Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation
William Beaumont Army Medical Center
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Orthopaedic Surgery
Residency Program
The orthopaedic surgery residency program at WBAMC/TTUHSC is the only combined military and civilian orthopedic residency program in the country. Following graduation, residents receive diplomas from both WBAMC and TTUHSC. Military residents evaluate and treat a variety of patients, from civilian trauma and VA beneficiaries to the population of young, athletic soldiers. These soldiers, who essentially are engaged in physical activity at the same level as competitive collegiate and professional athletes, experience a unique set of orthopaedic pathology.
University Medical Center of El Paso is the only Level I trauma center in the surrounding 250 mile radius, serving 1.1 million people of west Texas and southern New Mexico. University Medical Center of El Paso is a 327 bed hospital with approximately 2,000 Level I trauma admissions per year. Of these admissions, more than half require orthopaedic surgical intervention. Under the expert guidance of attendings, orthopaedic surgery cases solely are covered by the residents in the program, as there are no orthopedic surgery fellowship positions at the hospital. This affords residents the opportunity to experience a large quantity and variety of cases. Residents will graduate from the program having seen and been actively involved in all aspects of orthopedic trauma surgery, from complex pelvis and acetabulum fractures to polytrauma patients with multiple orthopedic injuries. Call at University Medical Center is typically one in five, allowing residents to experience a broad exposure to all admitted traumas.
William Beaumont Army Medical Center is a 250 bed Level III trauma center nestled in the mountains centrally in El Paso. Currently plans are underway for the construction of a new hospital campus located on East Ft. Bliss. The new hospital will accommodate the 34,000 active duty soldiers and dependents expected to be stationed at Ft. Bliss by 2013, making it one of the largest U.S. Army installations in the United States. Residents work closely with staff in a preceptorship model. Each resident completes clinical rotations in rotating three month blocks to include Hand & Upper Extremity, Adult Reconstruction, Foot and Ankle, Sports Medicine, Orthopaedic Trauma, Spinal Reconstruction, and Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery. Other residency programs at the hospital include General Surgery, Internal Medicine, and Oral Maxillofacial Surgery.
Away Rotations:
Adult Reconstruction: Three months at Rush University.
Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery: Four to six months at either University of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT or Shriners Hospital in Spokane, WA.
Elective Rotations:
Time is made available to residents interested in performing elective rotations away from the program. Residents in the past have completed rotations to include Orthopaedic Trauma at Rush University in Chicago; Musculoskeletal Oncology and Sports Medicine at El Paso Orthopaedic Surgery Group; Sports Medicine in Taos, NM and research electives, among others.