Outpatient care is a crucial part of the resident experience. Residents take an active role in the clinic, performing initial and follow-up patient evaluations. A thorough understanding of indications for operative and non-operative care is developed. In addition, weekly preoperative indications conferences afford a forum for discussion of surgical indications and techniques. Residents are responsible for organizing this conference which consists of case history presentations along with a review of the pertinent imaging studies of all surgical cases for the following week.
Resident responsibility is graduated and progressive.
During the PGY II year, the resident is primarily responsible for the inpatient management of the service. The junior resident can expect to obtain hands on experience with fundamental techniques such as bone graft harvest, exposure of the posterior spine, and insertion of pedicle screws. During the chief resident rotation, increasing responsibility is given in terms of coordinating and overseeing management of the inpatient service. The resident is given the opportunity to participate as a first assistant on all complex cases and is given the opportunity to perform the primary portion of most procedures under the direct and constant supervision of the attending physician. By the end of the rotation the resident will have a thorough understanding of most common orthopaedic spinal problems, be well versed in the alternative treatment choices and confident in an ability to perform a variety of orthopaedic spine procedures.