Residency Program
Message from our Director Heading link
Our residency program in orthopaedic surgery at University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) offers seven positions each year. We rotate at five major institutions in the Chicago area and work with a large number of orthopaedic surgeons in all orthopaedic sub-specialties. Two of these institutions are level one trauma centers, one is the academic hospital here at the University of Illinois, and one is an Orthopedic only community hospital. An additional fifth educational site for our residency program is the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital where our fourth year residents receive some of their specialized pediatric instruction. By working in a variety of different settings residents develop flexibility and the ability to function efficiently in a variety of hospital systems and to care for a diverse patient population.
To supplement our residents’ vast surgical and clinical experience, we maintain a rich didactic program. Weekly conferences cover all topics in orthopaedics and include both resident and faculty lectures as well as many guest lecturers. Focus is placed on basic science, clinical, and current trends in orthopaedics, as well as the knowledge domains covered in the yearly orthopaedic in-training exam.
In addition to our educational experience, our residents are able to enjoy the great city of Chicago. Chicago offers everything from classic sporting venues (e.g. Wrigley Field, Soldier Field, and the United Center) to various festivals, street fairs, theatrical performances, culture events and an array of museums. Most of our residents live within the many neighborhoods throughout the city as well as the surrounding suburbs.
Director Heading link
Alfonso Mejia
Phone:
Application Process Heading link
We have 7 positions available each year through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP).
Our program only accepts applications through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). All applicant’s applications will be reviewed by the Residency Program Committee.
Invites will be sent on Universal Offer Day on Monday, November 13, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. ET.
Our interview dates are all Saturdays, December 09, 2023, January 6 and January 20, 2024. All dates are in-person interviews.
Application Requirements:
- Completed ERAS application
- Dean’s Letter
- USMLE Step 2 Scores are not required, but strongly encouraged.
- Personal Statement
- At least 3 letters of recommendation. Standardized letter of recommendation and/or traditional narrative letters are both accepted.
- Graduation from medical school within the last 7 years.
- Deadline for Application is October 01, 2023.
International Applicants
Only applications received through ERAS will be considered, and applicants are required to be ECFMG certified. The University of Illinois Orthopaedics Program sponsors J-1 visas only.
Contact
If you have any further questions about the Orthopaedic Residency program please contact:
For further questions, contact: Heading link
Theresa Mora
Phone:
Email:
Links Heading link
More information Heading link
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History of Program
The University of Illinois Orthopedic Department is one of oldest orthopedic departments in the country. The department at UIC has been a leader in orthopedic education, research and resident training. In the early years, the department has helped introduce orthopedic techniques such as arthroscopy, AO technique and the Charnley hip replacement to the United States.by hosting international leaders to facilitate knowledge exchange such as Dr. Müller, Dr. Charnley, Dr. Roy-Camille, Dr. Ponsetti, Dr. Sharrard, Dr. Judet, and Dr. Watanabe to name a few.
Over the decades, the orthopedic residency training program has trained numerous orthopedic surgeons who have gone on to become leaders of their respective fields. Listed below are some of the notable alumni who have graduated from University of Illinois orthopedic residency program and have gone on to make substantial contributions to field of orthopedics.
- Dr. Jorge Galante, 1964
- Dr. Ronald Dewald, 1965
- Dr. Nas Eftekhar, 1967
- Dr. Theodore Goldstein, 1969
- Dr. Ken Kuo, 1973
- Dr. Wayne Goldstein, 1983
The department was first headed by Dr. Henry Bascome Thomas starting in 1930 until 1943. The department has had only 7 chairs over its nearly 90 year history a testament to the strong leadership over the decades. Currently, the department is chaired by Dr. Mark Gonzalez since 2007.
The UIC Orthopedic Department continues to focus on education of the residency program, training, and developing the next generation of leaders.
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Top 10 Reason why we love UIC?
- The People: Here at UIC Ortho we are a tight knit group that all hangout with each other. You’ll make friends that are for life. Our faculty is collegial and they create a supportive learning environment for the residents. We are treated as junior faculty and our opinions are taken into consideration when managing patients.
- Operative Experience: Our operative experience starts early as interns. We are exposed to every specialty at least twice, once as a junior and once a senior. Our operative experience is well balanced and comprehensive, with a wide exposure to both private practice and academic settings.
- Didactics: We have a well-structured comprehensive didactics curriculum that includes cadaver dissection, hands-on skills sessions, journal clubs, and fracture conference. We consistently as program do extremely well on OITE and 100% boards pass rate in the past 5 years.
- No Fellows: We also have no fellows to compete with for cases at any of our sites in the UIC Orthopedic Residency, which enhances our PGY-5 year. During our 5th year, we are often treated as a fellow or junior attending as a result. With the opportunity to lead cases.
- Fellowship Placement: We consistently have one of the strongest orthopedic fellowship matches in the country with residents consistently interviewing and matching at the best fellowships. In the last 5 years we have matched at least one resident into every subspecialty.
- Balanced Operative Experience: We enjoy a balanced operative experience exposing us wide breadth of pathology and treatment philosophies. This is evident by our residents choosing to pursue fellowship in various different subspecialties.
- Practice Exposure: The orthopedic residency here at UIC offers the opportunity to function in various different types of practice setups – academic, private-academic, and private practice. This helps residents gain a better understanding of practice type they want to work in after training. As well as see different surgical techniques
- Resident Focused: The faculty are focused singularly on education of the residents. The faculty is receptive to changes that are offered by the residents to improve or enhance their education. Changes to the program are regularly made based on feedback from the residents.
- Alumni Network: As one of the oldest and largest orthopedic residency programs in the country, UIC orthopedics has a large alumni network of more than 300+ graduates.
- Chicago: Chicago is world class city with everything right at your fingertips. It’s one of the most affordable big cities in the US. Chicago has sports, museums, theater/arts, food, festivals and even beaches – it’s why love calling Chicago home!
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Fellowship matches
Congratulations to our Residents who matched.
2024
- Michael Burton
Pediatrics
Vanderbilt University,
Nashville, TN - Yisheng Cao
Spine
UPMC
Pittsburgh, PA - Melissa Gross
Foot & Ankle
Harvard – MGH
Boston, MA - Awais Hussain
Arthroplasty
Lenox Hill
NYC, NY - Matt Nguyen
Hand Surgery
Philadelphia Hand
Philadelphia, PA - Michael Redondo
Arthroplasty
University of Texas Houston
Houston, TX - Dean Wonais
Foot & Ankle
Campbell Clinic
Memphis, TN
2023
- Marc Lipman
Hand Surgery
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona - John Moon
Joints
University of Texas
Houston, Texas - Leonard Tiger Onsen
Sports Medicine
Kerlan Jobe
Los Angeles, California - Amit Parekh
Spine
University of Calgary
Alberta, Canada - Krishna Ravella
Hand
Stanford University
San Francisco, California - Arash Rezaei
Joints
Holy Cross
Fort Lauderdale, Florida - Majd Tarabichi
Joints
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, California
- Michael Burton