Orthopaedic Residency Program

Since 1887, the HSS Orthopaedic Residency Program has set the standard for orthopaedic training across the United States. It began as a one-year program in which young physicians actually lived in the Hospital while caring for patients — this was, in fact, the first use of the term “residency.” Today, residency is a rigorous five-year immersion into all aspects of musculoskeletal disease. Not only do the residents become adept at every type of orthopaedic procedure, they also master the patient relations skills that are at the heart of the practice of humanistic medicine.

The HSS residency is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). With each admissions cycle, HSS matches nine first-year residents (postgraduate year ones – PGY1s).

Upon completion of the residency program, HSS graduates are prepared to take their talents and expertise to top academic medical centers and hospitals all over the country. Most are matched to competitive fellowship programs and take on academic and private-practice positions. HSS alumni also hold leadership positions in many national medical organizations.

Hospital for Special Surgery is an elective musculoskeletal surgery hospital located on the Upper East Side of New York City. Additional regional HSS sites are located in White Plains, NY; Fresh Meadows, Queens; Uniondale, Long Island; Paramus, NJ; and Stamford, CT. HSS is affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medicine, and our physicians and residents provide medical services for both institutions. Residents rotate at the HSS ASC of Manhattan and West Side ASC. The Hospital's large outpatient services component includes more than 20 specialty clinics weekly, which focus on pediatrics, cerebral palsy, sports medicine, trauma, arthritis, and scoliosis, as well as on treating problems of the hip, foot, hand, spine, and knee.

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Adult Reconstruction and Joint Replacement Service
Years: PGY-1 (4 weeks), PGY-3 (6 weeks), PGY-4 or 5 (two 6–7-week blocks)
Length of Time: 22 weeks
Locations: HSS

The highly-regarded ARJR service at HSS allows residents to work with some of the leading joint replacement faculty in the world. Residents get a uniquely broad exposure that could only be offered at a hospital which performs 1% of all US joint replacements each year. This exposure includes multiple surgical approaches to total joint replacements (anterior, posterior, and lateral approaches to the hip) complex revision techniques, and advanced computer-guided/robotic arthroplasties. As the chief resident on the service, you are also given the opportunity to help run the Comprehensive Arthritis Program (CAP) where patients with complex joint deformities and rheumatologic conditions are evaluated. Weekly didactic conferences include a weekly CAP preoperative evaluation conference, small group lecture on a variety of arthroplasty topics, grand rounds, as well as monthly cadaveric skills labs.

NYP/Weill Cornell Fracture Service (Trauma)
Years: PGY-1 (6 weeks), PGY-2 (two 6-week blocks), PGY-3 (6 weeks), PGY-5 (6 weeks)
Length of Time: 30 weeks
Locations: NYP Weill Cornell

Exposure to orthopedic trauma serves as a core foundation of the HSS residency program, with trauma experience during each year of residency. Residents are privileged to work at two level 1 trauma centers (New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell and New York Presbyterian/Queens). This provides exposure to a variety of orthopedic injuries ranging from low-energy fragility fractures to complex pelvis, femur, periprosthetic, and tibial plateau fractures.

PGY-1 residents hold the pager and serve as the primary on-call resident during their trauma rotation at NYP/Weill Cornell, working in concert with a PGY-2 on service to see consults through a graduated autonomy mentorship model. PGY-2s return to Cornell for 3 months, split over two blocks. There they teach younger residents basic orthopedic principles and take independent overnight call (two 3-week stints on night float). A dedicated and consistent orthopedic trauma faculty allows residents to gain longitudinal experience working with the same attendings over their five years. There is a separate weekly orthopedic trauma service (OTS) lecture series and journal club typically led by the PGY-3 HSS trauma resident for residents at NYP/Weill Cornell.

