Residency Training Program

The faculty and staff of the UC Davis orthopaedic surgery residency training program are committed to training practicing orthopaedic surgeons with the broadest experience possible.

The department offers a five-year program. One of the five categorical positions is a six-year option that allows for a dedicated year of research following the PG-2 clinical year (click here to learn more about this research opportunity). The department hopes the research experience will produce community-based surgeons and academicians who will remain discriminating scientists and who will review the literature and new developments with a critical and scientifically objective eye.

Residents rotate at three-month intervals on subspecialty services that function as small practice groups under the leadership of the chief resident (who has full responsibility for patient care), with close supervision of and teaching by attending staff. Delegation of patient care responsibilities to residents is not directly tied to the year in training. Rather, faculty delegate to the resident as quickly as his or her capabilities merit. Faculty provide attending consultation 24 hours a day and on all operative cases.

The department's educational philosophy is to give the resident first priority in the diagnostic/therapeutic decision-making process and performance of surgery, but to have an attending surgeon always available to ensure a superlative level of patient care and to maximize the resident's learning experience. One hundred percent of the department's residents have become board-certified orthopaedic surgeons.

Resident training takes place at the UC Davis Medical Center, Shriners Hospitals for Children, Northern California and Kaiser Permanente Hospital South. Residents have three months of rotation at each of the PGY-2 and PGY5 levels at Shriners Hospitals, where they participate actively in the management of difficult cases involving children with orthopaedic disorders, deformities or diseases. All Shriners faculty have academic appointments with the UC Davis Health, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. Weekly didactic case presentations and a resident library enrich the educational experience. The three-month rotation at Kaiser South at the PGY-4 level is very popular as it provides extensive adult and general orthopaedics exposure.

If you have any questions as to whether or not your medical school curriculum meets the requirements for licensure in the State of California, please contact the Medical Board of California directly at (916) 263-2382. In addition, all residents at the PGY-3 level and above must have a valid California medical license.

• Six-year research track internship position (one per year)