UCLA Orthopedic Surgery Programs and Research: A Comprehensive Overview
The UCLA Department of Orthopaedic Surgery is dedicated to training future leaders in orthopaedic medicine. They aim to support individuals in their pursuit of excellence in all aspects of academic medicine, including technical skills, patient care, research, healthcare delivery, and medical education. The core of the residency program is anchored in a holistic approach, while each trainee’s experience is tailored to their specific interests and goals. The department encourages a community of high reliability, empathy, tolerance, and advocacy to support both learners and the community they serve.
Commitment to Excellence in Training and Education
The ultimate goal is to equip residents with a broad and diversified clinical and academic experience, suitable for those aspiring to become academic orthopaedic surgeons or clinical leaders in the community. The program strives to prepare residents to be competent and comfortable in a general orthopaedic practice while simultaneously providing a platform for the best possible subsequent fellowship training opportunities, when desired.
Orthopaedic Residency Program
The UCLA and Luskin Orthopaedic Institute for Children’s Orthopaedic Residency Program is a fully accredited, integrated five-year training program. It meets all requirements set forth by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. The program, along with its affiliated sites, provides a comprehensive, multi-subspecialty experience.
Balanced Clinical Experience
The program offers a balance of clinical experience in various subspecialties, including:
- Adult reconstructive surgery
- Pediatric orthopaedics
- Trauma
- Surgery of the hand
- Sports medicine
- Metabolic bone disease
- Spinal reconstruction
- Foot and ankle surgery
- Shoulder and elbow surgery
- Orthopaedic oncology
These clinical experiences are integrated with continued studies in basic science and research. The R1 year provides diversified surgical training, fulfilling all ACGME requirements for this year.
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Outpatient Clinical Experience
The outpatient orthopaedic clinics offer a diverse and abundant clinical experience, incorporating academic medicine, private practices, and community-based programs. Each rotation and division has a faculty director/division educational lead, who guides the resident clinical and didactic learning. The program is designed to provide graduated responsibility, allowing each resident to perform clinically and surgically according to their ability, including the responsibility of managing and educating less-experienced residents and medical students.
Facilities and Resources
The home base of the program is the UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center and Orthopaedic Institute, which has 266 beds, 40 of which are devoted to orthopaedics. The Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center has 454 hospital beds, 26 of which are designated for orthopaedics/plastic.
Strategic Alliance with Luskin Orthopaedic Institute for Children
In 1998, UCLA entered a Strategic Alliance with the Los Angeles Orthopaedic Institute for Children, which brought with it a rich tradition in pediatric orthopaedics, education, and research. This alliance led to the creation of a large, dedicated, and state-of-the-art orthopaedic research facility: the J. Vernon Luck, Sr., MD/Orthopaedic Hospital Research Center at UCLA. The department has more than thirty clinical faculty and over twenty dedicated research faculty, with a large cadre of voluntary clinical faculty that contribute to the education of the trainees.
Comprehensive Education and Didactics
A comprehensive core lecture series is completed yearly. Faculty-led lectures and resident-led case presentations are given each Wednesday morning, during dedicated, protected educational time. Each hospital and sub-specialty also provide an additional 1-2 hours of protected didactics weekly. Core lectures are reinforced with monthly grand rounds, monthly quality assurance conferences, as well as dedicated Orthopaedic In-Training Examination review, bi-monthly trauma intake conferences, monthly journal clubs, a yearly hands-on anatomy course, and weekly musculoskeletal research seminars.
Research Opportunities
All residents have the opportunity to participate in clinical and/or laboratory investigations during their residency program. All residents are required to present their research during graduation as well as prepare at least one manuscript worthy of publication in a refereed journal.
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Research Support
Within the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, there are bioengineers, molecular biologists, geneticists, specialists in tissue engineering, stem cell biologists, a kinesiologist, and computer experts to instruct and assist the residents in the preparation and analysis of their research projects. Two residents from the second-year class elect to devote an additional year between their second and third year of clinical training for intensive basic science and clinical research. This allows outstanding residents the unique opportunity of preparing themselves for an eventual career as a clinician-scientist.
Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery Fellowship at LuskinOIC
The Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery Fellowship at Luskin Orthopaedic Institute for Children (LuskinOIC), in alliance with UCLA Health, offers exceptional training in pediatric orthopaedic surgery with a strong focus on community care, international outreach, and cutting-edge research. The fellowship is ACGME and POSNA accredited and open to graduates of an approved orthopedic residency program.
