Day in the Life

Here is an example of a typical day on an Orthopedic service:

0615: Handover Rounds: Team review of all new cases from the past 24 hours and all cases on the trauma list. Teaching is infused.

0700: Ward Rounds: Go see and tend to all the patients that you and your attending surgeon are responsible for!

Then it varies…

Clinic: Wear your spiffy duds, it's time to perform all those histories, physicals and special MSK exams on new and follow-up patients.

OR: Don some greens and join your attending for a day of what you signed up for!

On Call: You’re on the move for the next 24 hours… ward and emergency consults, reductions, casting, aspirations and other small procedures. Its busy, but this is the money for learning patient management from the bottom up!

Teaching

We have academic half day once a week (Thursday afternoons), but there are also academic rounds for other sub-specialty areas two to three other nights a week. Grand Rounds are Friday mornings, which cover interesting and pertinent recent cases. In the first year, residents also attend Surgical Foundations half day and CAMIS teaching sessions to learn minimally invasive techniques. We have journal club meetings throughout the year and there is funding available to attend various courses throughout your residency. In short, we get more than enough teaching to keep up with!

What Else to Expect

The University of Alberta’s Department of Surgery is highly competitive. Residents spend a lot of time in the hospital, but graduate with confidence in their privileged craft. We are fortunate to have a great professional family: one can find a friendly face just about anywhere and it can be a great relief on a busy call shift.

The call rooms are well equipped and and the Pulse Fitness center is located conveniently in the basement of the University hospital. We work hard, but we realize that is not all an education is about. Several times a year PARA organizes socials and other great events and the Orthopedic Division hosts a number of social events throughout the year including welcoming events, holiday parties and resident retreats. These are only a few many great attributes, but please come see for your self!