Clinical Experience
Your residency program exposes you to the seven major subspecialties. You will rotate with each faculty member at least once in your five-year program, and you will have experience in all of the orthopedic subspecialties as both a junior and senior level resident.
All rotations take place at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics or at nearby hospitals. All PG-2 through 5 rotations are in ten-week blocks unless otherwise specified. PGY-1 rotations are 4 weeks, except for Adult Reconstruction and General Surgery (Meriter), which are both 12 weeks.
Global Health Elective: Residents may choose to participate in a one-week global health elective rotation as a senior resident.
Rotation Schedule
| Rotation |
PGY-1 |
PGY-2 |
PGY-3 |
PGY-4 |
PGY-5 |
| Orthopedics |
| Adult Reconstruction (Joints/Tumor) |
UW |
|
|
UW |
UW |
| Community |
|
|
MH |
|
|
| Foot and Ankle (5-week blocks) |
|
MH |
|
MH |
|
| Hand |
|
|
UW/MH |
|
UW/MH |
| Night Float (two 5-week blocks) |
|
UW |
|
|
|
| Pediatric (4 weeks for PGY-2) |
|
UW |
UW |
|
UW |
| Research |
|
|
|
UW |
|
| Spine |
|
UW |
|
UW |
|
| Sports |
|
UW |
|
UW |
|
| Trauma (5 weeks for PGY-2 & 4) |
|
UW |
UW |
UW |
UW |
| VA |
|
|
VA |
|
VA |
| Non-Orthopedics (required by ACGME) |
| Anesthesiology |
UW |
|
|
|
|
| Emergency Medicine |
UW |
|
|
|
|
| General Surgery |
MH |
|
|
|
|
| Musculoskeletal Imaging |
UW |
|
|
|
|
| Plastics/Burn |
UW |
|
|
|
|
| TLC (Trauma and Life Support Center) |
UW |
|
|
|
|
| Trauma |
UW |
|
|
|
|
| Vascular Surgery |
UW |
|
|
|
|
MH = Meriter Hospital (approximately 3 miles from UW Hospital)
UW = University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics
VA = Veterans Administration Hospital (adjoins UW Hospital)
On Call and Emergency Room Coverage
ER coverage is a 24-hour resident responsibility that is shared during the weekday hours with a physician’s assistant. Coverage by the junior resident (first call) is divided into several categories: weekday, night and weekend coverage.
Weekday coverage Monday through Friday begins at 7:00 a.m. and ends at 6:00 p.m. Weekday coverage is the primary responsibility of the designated physician assistant with the assistance of the Trauma service.
Night call coverage begins at 6:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and ends at 7:00 a.m. the following morning. Night call will be covered by the PG-2 night float resident.
Weekend coverage has 3 shifts: 1) Friday from 5:00 p.m. until the following morning at 7:00 a.m., 2) Saturday from 7:00 a.m. until Sunday 7:00 a.m., and 3) Sunday 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.
In addition to first call or junior call, a senior resident (PG-4 or PG-5) will be on second call.
On designated days within the Anesthesia, MSK Radiology, and Ortho Adult Reconstruction rotations, PG-1 residents will experience real-time trauma, emergency room, and orthopedic consult experience to simulate call duties which begin with the PG-2 year. These sessions are directly supervised by upper level orthopedic residents such that appropriate consult, triage, and fracture management skills are obtained.
A second resident will also be on backup call. This is designed primarily to provide ER coverage when the first call residents are in the OR or when extra help is deemed necessary by the attending physician on call. Backup should be used as a last resort. When the first call resident requires help, the senior resident (second call) should be the next resident involved.