Resident Education Experience

Faculty

Clinical Experience

Research

Conference/Clinic Schedule

Library

Courses/Visiting Professors

The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Carolinas Medical Center (CMC) offers a fully accredited five-year training program. Satisfactory completion qualifies the resident to take the examinations for certification by The American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.

Resident Education Experience
The PGY-1 year is a rotating internship at CMC under the supervision of the program director of Orthopaedic Surgery. The PGY-2 through PGY-5 years are spent in a variety of supervised experiences on the orthopaedic services at CMC, Carolinas Rehabilitation, and Shriners Hospital for Children in Greenville, SC. The curriculum provides for didactic and clinical education in all subspecialty areas of orthopaedic surgery.

Faculty
The educational experience is under the direction of the program director and chairman. Residents interact with many of the practicing orthopaedic surgeons in the city. Each resident receives substantial exposure to teaching and practice in all areas of orthopaedics including adult orthopaedics and joint reconstruction; pediatric orthopaedics; orthopaedic and multi-system trauma; spine surgery; hand surgery; foot and ankle surgery; sports medicine; rehabilitation orthopaedics; and musculoskeletal oncology. Responsibility is progressive as a resident advances through the program, but appropriate supervision is provided for all patient care and educational activities.

Clinical Experience
The clinical experience is primarily at CMC and includes an active and well-balanced orthopaedic surgical mix with a substantial emphasis on complex trauma. Residents are exposed to the wide variety of reconstructive situations admitted by faculty orthopaedists as well as those supplied from an active outpatient orthopaedic clinic. A broad-based clinical faculty program provides experience in continuity of care and non-operative and surgical treatment of all types of orthopaedic conditions.

At Carolinas Rehabilitation hospital, the residents assist in inpatient and outpatient care of long-term and complex fracture problems, spinal cord injuries, amputations, and other orthopaedic rehabilitative problems.

The pediatric experience includes a four-month rotation at the Shriners Hospital for Children. This 100-bed children's hospital is located in Greenville, SC, 120 miles from Charlotte. The PGY-4 residents assigned to Shriners Hospital gain experience in complex pediatric problems under the direction of Dr. Jon R. Davids. Housing is provided.

Exposure to continuity of medical care from initial patient evaluation through surgery and follow-up exists throughout the program. A one year post-residency fellowship experience exists in orthopaedic trauma, with two fellows per year. The program is constructed to benefit all and to prioritize the resident's educational experience.

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Research
A Basic Science Laboratory Research facility houses our active research program in orthopaedic biology and engineering under the supervision of faculty PhD's. An endowed, one-year research fellowship is available in the PGY-2 year for appropriately qualified individuals destined for leadership positions. Qualifications for this position will be considered during the residency application process. Clinical research is an integral part of each resident's experience. A faculty research advisory panel, in conjunction with individual preceptors, assists the residents in this program.

Conference/Clinic Schedule
A list of educational conferences and clinical activities follows. Residents are excused from clinical responsibility during conferences.

• Conferences:
  Grand Rounds, Trauma Conference, and Journal Club are held each week. An organized curriculum exists in bioengineering, orthopaedic biology/physiology, musculoskeletal pathology, and orthopaedic radiology. A surgical anatomy program is conducted each year. Subspecialty teaching conferences include foot and ankle, hand and upper extremity, pediatric orthopaedics, spine, sports medicine, adult reconstruction, tumor and orthopaedic trauma. Morbidity and mortality conference and a multidisciplinary trauma conference are held on a monthly basis, as is a conference with the program director dedicated to resident issues.
• Outpatient Clinics:
  Foot, General, Hand, Pediatric, Rehabilitation, Spine, Sports, Total Joint, Trauma, Tumor.

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Library
A fully stocked library containing all major textbooks and journals is maintained by the department. In addition, pathology and clinical teaching slides and tapes are available, as is a computerized literature search facility. Assistance and instruction in literature review and manuscript preparation is provided. It is expected that faculty and residents will participate in, present and publish scientific material thus contributing to the knowledge base in orthopaedic surgery.

Courses/Visiting Professors
A variety of instructional courses are held throughout the year under the auspices of the department. A surgical skills laboratory provides the resident with the ability to practice surgical procedures out of the operating room setting. The department runs a microvascular surgical skills program. Knot tying and arthroscopic surgical skills programs are held annually. Educational meetings in subspecialty areas are frequently sponsored by the training program and groups associated with it. Visiting professors in all areas of orthopaedic surgery provide not only specialized instruction but insight into outside practices and opinions. The department has 4-6 visiting professors each year.

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