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Jackson Memorial Hospital/Jackson Health System
Hot
Updated
Contact Information
City
Miami
State/Province
Florida
Program Information
Residents per class
7
Jackson Memorial Hospital/Jackson Health System Orthopedic Residency Program
User reviews
2 reviews
Overall rating
9.0
Staff Surgeons
9.5(2)
Didactics/Teaching
8.0(2)
Operating Experience
9.5(2)
Clinical Experience
9.0(2)
Research
8.0(2)
Residents
10.0(2)
Lifestyle
8.5(2)
Location
9.5(2)
Overall Experience
9.0(2)
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Home Student, Honest Summary
(Updated: November 30, 2013)
Overall rating
9.7
Staff Surgeons
10.0
Didactics/Teaching
9.0
Operating Experience
10.0
Clinical Experience
9.0
Research
9.0
Residents
10.0
Lifestyle
10.0
Location
10.0
Overall Experience
10.0
Program Review
Staff / Faculty / Chairman
When comparing programs one component that rotators under appreciate is the relationship between attendings and residents. This is hard to judge from spending 2 weeks on a rotation and then moving, but Miami was my home program and I really got to know this program as well as any medical student could. This program is unique in that the residents are encouraged to ‘challenge’ and ‘advise’ their attendings. Yes, usually the resident is wrong, but it is remarkable to find a program that is able to be nationally known, pumping out publications, be very competitive in terms of Step (need 245+), yet is not at all hierarchical. This is a program where the residents are truly friends with their attendings. They go to their houses for dinners, and boats for special events. There is a reason people (attendings) pick to live in Miami and that is the easy going lifestyle that they similarly bring to the program. These residents get worked hard by their instructors, but at the end of the day, its all about cohesiveness and learning. The residents are held to a high standard, and as long as they are getting the job done and developing surgical skills, everything is smooth sailing between the residents and the faculty members. A draw back to the program is the hospital staff. As seen in any major Level 1 county hospital, the nursing staff isn’t always the greatest which leads to several unnecessary pages during the day. That being said, orthopedics runs the show at this place. Other programs know it, as do the nursing staff. This is a very old program in terms of ortho, and its because of that fact that some of the more famous procedures, tools, braces and eponyms are surgeons from here. Moreover, Dr. Eismont and Dr. Conway run the show here, both are very friendly with opposite personalities. Their team has been able to recruit some of the more prestigious names in orthopedics to this program. True- trying to get older physicians to move their life to a new place is helped with the fact that South Florida is where they maybe wanted to retire at some point anyway! Either way, it’s a win for the recruited surgeon and a win for the matched residents.
Didactics / Teaching
Teaching and rotations occur essentially over 4 locations all within WALKING distance to each other. The actual campus is the second largest medical center in the US, which is awesome to not have to drive between sites when on call or going to meetings/lectures. They are: Jackson Memorial Hospital (only Level 1 trauma in the entire city), Miami Children’s (one of the top Children’s hospital in the nation), Veteran Affairs Hospital, (right across the street from JMH, unreal resident autonomy), University of Miami Hospital (Private hospital and clinics). When interviewing, make sure a program has these 4 components or else you really will be missing out. Also, the fact that these are all next to each other is very underrated. It increases quality of life in that there is no driving once you are at one of these locations, and you don’t get isolated across town from you fellow ortho guys. This fact helps build the friendship and unity unique to this program. In terms of lectures, there are 4 hours dedicated each week. I’d say they are very similar to the other programs I have experienced with the typical PowerPoint, Q&A session and periodically skills labs with reps. A nice part of these lectures vs other programs is that you can wear your normal scrubs and there will only be the lecturing attending present. This encourages a less stressful learning environment.
Operating Experience
When I was on the ortho trauma service, one of the PGY1s had his own OR room (with an attending) in week 2 of his residency. This wasn’t an everyday thing, but several times a week it is just the PGY1 and the PGY5/attending. This is of course also true very for the PGY2 and such early experience is rare these days with all the regulations. Each case is staffed by an attending, but they don’t always scrub into every case. This autonomy shouldn’t go unrecognized. It is crucial for residents to feel comfortable running their own rooms and making intraoperative choices as this is what will be expected from them during fellowships and in practice. It is also a program where the attending doesn’t have to be in the room to start a case. That might not seem like a big deal to the MS4, but it’s a huge deal to any PGY1+. This shows the amount of skill, trust and leadership these residents accrue in just a few years.
