School of Medicine

    The University of Kansas Orthopedic Surgery Residency Program is a comprehensive and intense five-year training program. All residents build a solid base of knowledge and develop superb surgical skills so they can function as outstanding orthopedic surgeons in both private and academic settings after graduation.

    The residency program, which is geographically located within a 20-mile radius of the university hospital, consists of the University of Kansas Medical Center, the Veterans Administration Medical Center of Kansas City, and Children's Mercy Hospital. Each facility plays an important role in the training of residents. The University of Kansas Medical Center is the focus of the residency program and is the teach-ing hospital for the State of Kansas. It has all the specialty services of a modern tertiary care medical center. The patients at this hospital provide an optimal mix of basic and complex orthopedic cases.

    The PGY-1 year is a flexible internship administered by the Department of Orthopedics. It includes rotations in neurosurgery, trauma surgery, emergency medicine, rehab medicine, vascular surgery, general surgery, plastic surgery and three months of orthopedic surgery.

    The orthopedic program emphasizes increasing levels of responsibility for residents as they move through their five years of training. The PGY-1 year provides a broad exposure to medical and surgical problems that face orthopedic surgeons in many settings, such as intensive care units, the emergency room, and various surgical subspecialties. The overall management of patients, including care of the polytrauma patient, is highlighted. Basic operative techniques are taught and demonstrated. The PGY-1 resident is expected to perform minor surgical procedures with supervision and to assist with major operations. 		    The formal orthopedic residency program begins after successful completion of the PGY-1 year. At the university hospital there are three surgical teams: Team I - sports medicine and adult reconstruction, Team II - adult and pediatric spine surgery and musculoskeletal oncology; Team III hand and upper extremity, foot and ankle, and trauma. The Veterans Administration Medical Center orthopedic rotation is a large, adult recon-structive service with busy outpatient clinics. Children's Mercy Hospital provides a comprehensive exposure to pediatric orthopedics.

    PGY-2 and -3 years are considered junior resident years, with PGY-4 and -5 years regarded as senior years. Each resident rotates through all services as both a junior and a senior resident, which provides for an expansion of knowledge and individual responsibility. While on the different rotations, residents participate in all aspects of orthopedic care, including out-patient clinics, emergency room treatment, inpatient and outpatient surgery, and treatment of the multisystem trauma patient.

    During the PGY-2 year, residents rotate through Teams I and III at the University, the Veterans hospital, as well as two months at Children's Mercy Hospital.

    By evaluating patients in the emergency room and orthopedic clinics, residents become central in the management of the inpatient orthopedic service. Both surgical and nonsurgical treatments are taught and demonstrated. Significant operating room experience is a mainstay of the program for junior residents, who perform low-to-moderate complex operative procedures under supervision and assist with more complex procedures.

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