Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program

Preparing Leaders in the Orthopaedic Community

The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery is proud to offer one of the newest residency programs at St. Luke's Hospital and Health Network. The Orthopaedic Surgery Residency is a rigorous, five-year training program that will prepare residents to be leaders in the orthopaedic community. Upon completion of this program, residents will have the knowledge and skills necessary to compete for the best fellowships available in their area of interest. It will also provide them with the ability to go directly into practice as well-trained orthopaedic surgeons.

The Orthopaedic Surgery Residency is primarily concentrated within St. Luke's Hospital & Health Network. The only time residents will be off-site is for their pediatric orthopaedic surgery rotation. This rotation is six months in length and takes place at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Experience with all Subspecialties

Residents rotate through all subspecialties during the five year program, obtaining adequate exposure to all disciplines of orthopaedic surgery. This provides a broad based education and assists in career selection. Rotations occur in the form of preceptorships in which the residents are paired with and mentored by attending physicians. Residents are given ample opportunity to be involved in both office hours and operating room procedures. In addition to this clinical training, residents participate in hands-on courses covering internal fixation, external fixation, joint reconstruction and saw bone model exercises. These courses are taught on the campus of St. Luke's Bethlehem. The first year of training is a traditional rotating internship that includes rotations in general surgery, anesthesia, neurosurgery, trauma surgery, and emergency medicine among others. During the second through fifth years, the rotations are in general orthopaedics, trauma orthopaedics, joint reconstruction, sports medicine, spine, and foot and ankle surgery. The sports medicine experience includes caring for professional teams that include the Philadelphia Flyers Hockey Club of the NHL, the Philadelphia Phantoms Hockey Club of the AHL and the Philadelphia Force Women's National Pro Fastpitch softball team.

Increasing Surgical Responsibilities

Residents are given increasing responsibilities as their surgical skills allow. St. Luke's and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia together treat over 6,500 surgical orthopaedic cases per year. This volume ensures that residents will have the opportunity to hone their surgical skills while being exposed to a diverse case load.

Mentoring Other Medical Students

Frequently, medical students from Temple University School of Medicine and other medical schools rotate on the orthopaedic service. Residents are encouraged to mentor these medical students as another element to their residency training.

Full Complement of Conferences

This program offers a full complement of conferences which include an indications conference, a morbidity and mortality conference, a research conference, a medical ethics conference, ACGME general competency conferences, journal club, orthopaedic grand rounds and visiting professorships. There are also regularly scheduled lectures in basic science and in pertinent clinical topics including musculoskeletal oncology.

Well-Rounded Education for Goal-Oriented Residents

The experience in St. Luke's Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program is intended to be a concise, virtually self-contained educational experience that will provide a well rounded education and the potential for orthopaedic residents to reach their personal goals for the future. This includes those who want to enter into general practice as well as individuals who wish to focus on a subspecialty and a fellowship. There is ample opportunity for clinical research and each resident will be encouraged to complete at least one refereed publication during the five year program. For those residents who are interested, there is also the potential to be involved in basic science research.

“This program brings together the best of a large academic program along with the personal touch of a smaller community hospital. Our facilities and resources are second-to-none and will provide a solid orthopaedic education for those who match here.” William G. De Long, Jr., MD Program Director, Orthopaedic Surgery Residency St. Luke's Hospital & Health Network 801 Ostrum Street, Bethlehem, PA 18015 610-954-2369

Application Process and Contact Information

Applications for the Orthopaedic Surgery Residency will be accepted through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). All residents will be selected through the National Residents Matching Program (NRMP).

For more information about St. Luke's Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program, please contact Erin McCartney, Program Coordinator, via email or by phone at 610-954-2369.