Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC)
The primary teaching facility, Loma Linda University Medical Center (the region's Level-I Trauma Center), provides a major portion of the teaching material. From a clinical standpoint, services are divided by subspecialties. Each service is supervised by full-time faculty members. After the intern year
, fundamental principles of orthopaedics are learned during the PGY-2 rotations
, which are designed to expose the residents to core knowledge. Pediatric orthopaedics is learned during the PGY-3 rotations
. Research experience and the basics of hypothesis testing are gleaned from the PGY-3
and PGY-4 rotations
. As seniors and chiefs, PGY-5 residents
are given responsibility to coordinate care and teach junior residents. Most of the didactic education
occurs through LLUMC.
Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC)
Residents rotate to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (Level II Trauma Center) starting as PGY-3s
. The primary focus of this rotation is in trauma, which encompasses adult and pediatric aspects. Residents are given graduated responsibilities, and surgical confidence is developed through this experience. While under attending guidance at ARMC, residents learn decision-making skills and surgical independence. In addition to the clinical material, one didactic conference is offered every week; this focuses on case presentations and discussions.
Veterans Administration Hospital (VAH)
The Veterans Administration Hospital rotation is designed around the care of the veteran population, thus having a higher proportion of elective cases, both degenerative and traumatic. Residents are given increasing responsibilities, starting from the PGY-3 level
, and finishing with the PGY-5 level
. Clinics are staffed by faculty members. Residents also learn decision-making skills and surgical independence under attending staff guidance, which allows residents to achieve confidence by the PGY-5 level
. The VAH Indications Conference takes place once a week, and it focuses on case discussions regarding surgical patients. The Total Joint Conference also takes place every week, where upcoming and recently performed cases and other didactic materials are discussed.