Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program

Patient care

All clinical rotations after the first year occur in three hospitals. Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC) is the parent institution with 880 beds and is a recognized regional and national leader in medical care.

Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) is a 373-bed facility and is approximately 15 minutes from LLUMC.

The Loma Linda VA Medical Center (VAMC) has 131 beds and is approximately one mile from LLUMC.

All rotations in the first year of orthopaedics (PGY2) occur at LLUMC and include adult orthopaedics, spine, joints, sports medicine, trauma, and hand surgery.

Approximately half of the (PGY3) year is spent as a junior resident at ARMC. The remainder of the year is spent at the VAMC and as a junior resident on the pediatric orthopaedic service.

Rotations in the third year (PGY-4) of orthopaedics include three months as senior resident on pediatrics, three months at ARMC, and six months free of most clinical responsibility which is set aside for research and basic science study.

In the fourth and final year (PGY-5) of orthopaedics, three months are spent at ARMC, three months at the VAMC, and six months at LLUMC as chief resident. Responsibilities on each of these services include outpatient clinics, inpatient care, attendance in the operating room, and coverage of a very demanding emergency department.

The on-call schedule generally requires junior residents, primarily PGY2, to take in-house call. We have implemented a night float system. Senior residents take call every fourth night from home.

Direct faculty supervision is provided on all operative cases with increasing responsibility given to upper level residents. Residents completing the program will have performed an average of 2,000-3,000 operative cases.

There are ten geographic full-time faculty members at LLUMC specializing in the areas of trauma, sports medicine (i.e. joints, shoulders), foot and ankle surgery, adult reconstruction, spine, pediatrics, and oncology. There are eight geographic full-time faculty members at ARMC, all having sub-specialty expertise. The residents are afforded a much more independent opportunity to provide orthopaedic care at ARMC. Five part-time orthopaedic surgeons staff the Loma Linda VA Medical Center.

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Education

A great deal of informal education takes place in the clinical setting. Our formal educational efforts center on a number of conferences held each week.

Grand Rounds utilizes a case presentation format with short literature reviews on the specified topics chosen.

Surgical Indications Conference provides a review of the most recent surgical cases and affords an opportunity for residents to think on their feet and defend their approach.

An Orthopaedic Core Reading Conference has been organized wherein residents in the first and second years meet as a group with a faculty member to discuss an assigned reading program. At the end of two years each resident will have completely read and discussed three multi-volume basic textbooks of orthopaedic surgery.

The Basic Science Conference is designed to teach the scientific basis for orthopaedic practice, including biochemistry, biomechanics, physiology, anatomy, etc. Journal Club is held monthly.

Each of the clinical services has a weekly service conference at which time specific patients are discussed along with specific reading assignments.

With one exception, conferences occur at 6:30 a.m. to allow maximum attendance. Basic science conference is held at 6:00 p.m. weekly and usually includes a light supper and social hour. No routine conferences are held on weekends.

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Research

Six months are set aside during the third year of orthopaedic residency for research and review of basic science. Completion of two projects is a requirement for graduation from the program.

Laboratory opportunities include a biology lab, a biomechanics and bioelectricity laboratory and a tribology laboratory with three joint simulators. Areas of current research include microsurgery, metabolic bone disease, spinal mechanics, implant mechanics, and congenital hand anomalies.

About the area

Loma Linda University was founded by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1905. It is located 60 miles east of Los Angeles surrounded by the cities of San Bernardino, Riverside, and Redlands.

Mountain resorts, such as Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear, are approximately 30 miles north of Loma Linda. The ocean beaches are approximately 45 miles southwest, and Palm Springs is approximately 45 miles east.

Other centers of higher education in the area are the University of California at Riverside, California State University San Bernardino, and the University of Redlands.

Learn more about the area and see some pictures.

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ERAS / application information

We participate in the National Residency Match Program and are accepting applications through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) for the 2009 match. We do not require any additional data other than what is required by ERAS. Letters of recommendation are limited to four, with at least two in an orthopaedic discipline. Information regarding ERAS procedures is available from the dean's office of each medical school or through ERAS.

The application deadline for orthopaedic surgery is November 15, 2008. The interview process is one day only, Thursday, January 15, 2009. If you have been granted an interview, you will be notified on or after November 30, 2008 via email, if available, and a hard copy letter mailed shortly after.

Contact information

Montri D. Wongworawat, MD
Associate Professor and Program Director
Loma Linda University Medical Center
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
11406 Loma Linda Drive, Suite 218
Loma Linda, California 92354
(909) 558-6444, extension 62705
Fax (909) 558-6118
Email: orthoresidency@llu.edu

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