NYP Queens Fracture Service (Trauma)
Years: PGY-2 (four 6-week blocks), PGY-4 (6 weeks)
Length of Time: 30 weeks
Locations: NYP Queens

The HSS PGY-2 year is full of trauma, as residents have the opportunity to serve as on-call resident at a busy level 1 trauma center in Queens, NY. The Queens rotation is a major primary consult experience for our PGY-2 residents, who work on a q4 call schedule; four PGY-2 residents rotate being on call for 24 hours. Non-call days are spent in the OR or covering orthopaedic trauma, hand surgery, or pediatric orthopaedic clinics. The dedicated 1-2 OR days/week are the highlight of the rotation for the PGY-2, as the attending and PGY-4 teach the PGY-2 operative principles for common and complex orthopaedic procedures. Case types range from bread-and-butter ankle and hip fractures to external fixator application and high energy injuries. As PGY-4s, residents return to Queens as chief of the service. Each Wednesday morning, there is a case conference and a dedicated lecture either given by orthopaedic faculty, radiology faculty, or a PGY-2 resident.

HSS Fracture Service (Trauma)
Years: PGY-3 (6 weeks)
Length of Time: 6 weeks
Locations: HSS, NYP Weill Cornell

A rotation on the fracture service at HSS with world-renowned traumatologists William Ricci and David Helfet gives residents the chance to see patients referred in from community providers domestically and abroad. This PGY-3 rotation provides residents a varied experience working with complex fracture morphology and non-unions.

Pediatric Orthopedics Service
Years: PGY-1 (6 weeks), PGY-3 (two 6-week blocks), PGY-4 or 5 (6 weeks)
Length of Time: 24 weeks
Locations: HSS

The pediatric orthopedics rotation is completed with faculty appointed in the Lerner Children's Pavilion at HSS. Operative experience varies from innovative ACL reconstruction and OCD repair techniques to surgical hip dislocations and pelvic osteotomies. As a PGY-3, 6 weeks are specifically dedicated to pediatric spinal deformity and scoliosis procedures. Exposure to pediatric trauma is also provided during a resident’s core trauma rotations at NYP/Weill Cornell (level 2 pediatric trauma center) and NYP/Queens.

Foot and Ankle Service
Years: PGY-2 (6 weeks), PGY-4 or 5 (6 weeks)
Length of Time: 12 weeks
Locations: HSS

The foot and ankle rotations give residents exposure to a wide variety of conditions, including deformity, arthritis, and trauma. Residents are also exposed to two different ambulatory surgery environments on the Upper East Side - one at HSS Main Campus and one eight blocks away at E 65th St and 2nd Ave. The PGY-2 rotation includes a self-guided foot and ankle dissection, allowing for practice of common foot and ankle approaches, with later review provided by a faculty member.

Hand Service
Years: PGY-2 (6 weeks), PGY-4 or 5 (6 weeks)
Length of Time: 12 weeks
Locations: HSS

The hand surgery rotation exposes residents to the principles of upper extremity care, microsurgery, and peripheral nerve surgery, as cases range from carpal tunnel releases and distal radius fractures to CMC arthroplasties to elbow and forearm neuroplasties. Residents participate in cases at both the HSS Main Campus and the HSS free-standing ambulatory surgery center, providing broad and high-volume exposure. The second-year rotation occurs primarily with Steve Lee (chief of the service), Scott Wolfe (chief emeritus of the hand service), and Duretti Fufa (residency program director). As a chief, residents work again with Dr. Fufa as well as Daniel Osei (hand fellowship director) and Samir Trehan (pediatric hand).  

Spine Service
Years: PGY-1 (4 weeks), PGY-3 (6 weeks), PGY-4 (6 weeks)
Length of Time: 16 weeks
Locations: HSS

The high-volume spine service at HSS boasts >20 surgeons, spanning minimally invasive spine (MIS) procedures to complex deformity corrections. Interns work closely with Drs. Huang and Iyer in both clinic and the OR to gain proficiency in diagnosis, interpreting spine imaging, and a variety of operative spine exposures.

Sports Service
Years: PGY-3 (two 6-week blocks), PGY-4 or 5 (two 6-week blocks)
Length of Time: 24 weeks
Locations: HSS

Working on the HSS Sports and Shoulder service introduces you to leaders’ legends in the field, as well as current and future leaders. Residents are introduced to common as well as complex open and arthroscopic techniques for treating patients from all backgrounds, from the weekend warrior to the elite athlete. 

