW, UCSD, USC, Penn, Emory, Yale, Brown, WashU, Vanderbilt, Iowa, Harbor UCLA, UT Southwestern, Baylor, UCSF, Columbia, Hopkins)

Tier 1:
HSS:
Great program to start an academic career in an absolutely amazing location in NYC on the Upper East Side. The residents were solid, completely normal, and fun to hang with at the bars. Research is great with residents publishing on average something like 12 papers throughout their residency. Great lifestyle, and so many NPs/PAs to do scut work. You get paid extra to do surgery on the weekends and to dictate D/C summaries. I was told from friends who rotated on Peds and Hand that the residents barely operated, but heard on Joints they get a great experience. Short white coats from PGY 1-4 not ideal, but hey, it's HSS.

UCLA:
Great academic program with strong didactics. Have built a new research building and a new orthopedic hospital that is out of this world. Ronald Reagan, IMO, is the nicest hospital in the country. The residents were chill. Can't beat the location or the weather, and rumors of poor operative experience are greatly exaggerated. They have new rotations at Olive View, which is a county hospital, where residents say they operate a ton. Also was told from an attending I knew that worked there a few years ago that their residents were solid in the OR. Operative experience more top heavy, but evens out.

UW (Rotated):
Loved this place and every moment of my crazy sub-i. Call nights for trauma are nuts, with average 20-30 consults per night, and not light stuff, but open pelvis fxs, open tib/fibs, traumatic amps, etc. One of the best group of residents, all being totally down to earth and fun to hang out with. Definitely a blue-collar feel. Operative experience on trauma is unique...attendings in every case and doing at least 40-50% of case, sometimes more depending on complexity of case. In a 4-part proximal humerus, resident did maybe 10% of the case. I saw a spine case, however, and the R2 was by herself and rocking it. Residents are some of the most intelligent, well-read I have seen. Research is there, but hard to accomplish due to how busy residency is. Anyone would be lucky to end up here.

Vanderbilt:
Heard great things about this from everyone who rotated. Solid facilities with great attendings whose sole focus is to teach you how to operate. Call is Q10, but call is crazy as you are covering multiple hospitals. Residents were awesome. Research was definitely there, though many go in to private practice. This place was amazing, and any one would be lucky to end up here. Nashville was a cool city, but not much diversity. This place was very similar to WashU.

WashU:
Hands down the best didactics of any program. Was told by many attendings they believe this is the top program in the country, and I don't disagree. Top research, top attendings in almost every field, great teaching, great operative experience. Some of the residents were a little strange for my taste. Friends who rotated said they all loved it. Can't imagine you finding a bigger powerhouse for ortho than this place. If you can live in St. Louis, I think this is the place to be.

Tier 2:
Harvard:
Top attendings in every field, and the facilities, while a little bit older, were still great. The pre-interview dinner is amazing, held on the top floor of the Prudential center. Operative experience is definitely top heavy, with some rotators saying they were 4th or 5th scrubbed in cases. One thing that irked me was that not every resident gets the same experience. Many people want to spend more time at the Brigham (more young attendings willing to let you do more), but don't always get this opportunity. Something about the residents I didn't quite gel with. When asked why one resident chose to come here, all he said was "It's Harvard", which didn't sit well with me. Many home students told me they had no interest in staying, and was glad to hear someone wanted to go. Still, great name and great starting point for an academic career.

Columbia:
Residents were some of the most normal/chill people I met. Many involved in fantasy football, and they party hard. Heard from a friend who rotated that they were often the 4th person scrubbed in, and in one spine case they were 7th. Was also told the Chief closed many cases, which I thought was odd. Dr. Levine is one of the most supportive/loyal/awesome people you will ever meet. He made me like this program more than I should have. They go down to Shock because they are a level 2 trauma place, and heard call was often very quiet with maybe 1-2 consults per night.

Emory:
Great residents who went out of their way to make sure applicants were comfortable. Attendings were hilarious, and completely chill. Grady is insane, with tons of trauma. I would say it is just below Harborview. New spine center that was great. Atlanta wasn't right fit for me, but still a great place to train. Research didn't seem like a priority, but with such great volume, it's hard to find time.

