Main Content

FAQs for Medical Students and Residency Candidates

About UMMC and our Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program

What are the major pros of your program?
Comfortable learning environment, high volume experience and early graduated autonomy.

What are the major cons of your program?
Primarily single-center and a limited number of faculty per specialty.

Does your program consider itself to be an academic or community-based program?
As the University of Mississippi Medical Center is our state's only teaching hospital, we consider ourselves to be an academic-based program.

Is your program an active Level 1 trauma center?
We are the only Level 1 Trauma Center in the state.

Does your program cover all 8 subspecialties with fellowship-trained subspecialists?
We cover all 8 subspecialties, either here at UMMC or through rotations at the Mississippi Sports Medicine and Orthopaedics Clinic (MSMOC).

How do you see the program changing in size or structure over the next five years?
Slight growth is expected

What is the status of the program's accreditation?
Fully accredited

Any upcoming changes in your program you wish to highlight to potential applicants?
Improved simulation experience and research assistance.

Does your hospital have an orthopedic wing or floor in the hospital?
Our orthopedic wing in the hospital is 5-North.

Is the program associated with a children's hospital?
We are associated with Children's of Mississippi.

Does your program have a stand-alone orthopedic hospital?
We do not.

What are the outpatient ortho facilities like?
We have suites at the Pavilion, clinics at Sanderson Tower and Merit Madison, as well as outpatient surgery centers.

Is your program directly affiliated with rehabilitation facilities?
Yes, we have rehabilitation facilities within UMMC and are also physically connected to MMRC.

 

Rotations

Do you participate in VSLO (Visiting Student Learning Opportunities)?
Yes

When do you normally post your schedule to VSLO?
Dates are typically posted in VSLO during the month of March.

When do you start accepting applications through VSLO?
The deadline for completed applications is Oct. 15 of each year. All applications will be screened, and invitations to interview will be e-mailed in November. All applicants receive notification of the final status of their application.

We currently accept applications in April, yet we are working to move this date to March. We follow the guidelines of our SOM and the institution.

When do you normally let students know if they will be rotating as an away student?
We notify students between the end of May and June 1.

Is housing provided for away students?
No, but we provide information on hotels near campus.

 

Interview Process

What do you look for in a candidate?
Everything.

How many people do you rank?
45

When do you typically interview?
We typically have two interview dates towards the beginning of January.

How many residents do you accept into each class?
We are currently accepting 5 residents per class.

Have students had success in the past matching through the couples match into your program?
Yes - we have several couples' matches in our program.

 

Residency

What is the call schedule like?

• Night float system as PGY 2 - 3 months total, divided into 2-6 week blocks.
• PGY 3 - First call Friday nights.

How are the call rooms?
Large rooms with TV, computer and full-size bathrooms.

Do you sleep while on call?
Little in summer, but there is downtime in the winter months.

How available are the attendings (including nights and weekends)?
Always staff available for OR cases. As an intern and junior, most things run by mid-level to upper-level before staff are involved.

How do you feel the relationship is between the staff and the residents?
Overall, easy to work with.

How do the residents get along? Do you hang out outside of work?
Close interaction between residents. When time presents outside of work, we often spend it with each other.

What is the structure of the didactic curriculum?
Conference every Tuesday morning from 5:30 – 10:00 a.m., and Wednesday from 6:45 – 8:00 a.m.

Some services have individual lectures/conferences throughout the week.

How many months of trauma do students take each year?
Visiting students are assigned one to two weeks with our trauma team during the four-week rotation.

Total number of Ortho operative experiences each year?
As the only Level 1 Trauma Center in the State, our residents are given the opportunity to participate in a high volume of operative cases. Per year, our interns log an average of 75-100 cases, and our chiefs log an average of 500+ cases.

Is there time allotted for electives?
3 months every year through PGY-4.

How much elective time is there, and how is it usually used?
Residents are able to complete rotations in Jackson or AO fellowships if qualified by OITE score.

How are the residents evaluated?
By a comprehensive grading system that the ACGME is beginning to integrate into all programs. It looks at several established Core Competencies relevant to Orthopedics - Patient Care, Medical Knowledge, Systems-Based Practice, Practice-Based Learning & Improvement, Professionalism, and Interpersonal & Communication Skills.

How do the residents perform on OITE? Boards?
Above the national average, with all chiefs typically passing.

Is there time and funding for conferences and meetings?
Time is set aside for the conference, there is funding for 1 course a year, and grants are set aside separately for any academic conferences/meetings/presentations.

 

Research

What are the research opportunities like? How is it funded?
Most, if not all, of our funding comes from our participation in the METRC consortium alongside Johns Hopkins. METRC is a group of 25 core sites around the US, with UMMC being in the top 8 producers of trauma volume. These studies are all trauma-related. We also have opportunities for lots of retrospective studies. In the past, we have studied heavily on the obese patient (high volume here in MS). All residents are required to complete a study to present in their senior year. Additionally, we do have some Orthopedic Trauma Association OTA funding and some industry funding from Synthes.

Is a thesis or publication required during training?
One publishable project is required.

 

After Residency

Where do the graduating residents go? What sub-specialties?
UMMC - Hand, Kansas City Sports Med. Clinic - Arthroscopic/ Sports, Knoxville Orthopaedic Clinic - Sports Med, UMMC - Spine, Charlotte, NC - Foot & Ankle

What percentage of your graduates continue on to fellowships?
75%

What fellowships in orthopedics are associated with your program?
We have a Hand & Upper Extremity Fellowship associated with our program.

 

Benefits

How many weeks of vacation do residents typically get each year?
PGY 1: 2 weeks
PGY 2-5: 4 weeks (one week per 3-month rotation)
PGY 6: 2 weeks

What are the benefits? Parking?
Residents are allowed to park in Parking Garage A and also at the Medical Tower.

What happens if someone is sick? Do you have sick days?
Residents are able to call in sick. Coverage must be arranged. As listed in UMMC policy, the first day of leave is listed as personal. Remaining days may be logged as medical. If an individual is out more than three medical days, a doctor's excuse is requested.

Do you offer health, life and disability insurance?
Residents and their families may sign up for health coverage. Additional plans are offered at UMMC.

What is your meal plan?
Residents are allotted meal cards according to the call schedule each month. Residents are given 2 meal tickets (cannot exceed $6) for each time they are listed for weekday call and 3 meal tickets for weekend call on the call schedule. Residents are also provided breakfast every Tuesday morning. Meal tickets are available for residents who are called in or who need to extend duty coverage for patient care.

Do you have maternity/parental leave?
Residents do accumulate medical leave. Each medical leave request is assessed for department approval. Extended leave may impact a resident's year in training, but this would be reviewed with the department, GME and ABOS.