On behalf of the UAB orthopaedic residents – Welcome!
We encourage you to contact us for more information about the field of orthopaedic surgery and about our residency program. Spending time with us clinically will afford you ample opportunities to ask questions in a relaxed one-on-one environment. Residents can serve as mentors to help guide you through the residency application process or even help with your selection of a medical specialty. Please email residents Addison Cimino or Katie Frith with any questions about getting involved with shadowing or the opportunities listed below.
We love having students join us on clinical rotations to learn firsthand about orthopaedics, as this is the best way - and usually one of the only ways - to gain exposure to the wide field of orthopedics during medical school. For UAB medical students, your UAB badge is your ticket to this experience. As a UAB medical student, you can always join us in clinic, the OR, on the floor/ED/trauma bay, and gain hands-on experience. No matter what year medical student you are, shadowing can be a valuable experience as there is limited formal exposure to orthopaedics and musculoskeletal medicine in medical school. We love teaching and having students of all levels with us, as orthopaedics is very much a team sport!
If you are not a UAB medical student and would like to learn more about the program, please contact Cindy Perdue for help setting up a time to observe or to get in contact with a resident to help answer questions.
Shadowing and Clinical Involvement
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Orthopaedic Trauma Daytime Call
The is the front lines and "bread and butter" of orthopaedic surgery for both peri-operative and non-operative management.
You will see fractures, joint dislocations, splinting, and more while you gain hands-on experience. It can get very busy, and you will likely see a lot of fascinating cases.
You can come at any time during the day and stay for any length of time. There is no pressure to stay, and we all understand the time crunch in medical school.
Great for all levels of medical students
Contact: Daytime PGY1/intern
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Orthopaedic Trauma Nighttime Call
Same as day call, but a good option if you want to get involved but have limited daytime hours. Also, feel free to stay as little or as long as you can.
During the months of July-November, there are often fourth-year visiting medical students and home acting intern students working at night with the resident on call, so these may not be ideal months to be involved. Occasionally ER residents rotate with us as well. However, it is perfectly okay for more than one medical student to be assisting/shadowing the night (or day) residents.
Contact: Nighttime PGY2 resident. Night float resident covers Sunday-Thursday. Different PGY2 covers Friday night and Saturday 24 hour call.
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Orthopaedic Trauma Surgery/Operating Room
This option is the easiest way to get into the operating room and see the fundamentals of orthopedic surgery and fracture fixation. What surgeries you may see depends on the day and recent consults.
Wear scrubs and plan to scrub in. The residents on the service will assist you in finding your way to the OR and getting acclimated.
You may always arrive and attend this conference without communicating with us ahead of time. It is open to all medical students for observation. All day and night consults from the past 24 hours are presented and discussed. All surgical cases for the day are also discussed – so lots of images are reviewed, and it is a fantastic learning opportunity for medical students to get immersed in orthopaedic imaging, terminology, and concepts.
Contact: Contact the PGY1 or PGY2 on the orthopedic trauma rotation or come on a free morning to orthopaedic morning conference which takes place at 6 am M-F and 6:30 am on weekends in the 9th floor ATCU conference room in the main UAB Hospital/North Pavilion.
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Orthopaedic Subspecialty Clinic and Operating Room Experience
If you want to experience other aspects and subspecialties of orthopaedic surgery, you may directly email the attendings/faculty in that subspecialty. They will likely connect you with the residents who are rotating with them to give you more information on where to go, timing, etc.
Contact: All faculty are listed on the department website. Contact information for each faculty is listed in their profiles.
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Pediatric Orthopaedic Call and Clinic
UAB Orthopaedic Surgery residents also take call at Children’s of Alabama Hospital, which often involves a lot of closed reduction and casting. It is more challenging to arrange shadowing as residents at night are on ‘home call,’ but you may arrange shadowing via emailing the faculty or residents. Weekends are a good time to see patients in both the ER and the OR, and to work with a resident who covers the hospital from Friday to Sunday.
You may also join us for ‘Fracture Clinic’ every Friday morning at 6:45 a.m. in Clinic 11 in the Lowder Building of COA. This is a morning clinic with high volume and a great way to get familiar with reading x-rays and learning about casting.
Contact: Pediatrics faculty or PGY2 on service.
To contact the UAB Orthopaedic residents, reference the list of current residents. Feel free to email them directly. Remember to include your name, contact information including your cell phone number, and the rotation you wish to shadow. It is important to email them in advance of when you will arrive.