Now that the process is all over. Anyone who rotated and/or interviewed at Harbor-UCLA can give me an idea of how important it is to rotate there and what there experience was like? Thanks.

yeah that will be very much appreciated

I matched at harbor-ucla this year. It is my understanding that like most programs they favor rotators. However, I did not rotate at harbor and I think that 2 out of the 4 that matched there rotated. There is a rumor that they don't interview all rotators but I am not sure if this is true. Harbor was my #1 choice because of the excellent general orthopaedics training especially in trauma at a county hospital. The most important aspect of a program for me was excellent operative experience and harbor supplies this. Also subspecialty training has expanded at Harbor in recent years in addition to the exposure that you get at UCLA and Ceders. All residents do some form of research at one of the 3 main sites. Overall I felt like I fit in with the residents and faculty and I felt that it had both good early and senior operative experience in a nice location (most residents live in the south bay).

I matched at harbor-ucla this year. It is my understanding that like most programs they favor rotators. However, I did not rotate at harbor and I think that 2 out of the 4 that matched there rotated. There is a rumor that they don't interview all rotators but I am not sure if this is true. Harbor was my #1 choice because of the excellent general orthopaedics training especially in trauma at a county hospital. The most important aspect of a program for me was excellent operative experience and harbor supplies this. Also subspecialty training has expanded at Harbor in recent years in addition to the exposure that you get at UCLA and Ceders. All residents do some form of research at one of the 3 main sites. Overall I felt like I fit in with the residents and faculty and I felt that it had both good early and senior operative experience in a nice location (most residents live in the south bay).

i matched @ Harbor as well - and so did someone else in my class - and neither one of us rotated there (although he is originally from the area, i believe.) so 3 of 4 matched interns didn't rotate. in fact, i've been to california only 3 times in my life (one of which being interview day.)

thanks guys and congrats on the match. Ive submitted my application to do an elective so maybe you'll see me pass through in August. One additional question, are there any females currently in the program?

I have never posted anything on Orthogate before, but I really wanted to chime in on this topic. I rotated at UCLA-Harbor this past year, and I absolutely LOVED IT. I guess it depends on what you are looking for, but I felt more at home there than anywhere else. Their residents are regular guys with a sense of humor who aren't trying to show you how much they know at every turn. I believe 3/20 residents are female. They are very tight group and hang out a lot together. It really feels like a big family there. The PA's are definitely an asset to this program in that they have great personalities, work extremely hard, and make clinic days really fun. The atmosphere is informal, and the attendings are very approachable and kind. This is a county program so you get to operate a lot and see many clinic pts. If you are hands-on learner, this program would be a good fit for you. And, of course, the Redondo, Hermosa, and Manhattan Beach areas are unbelievably beautiful and offer many outdoor activities. Their website is http://www.harbor-ucla-ortho.org/index.htm. This really is a great place.

Two of my friends with excellent scores rotated there and ranked them highly (not number 1) and did not match there. Both of those guys rotated at UCLA as well so I am not sure if that mattered. From what I can tell it is a solid program in a nice place to live and I think showing interest helps. k.