Experiences accrued during active internships are an important component of the decision–making process when considering orthopaedic surgery residency programs. Unfortunately, these opportunities for interactions with programs outside your home program will be limited this year.
We, at Penn State Hershey, are excited to offer a four-week virtual rotation that allows fourth-year medical students to interact with our faculty and resident house staff. The rotation will simulate our weekly teaching conference for students on service. Sessions are designed to (a) facilitate interactive discussion with faculty, (b) provide opportunities to advance knowledge of common orthopaedic conditions, (c) allow for interactions with residents free of faculty, (d) help students appreciate the culture of learning at our program.
The details of the rotation are:
- Each rotation lasts four weeks and will include 8 sessions. Current sessions are scheduled as follows and will be modified according to demand: August 3 – August 28, August 31 – September 25, and September 28 – October 23. Additional sessions may be added.
- Sessions will be held every Tuesday and Thursday evening from 7 pm until 9 pm EDT via Zoom. Participants will be asked to register for a four-week block in advance and will be expected to participate in most sessions although exceptions will be made individually based on circumstances.
- Each session will highlight a different orthopaedic sub-specialty and will be moderated by a sub-specialty trained faculty member. Through the four-week rotation, eight orthopaedic sub-specialties will be covered.
- For each session, each student will be assigned a different diagnosis and will create a virtual patient with that diagnosis. Detailed instructions will be provided in advance. The purpose of the presentation is not to burden with extensive time-consuming research but rather to simulate the experience of seeing a patient in clinic, presenting the case to an attending, and getting feedback. Discussion in the group will focus on the details of the “patients” that are presented.
- Topic assignments will be given at least one session prior to presentation date.
- At the end of each session, the faculty member will sign off and will be replaced by a current resident. Each of the rotation’s eight sessions will have a different resident who will discuss the program and answer any questions students have and might be reluctant to ask the faculty member.
- Each rotation will be limited to eight students.
While we lament that we will not be able to spend a month hosting you in-person, we feel like we have a created an offering that will help you develop an appreciation for our program and gain some valuable orthopedic education to help you in your future residency and career. We are proud of our program and the outstanding people that have trained and are currently training with us. We hope that you will consider joining us for a virtual rotation and look forward to interacting with you. If you are interested in participating in a virtual rotation at Penn State Hershey or wish to have more information on the rotation and/or the virtual program, please contact our clerkship coordinator Sue Sarrafian at ssarrafian@pennstatehealth.psu.edu , our clerkship director Dr. Mark Mason, mmason5@pennstatehealth.psu.edu, or myself at rgallo@pennstatehealth.psu.edu.
All the best,
Robert A. Gallo, M.D., M.H.A.
Associate Program Director, Orthopaedic Residency Program
Professor, Orthopaedic Surgery