Clinic Experience
Don’t have a ton to say here, I was mostly operating every day. When my team had clinic they had me tag along with other teams to help operate. But I know there is a mix of private and public (county) clinics. There are only two rotations where you should wear scrubs to clinic which is a very nice perk. They have a very user friendly translation service that I or the residents would call for any tough translations. Also, not sure where to mention this, but the intern schedule is very favorable for the PGY1s. Since ortho runs the show at JMH, their gen surg rotations are all very manage if not easy compared to other programs. They only have 5 non ortho rotations, 1 month is used as a vacation month. Don’t pick a program based on its 6 months of non-ortho, but the way they have it set up in Miami is just one of many perks.
Research Opportunities
While many, not all places, have one dedicated research rotation, University of Miami is unique in that they incorporate two dedicated research blocks into their curriculum. Certain attendings are research machines and pump out papers. This is great for residents because if they are able to be published, they get paid time off to attend the various conferences. They also have a new biomechanics lab which is very cool and they are proud about.
Residents
Clearly one of the strongest components to Miami Orthopedics Ortho Nation as they say. They have 35 residents, 34 male, 1 female. The girl is one of the cooler girls in all of orthopedics. I don’t know why more girls don’t want to come to Miami, I don’t necessarily blame them, but bro-ing out is one of the reasons we picked orthopedics in the first place right? Miami ortho lives up to this hype while still being a premier training site. That being said, none of the guys are douchy, rocking graffic Ts, or feel the need to be super jacked. They are just as normal as other places I rotated. Many of them rock cowboy boots actually and went to SEC programs. They have guys from all over: California, Texas, of course Florida, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Chicago, South Carolina, Georgia, UK, St. Louis, New Orleans, Michigan, etc. It was cool to see all these different personalities really mesh. I felt that other programs formed clicks, but these guys all like hanging out when they get time.
Lifestyle
I don’t know if any program that can top UM in this category. Even if you want a small town feel, you can get this here but with the perks of a major city. Guys who matched here that hardly swam in the open ocean are now legit divers (scuba and free), same argument for guys who never owned golf clubs and now can shoot in the 90s. Having several guys from Miami also allows them the chance to have guys with parents that own awesome boats. These guys are able to go out with their gfs and wives (or dudes trip) to do some deep sea fishing for an afternoon. There are two areas where most of the residents live, South Beach (actually pretty normal in most areas, family oriented) and Brickell (just South of downtown, high rises). Regardless of where they live, they all can get into a beach chair in just 15 mins. The beaches in Miami are actually pretty awesome, clean, long sand bar, mild size waves, not a ton of D bags on the beach. A few more things- people WILL come visit you. This city has everything, a smaller or land lock city simply can’t compete with it in terms of entertainment over 5 years in the same spot. In addition, if going out is your thing, then you are in one of the top 2 nightlife cities in America. Every huge name entertainer will play here at some point during your 5 years, usually several times. For sports, the 4 major groups are here and your home team will be here at some point. Of note, the pay scale has increased about $1200 each year since 2011. Currently it is about $51k for PGY1 and $59k for a PGY5. You don’t have to be a partier to enjoy Miami, but in the times you do go out, you will have an absolute blast.
Location / Housing
Most residents live in South Beach or an area called Brickell. Right now Brickell is in a HUGE construction boom. There are 46 active projects, most going 24/7 actually. This is great for future residents as it will slash housing prices and provide many brand new options. The majority of the guys live in high rises, which you get used to after a while. Miami is having a huge makeover and adding so many new buildings, shops restaurants and entertainment. Once married or serious GF, the guys will move to a nice area of town that is close to the undergrad. Fun fact about that, UM undergrad is not at all like what we think it is based on ESPN 30 for 30, it is small (9k), expensive ($44k/yr), prestigious, and has unreal talent attracted from all over the country.
Limitations
Not sure how much of a hindrance this is, but of note is the program is officially Jackson Memorial Hospital. Yes you rotate at 3-4 other hospitals, but their paychecks are issues by the county. The reason for this is based on an old old lawsuit and the max awarded via malpractice. If they officially go through JMH there is a limit of $250k/case, vs if they were University of Miami there is no limit since it’s a wealthy private institution. Also, while some might enjoy the male driven nature of the program, some girls might not enjoy this, and so it’s a continual cycle of guys that match here. Again, might be a pro or a con.
Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion
So of course I loved this program. I couples matched and ended up elsewhere (of course I blame the girlfriend, jk…), but I still wanted to give love to the program that really treated me and my fellow rotators with a ton of respect and responsibility. Rotating here is something I would highly encourage, they take them as late as February I think and might be flexible on dates if you email Carmen Fuente, she is the person that runs the show, and is like a second mom to all of the residents. I encourage you to break out of your comfort zone when ranking places, it is only 60 months of your life, you’ll likely never have the chance to move somewhere totally different for a finite period like you have the chance now. If you have never been to Miami, then come take a look, this place has all ends of the spectrum and is a great place to learn, live and work.