Bronx VA Medical Center
Years: PGY-3 (6 weeks), PGY-4 or 5 (13 weeks)
Length of Time: 19 weeks
Locations: Bronx VA

HSS residents provide full-time coverage for the orthopaedic service at the Bronx (James J. Peters) VA Medical Center. Residents staff 2-3 days of clinic and 2 days in the OR each week, taking care of America’s veterans. Trainees are exposed to a wide array of orthopaedic issues at the VA, from hip, knee, and shoulder osteoarthritis to fractures and sports medicine issues.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Orthopaedic Oncology Service
Years: PGY-2 (6 weeks), PGY-4 or 5 (6 weeks)
Length of Time: 12 weeks
Locations: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

The HSS tumor rotations are completed at the world-renowned Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. HSS residents collaborate with trainees from other local institutions to provide 24/7 service coverage for consults within the hospital, including from the MSK Urgent Care center. These rotations provide HSS residents an extraordinary exposure to orthopaedic oncology, and in particular, sarcoma management.

Elective Rotations
Years: PGY-4 or 5
Length of Time: 6 weeks at a time
Locations: HSS
Attending Faculty: Per Resident

The HSS curriculum allows for maximum flexibility with time built in for a six-week elective rotation during our fourth and fifth years in a specialty of the resident’s choice. Many residents choose to complete this rotation in their desired specialty with a specific mentor, while others use this rotation to experience other sub-specialty services at HSS such the Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Service or the Hip Preservation Service. Residents typically have two of these HSS-specific elective rotations during their PGY4-5 years.

Travel Elective
Years: PGY-4 or 5
Length of Time: 6 weeks
Locations: International
Attending Faculty: Per Resident

Our PGY-5 residents are provided with the additional opportunity for a funded 6 week travel elective. Residents in the past have used this rotation to learn from leading experts in orthopedics across the world and to travel to rural and underserved communities in countries such as Ghana, Colombia, and more. This block is separate from the HSS-specific elective rotations.

Research Rotation
Years: PGY-4 or 5
Length of Time: 6 weeks
Locations: NA
Attending Faculty: Per Resident

During the PGY-4 or 5 year, residents are given dedicated time for research, which can be clinical, translational, or basic science. If a resident chooses, he or she may additionally complete a research “year,” stretching the traditional residency length from 5 to 6 years. This unique model stretches the two PGY-4 and 5 chief years over a three-year period, allowing continued clinical training with ample time for research. Residents may also complete an additional degree during this time such as a Master of Public Health (MPH).

General Surgery Rotations
Years: PGY-1
Length of Time: 12 weeks (3 4-week rotations)
Locations: NYP Cornell (Trauma, Vascular), Jamaica Hospital (Trauma)

As an intern, HSS residents spend one month each on three different general surgery rotations: NYP/Weill Cornell trauma (red) surgery, NYP/Weill Cornell vascular surgery, and trauma surgery at Jamaica hospital in Queens. These rotations, mandated by the ACGME, give residents experience managing more medically-complex patients and the opportunity to interact with Cornell residents in other surgical subspecialties.

Other Intern Rotations
Years: PGY-1 (6 weeks each CAC and Metabolic Bone, 4 weeks Orthopaedic ICU [OSCU])
Length of Time: 16 weeks
Locations: HSS (Comprehensive Arthritis Care, OSCU), NYP/Weill Cornell (Metabolic Bone)

Two resident favorites, the CAC and metabolic bone rotations are unique opportunities at HSS. They allow residents to gain substantial experience managing and treating orthopedic conditions in the office and operating room. Both rotations are set-up as a mentorship model with an emphasis on the intern’s role as the primary provider. During the metabolic bone rotation, interns work under the tutelage of Dr. Joseph Lane (former UCLA orthopedics chair, head of orthopedic oncology and Memorial Sloan Kettering, and president of the ORS and MSK Tumor society), who runs the metabolic bone service at HSS. This provides interns with an understanding of the medical management required for orthopaedic issues including osteoporosis, osteopetrosis, and orthopaedic oncology. 

On Dr. Alejandro Leali's CAC rotation, residents work in a variety of outpatient clinics - including arthroplasty, sports/shoulder, and spine - mastering the fundamentals of the orthopedic exam, non-operative management of orthopedic conditions, and appropriate surgical indications. During this experience, time is also spent with HSS musculoskeletal radiologists learning to read a variety of MRIs and in the Simulation Learning and Training Center (SLTC) skills lab where you learn the basics of total knee arthroplasty, quadriceps tendon repair, and knee arthroscopy.

