Orthopedic Residency Curriculum

The curriculum consists of over 300 hours of didactic and laboratory course work. The curriculum is presented over five modules.

  1. Foundations (basic sciences, pain science, ethics, teaching/learning, motor learning, statistics, pharmacology, etc.).
  2. Spine, pelvic girdle, craniomandibular region.
  3. Upper quarter (shoulder girdle, scapula-thoracic, elbow, wrist and hand regions).
  4. Lower quarter (hip, knee, ankle, and foot).
  5. Projects (scholarly project, presentation for submission to a conference or scientific meeting, service project, review papers). 

In addition, residents will develop and present four case studies (spine, upper quarter, lower quarter) throughout the curriculum, will take three practical examinations (live patient encounters for examination and intervention), and teach other residents clinical practice guidelines throughout the residency.

Multiple, brief written examinations (multiple choice and short answer) are taken during each learning module. A passing grade of 80 is required. Residents who do not receive an 80 or above are required to retake the examination until it is passed.

Residents will have reading assignments from scientific and clinical publications, clinical practice guidelines, specific text books and monographs. Examination questions are developed from discussion sessions and the assigned readings. Residents will also perform literature searches during the development of case reports and share article references with the other residents as assigned readings. Residents will critically review relevant clinical studies and discuss these during class time.

Residents will receive a minimum of 150 hours of clinical mentoring.