Qualification
I rotated as a medical student at this program
Date of Rotation
January 2014
MR
Max Runner
Top 100 Reviewer
Miami orthopaedics review
(Updated: October 23, 2007)
Overall rating
8.3
Staff Surgeons
9.0
Didactics/Teaching
7.0
Operating Experience
9.0
Clinical Experience
9.0
Research
7.0
Residents
10.0
Lifestyle
7.0
Location
9.0
Overall Experience
8.0
Program Review
Staff / Faculty / Chairman
Trauma attendings get along great with residents. Friendly, approachable, willing to teach. Chairman is formal but very nice. They have added foot/ankle and joint attendings recently. Resident input is valued and they make changes according to their feedback.
Didactics / Teaching
One morning per week dedicated to lectures, review, grand rounds,etc. Speciality specific journal clubs meet according to the schedule of that service. <br />
<br />
Quality of lectures were a mixed bag, some great, others okay. Also somewhat disorganized and random in terms of the topics presented. Overall didatics seems to not be an area that is emphasized like at more academic places. This may not be representative but during my month this is what I found to be true.
<br />
Quality of lectures were a mixed bag, some great, others okay. Also somewhat disorganized and random in terms of the topics presented. Overall didatics seems to not be an area that is emphasized like at more academic places. This may not be representative but during my month this is what I found to be true.
Operating Experience
The 2 can theoretically get in the OR but during my rotation was always on the floor or tracking down films (no pacs as of fall 07 but on its way), consenting pre-ops, etc, etc. I was surprised by this bc I expected the 2 to be more involved in the OR. When the 2 did get to go in the OR, pager would go off like crazy with stuff from the floor. However, I did talk to one 2nd year who said that during his trauma rotation he got in alot, he just came in real early to handle the floorwork. <br />
<br />
From year 3 and up, lots of cases, good deal of autonomy but attendings are around and always willing to stay late to staff a case if needed. Ilizarovs, pelvis/tabs, complex upper extremity fx along with the bread/butter. No trauma fellow, could change. <br />
<br />
SPINE:<br />
<br />
The 2 is on the floor, the 4 can scrub in if interested. Usually the fellow and the attending. Just don't know too much about operative experience on spine as I followed around the 2 on the floor during my 2 week rotation.
<br />
From year 3 and up, lots of cases, good deal of autonomy but attendings are around and always willing to stay late to staff a case if needed. Ilizarovs, pelvis/tabs, complex upper extremity fx along with the bread/butter. No trauma fellow, could change. <br />
<br />
SPINE:<br />
<br />
The 2 is on the floor, the 4 can scrub in if interested. Usually the fellow and the attending. Just don't know too much about operative experience on spine as I followed around the 2 on the floor during my 2 week rotation.
Clinic Experience
TRAUMA:<br />
set up is pgy2 as the floor guy, pgy3/pgy4/pgy5 just operate. since they added a 7th resident, you could possibly have an additionaly chief on the service as well. three attendings (may have added more), running about 6 ORs. plenty of work.<br />
<br />
separate team of intern and pgy3 to cover consults/er during the day (no OR time) --thought this was great, as by week 2 or 3 intern has seen and done ALOT. good volume of real not annoying consults. dedicated c-arm and cast tech. pgy2 and pgy3 (3 is on night float) team covers floor and consults at night. pgy2 on trauma does not take trauma call. <br />
<br />
2 clinics/week. seniors rotate days (one in clinic, one OR). very very busy, can easily get behind. majority of pts are spanish speaking. this can take getting used to. almost entirely resident run. lots to do for a rotating student (splint, cut casts, injections, write notes/orders/Rx).<br />
<br />
rounds, fx conference every AM. on call team presents cases from the night. cases for the day are discussed. pretty benign in terms of pimping, not always from what i heard. walk-around rounds with the whole team is once a week--very quick! there is one PA available to do floor work. the 2 is still handling a list of about 30ish pts.<br />
<br />
SPINE:<br />
the chairman's (Dr Eismont) rotation and all that goes with it...very formal (shirt and tie, clipboards, no gum chewing, the list must be impeccable, etc). there are three spine attendings incl Dr Eismont, a spine fellow, a pgy4 and pgy2. pgy2 is never in the OR and does floor work all day, pgy4 chills typically or if interested in spine can be in the OR. when i was there, neither resident wanted to do spine so the 4 relaxed, the 2 worked the floor (working the floor on spine is exacting, precise, and very detailed oriented as this is the chair's service). that being said, Dr. Eismont is very nice, I'm sure if either residents had interest in spine they could have got plenty of OR time. Also word is he can get the residents any fellowship they want (judging by recent placement, must be true). Also there is a spine clinic at Jackson which the fellow runs.
