The Hospitals of the Program
The Boston Medical Center – Primary Institution
The Lahey Clinic
The Massachusetts General Hospital – Orthopaedic Oncology Service
The Shriners Hospital for Children – Springfield
The Boston Veterans Administration Health Care System
The program comprises approximately 220 active orthopaedic beds, and the more than 40 full time faculty perform over 9000 orthopaedic procedures annually. In addition to the wealth of clinical material from which the residents’ education draws, a funded 3,500 square foot state of the art basic science laboratory headed by full time research faculty supports the residents’ scientific development. The basic science faculty and staff are on the cutting edge of research related to the biology of fracture repair and the regeneration of musculoskeletal tissues. Finally, a well stocked library and a bio-skills laboratory dedicated exclusively to the education of orthopaedic residents is accessible 24 hours a day.
Boston Medical Center – Primary Institution
Orthopaedic residents get the majority of their trauma experience at the medical center, which sees more than 2,000 trauma admissions each year. The medical center serves as a tertiary referral center for complex trauma and spine problems for a three state area. Four rotations at the medical center focus the resident experience on trauma, pediatrics/hand, spine, and reconstruction/sports. The center has two sites and three sets of operating suites, including a new outpatient facility with “smart rooms”. The bulk of the educational schedule occurs at the main medical center and the largest proportion of residents are at the medical center.The rotations are set up so that each resident spends a significant amount of time with one attending, allowing a close interaction over months. This one on one teaching in the clinic and the operating room creates a concentrated learning experience in each major orthopaedic area, For more information on Boston Medical Center click here.
The Lahey Clinic
Residents participate in preoperative evaluation of patients in the outpatient clinic, emergency room, and during preoperative case conferences. During their rotation each resident spends four hours per week with attending surgeons in the outpatient clinic. Exposure in the clinic includes diagnosis and nonoperative treatment as well as surgical planning. A weekly preoperative case conference is held reviewing complex problems and their potential solutions. The Lahey clinic provides a tremendous volume of cases for the residents to scrub on. Residents are given opportunities to perform surgery commensurate with their level of training and surgical skills. Reconstructive surgery, hand surgery, sports medicine, and foot and ankle surgery are well represented. For more information on the Lahey Clinic click here.
The Massachusetts General Hospital – Orthopaedic Oncology Service
The Orthopaedic Oncology Service at Massachusetts General Hospital provides world-class, compassionate care to children, adolescents and adults with a team approach to treating primary bone and soft tissue tumors (benign and malignant) and metastatic disease.
The Program was founded in 1972 by Dr. Henry Mankin, the then Chairperson of Orthopaedics. The program is now the largest oncology treatment group in New England and one of the largest in the world.
Approximately 200 patients are seen per week including an average of 800 new patients annually with tumors of bone and soft tissues. The group performs approximately 700 operations per year and maintains an active educational and research program. For more information on the Oncology Service at Massachusetts General Hospital click here.
Shriners Hospital for Children – Springfield
At the Shriners Hospital residents experience a wide spectrum of orthopaedic disorders and deformities in children from a referral base which includes New England, New York state, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, and Cyprus.
Residents participate in the initial evaluation, definitive treatment plan, and follow-up of all patients. This begins with the clinic assessment and preoperative planning and continues through the operating room and then the postop and rehabilitation course. Residents have primary responsibility for the peri-operative care of in-patients. Surgery is carried out by residents under direct supervision by attending faculty. The independent activities of individual residents are increased according to demonstrated abilities and skills. For more information on Shriners Hospital for Children, please click here.
Boston Veterans Administration Medical Center
The Boston VA Medical Center is a tertiary care institution dealing exclusively with the medical and surgical needs of the veteran population. This facility deals almost exclusively with reconstruction in adults of which approximately 90% are males with residual war wounds. The focus is on hip and knee arthroplasty and the treatment of fractures. Care is also provided by nonsurgical means for conditions such as osteomyelitis and other chronic infectious diseases.
In addition to performing supervised surgery, the more senior residents may supervise junior residents in performing the simpler types of orthopaedic surgery, on rounds and in caring for patients in the ward and clinic settings. More autonomy is available for the residents at the VA than other hospitals in the system. For more information click here.
