Orthopaedic surgeons at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital perform a brachial plexus procedure.
Carilion Clinic recently received accreditation to start an orthopaedic surgery residency program that will enhance the academic learning environments among its other residency programs as well as clinical rotations for students at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.
“It’s the next progression of our commitment to education as well as training our future generations of orthopaedic surgeons,” said Joseph Moskal, professor and chair of the Carilion Clinic and the medical school’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. “The new residency program will enrich the academic learning environment across our graduate medical education programs [GME] and will foster collaboration and enhance educational opportunities for all residents.”
Four residents have been accepted to the five-year residency in July. Four additional residents will be added each year for a total of 20 orthopaedic surgery residents at any given time.
Medical students rotate through nine clinical areas at Carilion during the final two years of medical school. This is an integral transition from theoretical learning to practical, hands-on medical practice. After graduation, students pursue residency programs that last from three to seven years depending upon the specialty. Last May, eight graduates matched to do their residencies at Carilion.
The new residency adds to an already robust program at Carilion that has its roots back to the early 1970s, when Roanoke Memorial Hospital established one of the nation’s first family practice residencies. This will be Carilion’s 30th residency program.
“Educating new doctors keeps the GME faculty at the top of our game, too,” said Jesse Seamon, program director, assistant professor, and orthopaedic surgeon. “It’s good for us. It helps make us better doctors and helps us train better doctors.”
Seamon said the program is good for the community because some of the residents will want to stay in the region after residency. About a quarter of Carilion’s residency graduates stay in the area each year.
“Residency programs help us attract and keep talented people in this region,” he said.
“We have great teachers here and a strong academic environment,” said Arthur Ollendorff, professor of OB-GYN and associate dean for graduate medical education. “It drives the quality of care for our patients in Southwest Virginia.”
Josh Meyer for Virginia Tech
