Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation

Read below to hear what our residents have to say about Orthopaedics at UVM!

Michael Danaher, MD PGY5 (in blue)

Understanding that residency was going to be hard I wanted to make sure I was at a place that shared the same core beliefs of hard work, respect, and empathy that I value. UVM has a culture that lends itself to that and I feel also offers me a personalized education. I feel the residents are cared for and enjoy each other’s company. I also love the town of Burlington. Being a college town there is fresh turnover that is exciting. Church street is such a cool place to eat out or grab drinks. From where I live I can bike to the lake in ten minutes or drive 30 min to the ski slopes or a mountain trail head. My apartment overlooks Lake Champlain and the Adirondack mountains. I have a great view of the sunset. UVM is the kind of place where you’ll get great training in a location where people value living a healthy lifestyle.

Strengths and Unique Qualities of UVM

• Personalized training program. More direct one-on-one teaching. One centralized hospital
• No fellows
• Well respected faculty that focus on teaching and resident development
• Positive program culture
• New/beautiful facilities
• Work life balance: Lake/mountains/college town/Church street so close
  

The Culture at UVM

There is a unique culture at UVM that is unlike any other place I interviewed. We are a small program which means that we have to rely on each other in order to take care of patients. We meet together every morning for roundtable discussion, sign out, and lectures. I am treated with respect by my co residents. The senior residents have high expectations but are also supportive. We spend time together outside the hospital and I can genuinely say I am friends with everyone in this program. UVM is the type of place where you will be treated with dignity and you can grow in a positive environment.

Gaps

• An expansive/all access research program
• Our only Peds and Onc experiences comes from one attending (but she’s amazing!)
• Night float system
• VA/ Multiple hospitals
• Not located in a major city ie NYC, LA, Chicago, Boston...

I was surprised by...

I was surprised by the overall positive culture of the entire hospital/community. Regardless of what specialty I was consulting I’ve been treated with kindness and respect. The interactions I’ve had with faculty and residents of other specialties has been positive and that has made my experience at UVM even better.

Hailee Reist, MD PGY5 (on right)

  Our program is a perfect mix of personal attention and training with high volume orthopedic care. We are small enough that you do not get lost in the crowd but large enough to see a wide variety of cases. We consistently are gaining technical skills early both in the OR and while seeing consults.

Strengths and Unique Qualities of UVM

• Collaborative environment with other specialties
• Small group of residents that work together well and develop strong personal connections
• Responsibility up front so you become competent very quickly
• High volume without having to share cases
• Living in Vermont is such a wonderful experience: lake, mountains, kind people, lots of outdoor activities

The Culture at UVM

you cannot be someone who blends into the crowd here,  you get personal attention and personal responsibility.  The hierarchy here is all about education, not malignancy. Chiefs and interns are friends here. We are also close with the attendings- we spend time outside of the hospital at their homes/boats/etc while still maintaining a professional relationship at work.

Gaps

• We have some penetrating trauma, but less so than some larger cities
• Nightfloat- we currently have a q6 call schedule which may be a pro or a con depending on preferences
• VA rotation
• BIG city things, however Montreal is an easy 1.5hr drive, Boston is an easy 3hr drive and NYC 5.5hr
• Small airport BUT the VERY easy to deal with, you end up saving a ton of time (only have to get there a few minutes early rather than hours early) and you save money on parking/transportation to the airport. Overall it ends up not being that much more expensive to fly in and out of even though the initial sticker price may look expensive.

I was surprised by...

I did not expect to come to a small program and get SO much experience right away. I was expecting a lower acuity/lower volume place, however that was not the case. We have the perfect combination of number of residents to volume. We rarely double scrub cases. We often have chief residents and attendings walking junior residents through cases.

Mimi Wang, MD Alumni (on right)

UVM is a unique residency of 3 per class and more attendings than residents. This means that we work hard, but as a result, get excellent education. Because we are such a small group, we are very close, with all of the benefits and struggles that come with that.  At the end of the day, we send our residents to fantastic fellowships where we feel well prepared for the challenges ahead.

Strengths and Unique Qualities of UVM

• More attendings than residents – 1 on 1 training.
• Good fellowships after residency
• Early and frequent operative experience
• Chief call with variety of attendings – the pediatric elbow with the foot/ankle attending and the hemi with the hand attending relies on the chief and junior to be very competent in the OR
• Interactions with the rest of the hospital – the ortho residents are independent and recognized as competent, so we deal directly with ED attendings, medicine attendings, etc. rather than being expected to play telephone between attendings.

The Culture at UVM

One is self-motivated and responsible for your own education. Being friendly and respectful to ALL members of the hospital. We work hard to provide the patient with the best care, and that means everything – making the diagnosis, deciding upon the surgery, knowing everything (orthopaedic and medical) about the patient, getting surgical team assembled, bringing the patient to the OR, doing the surgery. We try to be in control of everything and never defer responsibility.

Gaps

• A VA hospital
• Research is self-motivated, no army of research assistants
• Gets cold and dark in the winter!

I was surprised by...

I didn’t realize how unique it is to take call with non-traumatologists as residents and how much a leg-up it gives us on our ability to make surgical decisions and perform the surgeries themselves. I was asked at an interview “if you began your own practice today, what would you be comfortable with?” and I was surprised at the specialized procedures I was able to list.