set up is pgy2 as the floor guy, pgy3/pgy4/pgy5 just operate. since they added a 7th resident, you could possibly have an additionaly chief on the service as well. three attendings (may have added more), running about 6 ORs. plenty of work.<br />
<br />
separate team of intern and pgy3 to cover consults/er during the day (no OR time) --thought this was great, as by week 2 or 3 intern has seen and done ALOT. good volume of real not annoying consults. dedicated c-arm and cast tech. pgy2 and pgy3 (3 is on night float) team covers floor and consults at night. pgy2 on trauma does not take trauma call. <br />
<br />
2 clinics/week. seniors rotate days (one in clinic, one OR). very very busy, can easily get behind. majority of pts are spanish speaking. this can take getting used to. almost entirely resident run. lots to do for a rotating student (splint, cut casts, injections, write notes/orders/Rx).<br />
<br />
rounds, fx conference every AM. on call team presents cases from the night. cases for the day are discussed. pretty benign in terms of pimping, not always from what i heard. walk-around rounds with the whole team is once a week--very quick! there is one PA available to do floor work. the 2 is still handling a list of about 30ish pts.<br />
<br />
SPINE:<br />
the chairman's (Dr Eismont) rotation and all that goes with it...very formal (shirt and tie, clipboards, no gum chewing, the list must be impeccable, etc). there are three spine attendings incl Dr Eismont, a spine fellow, a pgy4 and pgy2. pgy2 is never in the OR and does floor work all day, pgy4 chills typically or if interested in spine can be in the OR. when i was there, neither resident wanted to do spine so the 4 relaxed, the 2 worked the floor (working the floor on spine is exacting, precise, and very detailed oriented as this is the chair's service). that being said, Dr. Eismont is very nice, I'm sure if either residents had interest in spine they could have got plenty of OR time. Also word is he can get the residents any fellowship they want (judging by recent placement, must be true). Also there is a spine clinic at Jackson which the fellow runs.
Research Opportunities
There are two research rotations during the 5 years, additionally a 6 year research spot opened up this year. Residents are expected to take call during their research. Most residents I talked to weren't really interested. Rresearch seems to be tolerated and I would not consider it a big selling point here. More of a clinical than academic program.
Residents
Real cool, alot of them are single, mostly guys, a couple female residents. They seem to hang out together more than any other program I've rotated/interviewed at.
Lifestyle
Intern year is pretty chill. 2nd year is the roughest, prolly 14hr/days on trauma on average, can get nastier, but after your 2nd year you are mainly operating. Call is busy, 1-2 hours of sleep as a junior. Seniors may operate until late at night if cases get bumped. Summary: you will work. <br />
<br />
Jackson is a huge county hospital so alot of aggravation that comes with that is to be expected. They spend 80% of their time at Jackson. I have no first-hand information other rotation sites but the residents seem to like them, especially the sports rotations. <br />
<br />
Conferences, etc. Same as other places, one a year. Interns get to go to conference in the Keys.
<br />
Jackson is a huge county hospital so alot of aggravation that comes with that is to be expected. They spend 80% of their time at Jackson. I have no first-hand information other rotation sites but the residents seem to like them, especially the sports rotations. <br />
<br />
Conferences, etc. Same as other places, one a year. Interns get to go to conference in the Keys.
Location / Housing
It's Miami. <br />
<br />
Housing: lot of the junior residents stay at a high-rise condo on south beach. ive heard the rent is +2K/month for a 1bedroom.
<br />
Housing: lot of the junior residents stay at a high-rise condo on south beach. ive heard the rent is +2K/month for a 1bedroom.
Limitations
-no pacs system. supposed to be getting one very soon. will cut down pgy2's scut tremendously. <br />
-weaker didactics, research relative to big academic places (i.e. pitt, rush, etc)<br />
-Jackson, great learning/autonomy/volume, also great inefficiencies/scut for junior residents
-weaker didactics, research relative to big academic places (i.e. pitt, rush, etc)<br />
-Jackson, great learning/autonomy/volume, also great inefficiencies/scut for junior residents
Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion
-excellent clinically, tremendous operative volume<br />
-solid faculty, all sub-specialities are covered, well balanced<br />
-not an academic-focused program (research/didactics weaker than at other programs)<br />
-consistently great fellowship placement
-solid faculty, all sub-specialities are covered, well balanced<br />
-not an academic-focused program (research/didactics weaker than at other programs)<br />
-consistently great fellowship placement
Qualification
I rotated as a medical student at this program
Date of Rotation
2007
RK
Robert Kitchen
Top 500 Reviewer
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