Program Overview
Directed by Dr. Richard Bowen, this fellowship provides comprehensive hands-on experience in clinical settings across multiple campuses, including the Downtown campus, Santa Monica campus, and UCLA Health facilities. Fellows will be involved in both outpatient visits at LuskinOIC and the Renee & Meyer Luskin Children’s Clinic in Santa Monica, and in surgeries performed at the Santa Monica/UCLA Orthopaedic Hospital and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Additionally, fellows will gain valuable experience in urgent care with limited supervised calls at the Downtown campus.
Surgical Experience
Fellows can expect to participate in approximately 350 surgeries during the academic year. The program expects fellows to gain surgical experience in a broad range of pediatric orthopaedic procedures but also gives them the independence to focus more deeply in an area of surgical interest. On a weekly basis, the fellow can choose surgeries in the areas of trauma, hip reconstruction, scoliosis, clubfoot, neuromuscular disorders including cerebral palsy, limb deformity and limb lengthening, and sports medicine to name a few.
Clinical Rotations and Facilities
All outpatient visits are conducted either at the Luskin Orthopaedic Institute for Children (Downtown campus) or in the Renee & Meyer Luskin Children’s Clinic in the Santa Monica / UCLA and Orthopaedic Hospital (Santa Monica campus). In addition, the Fellow takes a limited amount of supervised calls in the Urgent Care Center on the Downtown campus. All surgeries are performed at the Santa Monica/UCLA and Orthopaedic Hospital (Santa Monica Campus), the Luskin Orthopaedic Institute for Children Ambulatory Surgery Center, or Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. In addition to surgical operations in UCLA Santa Monica, UCLA Ronald Regan and other local area hospitals, LuskinOIC’s Outpatient Medical Center now performs surgeries at their on-site Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) which opened in August 2016. The ASC features two surgical suites and a dedicated surgery center staff.
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Research Opportunities
The fellow has opportunities to participate in both clinical as well as basic science research during their fellowship. There are full-time research coordinators at LuskinOIC to facilitate research efforts.
Faculty and Staff
Luskin Orthopaedic Institute for Children has ten (10) faculty pediatric orthopaedists and twelve (12) consultants on staff. The Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery Fellow is LuskinOIC’s only permanent, in-house trainee. In addition, approximately three (3) UCLA Orthopaedic Surgery Residents will rotate into LuskinOIC on a monthly basis. Non-surgical programs from UCLA, USC, and Kaiser also rotate into LuskinOIC for 1 day-6 month rotations. Non-surgical residents rotating into LuskinOIC are assigned to our various clinics. Throughout the year, 4th year medical students with UCLA also complete clinical and surgical rotations.
Application Information
Interested candidates should submit their application through San Francisco Match. Applications are accepted annually beginning in September and ending in January. The interview season typically occurs between January and March, ending with match day in April. The Orthopaedic Institute for Children currently has placement for one (1) fellow per academic year.
Requirements
The ability to obtain a valid California medical and DEA license before the start date is required. At this point in time, they do not accept ECFMG graduates. This includes both non-accredited and accredited ECFMG graduates. The fellowship participates in the San Francisco Matching Program (SFMP), which oversees a unified match day for all orthopaedic surgery subspecialty fellowships under AAOS supervision.
Research and Innovation
UCLA is dedicated to comprehensive, state-of-the-art care for patients with musculoskeletal disorders. The mission is to deliver high-quality, advanced surgical and medical care, and innovations in orthopaedic research. The program is committed to excellence in training and education as well as serving the community. It is an alliance of UCLA Health and Luskin Orthopaedic Institute for Children, joining programs with long traditions of patient-centered care, academic excellence, and scientific advancement.
J. Vernon Luck, Sr., MD/Orthopaedic Hospital Research Center at UCLA
The J. Vernon Luck, Sr., MD/Orthopaedic Hospital Research Center at UCLA stands as a testament to the commitment to advancing orthopaedic knowledge and patient care. This state-of-the-art facility fosters collaboration among clinicians and researchers, driving innovation in the field.
Community Engagement and Patient Care
The UCLA Department of Orthopaedic Surgery is deeply committed to serving the community and providing patient-centered care. Many providers have advanced fellowship training in orthopaedic specialties and sub-specialties.
After-Hours Orthopaedic Clinic
The UCLA Department of Orthopaedic Surgery offers an after-hours orthopaedic clinic that is available to patients Monday - Thursday evenings. The goal is to provide a prompt response and to create an appointment that is convenient for you.
Convenient Locations
Most patients prefer to visit a site that is convenient to home or work.
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