The OSCU rotation, with Dr. Meghan Kirksey, serves as the HSS surgical intensive care unit (SICU) rotation, with four ICU-level beds as well as a surgical step-down unit. This experience exposes interns to treating critically ill, often-times intubated patients who have undergone surgery at HSS. Many residents additionally study for Step 3 during this rotation.

Example Schedule (varies by resident)

HSS residents provide 24/7 coverage for two Adult Level-1 Trauma centers in New York City. The primary call burden as an HSS resident is concentrated over the first two years of residency, with less in-house responsibilities thereafter. More senior residents provide home-call coverage for the trauma services. It is important to note that residents typically participate only in the call pool for the rotation to which they are currently assigned.

PGY-1

PGY-1 call while on HSS rotations (6 months) is split into “Short call” and “Long call”. Short call consists of assisting with post-operative check completion on Monday through Friday from 5 to 8pm (4 to 7pm on Monday), averaging one day per week per resident. Residents are reimbursed for dinner during this time. Long call occurs on the weekends, with interns responsible for covering the limb lengthening, pediatrics, foot and ankle, hand, rheumatology, and trauma services (“Team 1”) between 6am and 6pm on both Saturday and Sunday. Overnight from Saturday at 6pm to Sunday at 6pm, interns additionally cover the sports and spine services. These blocks can be split up depending on the preference of the class. The Saturday 24-hour block is jointly covered by an in-house PGY-2, while Sunday is backed up by an in-house PGY-3. While on NYP/Weill Cornell Fracture and Metabolic bone, interns alternate weekends covering Friday 6pm to Saturday 6am as well as Sunday from 6am to 6pm. During this time, the PGY-1 is responsible for covering the orthopedic inpatients as well as consults jointly with an in-house PGY-3.

PGY-2

As a PGY-2, two residents at NYP/Weill Cornell are responsible for being in-house at all times except for Friday overnight and Sunday during the day. Over the course of 6 weeks at NYP/Weill Cornell, the two residents alternate being “night float” for 3 weeks at a time from Sunday night through Thursday night, while the second resident covers Monday through Friday days as well as a 24-hour shift on Saturday. At NYP/Queens, four PGY-2s split a q4 call schedule where they complete 24-hour shifts covering consults. While on the two second year HSS rotations (Hand and Foot & Ankle), PGY-2s are in house for a 24-hour shift on Saturday every other weekend assisting the interns who assume primary responsibility for floor patients. Last, at Memorial Sloan Kettering, residents take home call every other weekend from Friday night to Monday morning with a post-call day on Monday.

PGY-3

After the second year, in-house call burden decreases. PGY-3 residents complete six 12-hour Sunday shifts at HSS during the year. They also work six weekends at NYP/Weill Cornell (Friday 6pm to Saturday 6am and Sunday 6am to 6pm), assisting the on-call intern with consults while simultaneously operating on any trauma cases. On the pediatrics, sports, Bronx VA, and HSS trauma services, residents split weekend rounding responsibilities with other residents and fellows on-service.

PGY-4/5

There are no in-house call responsibilities as a PGY-4 or 5. Chief residents on the NYP/Weill Cornell and Queens rotations (6 weeks each over this 2-year period) take home call during these rotations and are responsible for covering any overnight trauma cases. Similar to PGY-3 year, residents on the pediatrics, sports, and Bronx VA services split weekend rounding responsibilities.

“Moonlighting”

HSS does not allow opportunities to moonlight as a consult resident. However, approximately once per month, HSS surgeons operate on “OR Saturdays.” Residents are given the option to cover these cases on a first-come-first-serve basis and are paid based on the time cases end for the day (i.e., paid more for staying later). Many residents find this to be a beneficial experience as they gain extra operative experience while getting paid extra.

Weekly Conferences

Didactics at HSS use a flipped-classroom model, where residents independently read about various orthopedic topics or watch pre-recorded videos and then have a discussion with instructors in a conference room. Valuable lecture time can be used to engage with instructors and fellow students, explore high-level topics, and address any remaining questions.