Iowa:
Dr. Buckwalter is like your grandfather, loving and like a teddy bear, and he really cares about his program and residents. All specialties well covered, great breadth of research with great follow up (no one leaves Iowa). Didactics were spot on. Hand call was covered by plastic surgeons, which wasn't ideal for me. Interview day was 2 days, which is weak sauce! This program would have been much higher but I just can't live in Iowa.

Brown:
Super stats driven...seriously, my interview with Dr. Ehrlich was him going down a checklist and giving me points for things like AOA, board scores, honors in certain rotations, etc. Operative experience is solid, and the 6th year will make you a super efficient/confident surgeon. You have to decide if you can do a 6th year, especially as this year is half research, but pay is ~$125,000. That being said, Dr. Ehrlich goes to bat for all his residents, and you will be a skilled surgeon with amazing research coming out. Providence, RI wasn't a great fit for me.

Hopkins:
Rumors of this being a malignant program seemed way off. They just built a new hospital, and it is gorgeous. They have chairman issues, but don't know the implications of this on the resident experience. Residents seemed very nice. Baltimore was a deal breaker.

UT Southwestern:
Great group of residents who were a blast to hang out with. Great operative experience with tons of autonomy and tons of trauma. Big names in trauma. You learn F/A from podiatrists, which was a bit of a turn off. Still a great place to train. TSRH is an amazing peds ortho hospital with big names like Sucato.

Tier 3:
UCSF (Rotated):
Great named program with big names in all fields. Absolutely loathed my sub-i experience. One of their big points is they spend 4 months each year on trauma, but what they don't tell you is every attending is double-boarded in trauma and something else. I spent a month on trauma, and saw more sports cases and not one tibial plateau. Call nights were routinely quiet, with maybe 1-2 consults per night. Autonomy is definitely there at SFGH, but the atmosphere was terrible. Malignant and arrogant come to mind. Interview day is just a small example of how intense they are. Was not a fit in any way for me.

UCSD:
Great location, great facilities. Some of the residents were a little off-putting for me. Rady's is an amazing peds ortho hospital with huge names like Wenger and Newton. The chairman Dr. Garfin is a huge name in spine. One of the applicants asked what he thought was a weakness of his program, and he said he didn't feel the residents were as prepared after residency as at other programs. This was a red flag for me. Also, the mandatory 6th year of research was a deal breaker.

USC:
Great operative experience with some of the greatest residents I met on the trail. County is a trauma juggernaut, though not quite the level of Harborview, Shock, or Grady. Chairman is stepping down, so there was some uncertainty there. Was told that residents often operate alone, even as a PGY2, which seems crazy. No didactics, very little research. Heard that multiple people failed their boards last year, which was a turn off.

Yale:
Was not very impressed. Last year they didn't fill all of their spots. One resident told me to go there because he got out at 3 everyday and got to play COD Modern Warfare. Very much a choose your own path program with what seemed like little direction. Residents know how to have fun however, and going out with them was great.

Penn:
Very militant. Everyone was in a shirt and tie. Dr. Levin seemed hardcore/very intense, which could be a good thing as it was clear his goal was to make this the top program in the country. He stated at the start of the interview if you weren't a superstar, have a nice lunch and see you later. The vibe didn't fit well with me. Still, a very reputable program with good attendings in every field.

Harbor-UCLA:
PD told everyone at the start of the interview, I only interview you for 5 minutes, and I can tell in the first 2 minutes if I don't like you. Residents also kept stating that this was the best program in all of California, which even if this was true, seemed a little over-confident/borderline arrogant. Research was barely mentioned. Not a great fit for me.

Baylor:
Great facilities and great medical center. Interim-chair has stabilized some of the chairman issues. Not a very academic place, and was actually told by one of the interviewers that if I wanted academics, this wasn't the place for me.

NOT RANKED:
I didn't rank one program, but it was purely based on personal opinions. It was also a hard decision, and I had to ask myself if I would rather go through this miserable process again than match there.

Matched at:
Top choice and thrilled to be going into ortho.

Advice for future applicants:
Making connections with attendings are key. They made some phone calls for me and I really think it made all the difference. Other than that, work hard, be nice, and that will go a long way. Choosing a program is as much about what you are looking for and about your personality than anything else. Some of the schools I did not enjoy others may think are the best, so take all of these tiers with a grain of salt. These are all just opinions and many taken from a few hours on an interview day, so again, take everything with a grain of salt. Good luck and PM if you have any questions as I'd be happy to help.