Residency-wide conference for those on HSS rotations occurs on Monday and Tuesday mornings, while didactics on Wednesday and/or Thursday are dependent on each rotation. For example, on the pediatrics rotation, Wednesday mornings are dedicated to hands-on clinical skills sessions including clubfoot casting and gait analysis interpretation. Thursday then hosts indications and scoliosis conferences during which post-operative cases from the prior week and pre-operative cases for the week to come are reviewed. Each Friday, there is a hospital-wide grand rounds conference.

Courses

Resident course participation and tuition are covered for the following courses:

• PGY-1: AO Basic
• PGY-3: Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA)
• PGY-3: Musculoskeletal Tumor Society Course

HSS additionally pays for residents to present their research at all national and international meetings at which it is accepted. Any resident achieving >85th percentile on the annual OITE is also provided with funding to attend a course or conference of their choice.

Education Fund

The resident education fund helps residents to pay for other education expenses, such as review courses, fellowship interviews (up to three), textbooks, Orthobullets subscriptions, travel electives, and surgical loupes. Resident lead is provided by the program separately.

Class of 2022

Bridget Ellsworth, MD: Pediatric Orthopaedics - Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Christopher Brusalis, MD: Sports Medicine - Rush University
Claire Eliasberg, MD: Sports Medicine - Hospital for Special Surgery
Daniel Driscoll, MD: Adult Joint Reconstruction - Hospital for Special Surgery
Lauren Barber, MD: Spine Surgery - Emory University
Mark Langhans, MD: Sports Medicine - Mayo Clinic
Tony Shen, MD: Adult Joint Reconstruction - Hospital for Special Surgery
Yianni Apostolakos, MD: Sports Medicine - Steadman Philippon Institute

Class of 2023

Ameer Elbuluk, MD: Adult Joint Reconstruction - UC San Diego Health
Christopher DeFrancesco, MD: Pediatric Orthopaedics - Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Drake Lebrun, MD: Adult Joint Reconstruction - Hospital for Special Surgery
Edward (Grant) Carey, MD: Orthopaedic Sports Medicine - OrthoCarolina
Gregory Schimizzi, MD: Orthopaedic Trauma - UT Houston
Joshua Wright-Chisem, MD: Sports Medicine - Rush University
Karim Shafi, MD: Spine Surgery - Cedars-Sinai Spine Center
Kyle Morse, MD: Spine Surgery - Stanford University
Nathaniel Ondeck, MD: Adult Joint Reconstruction - Hospital for Special Surgery
Yuri Pompeu, MD: Spine Surgery - Norton Leatherman Spine Center

Class of 2024

Alex Anatone, MD: Adult Reconstructive Surgery – Hospital for Special Surgery
Kathryn Barth, MD: Orthopaedic Trauma – University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Jennifer Bido, MD, MPH: Adult Reconstructive Orthopaedics – Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Rothman Orthopaedic Institute
Patawut Bovonratwet, MD: Spine Surgery – Massachusetts General/Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Yusef Jordan, MD: Spine Surgery – San Diego Spine Fellowship
Ryan Thacher, MD: Sports Medicine – Hospital for Special Surgery
Tyler Uppstrom, MD: Sports Medicine – Steadman Philippon Research Institute
Brian Yang, MD: Hand Surgery – Stanford University

Class of 2025

Francesca (Frannie) Coxe, MD: Adult Reconstructive Surgery – Hospital for Special Surgery
Heather Haberle, MD: Orthopaedic Trauma – UTHealth Houston, McGovern School of Medicine
Gregory Kazarian, MD: Spine Surgery – Hospital for Special Surgery
Kyle Kunze, MD: Sports Medicine – Rush University Medical Center
Scott LaValva, MD: Adult Reconstruction – University of Utah Health School of Medicine
Blake Meza, MD: Sports Medicine – Massachusetts General Hospital
Karthik Nathan, MD: Sports Medicine – NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Julia Retzky, MD: Sports Medicine – Hospital for Special Surgery
Vincentius (Jeremy) Suhardi, MD, PhD: Adult Reconstructive Surgery – NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Alexander White, MD: Sports Medicine – Hospital for Special Surgery