Residents' E-Letter Contents

Vol. 4, No. 2. February 2006
Editors: Lee H. Riley, III, MD & James C. Farmer, MD

This Issue

News for residents:

• Make JAAOS Part of Your Journal Club
• Future Issues for Residents: ABOS -- Job Search
• Getting ready for Part 1 of the Board Examination?
• Cervical Spine Research Society (CSRS) Traveling Fellowship
• OREF/ Sanofi~Aventis Clinical Research Training Fellowship
• Abstract submission for the 2007 Annual Meeting

Features

1. Clinical Topic: "Common Pediatric Foot Conditions" Answers to Last Month's Questions
2. Practice Tips:"Evaluating Practice Opportunities"
3. Internet Resources:AAOS Resident and Candidate Member Website
4. Calendar

 

This Issue: News for Residents

Make JAAOS Part of Your Journal Club
The Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS) is provided without cost to residents and fellows in training. As a peer-reviewed journal highly rated by its readers, JAAOS provides succinct reviews that provide paths for discussion that is a perfect fit for the journal club concept. This month, the editor-in-chief explores why JAAOS is a valuable resource for orthopaedic training program journal clubs. Click here to read more.

 

Future Issues for Residents: ABOS -- Job Search

Forum for Young Orthopaedic Surgeons: Is Part 1 of the ABOS in your future?

Join us during the Annual Meeting in Chicago, with the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, for an informal discussion which will explain the certification process Thursday, March 23, 2006 at 10:30 am. Room S402B, McCormick Place.

 

Have you begun your job Search?

The AAOS Placement service is currently listing 1117 available positions. Two years out is not too soon to begin looking. So if you plan to be with us in Chicago, plan to check out the Placement Center in Hall B.

Submit your listing on our Web site: www.aaos.org/placement and be sure to stop by the Placement Center during the Annual Meeting. There is no charge for orthopaedic surgeons to list their job

 

Getting Ready for Part 1 of the Board Examination?

The Academy is here to help with an intensive, 5-day exam-focused review course to prepare you for the most important exam of your career. Dr. Frank J. Frassica and his carefully selected team of orthopaedic surgeons offer you the best preparation available in the AAOS Board Preparation and Review Course, May 31 – June 4, 2006 in Chicago.

In-depth lectures, a pre-test, evening study-sessions, and tips on test-taking are just a few of the variety of learning techniques that this course offers. Sessions will cover the testable material you need to study to prepare for the Board Exam on: Basic Science and Pathology, Pediatric Orthopaedics, Orthopaedic Trauma, and the Orthopaedic Specialties.

Visit the AAOS Board Preparation and Review Course pages on the AAOS web site to view course’s private online Discussion Group. Comments and questions about the course, exam preparation, or other review questions are answered personally by Dr. Frassica.

Your paid registration also includes:

• Free attendance at a pathology and basic science refresher course just one day prior to the Board Exam
• Additional testing materials and resources in your complete course syllabus
  After-the-course lectures and study materials are sent to you regularly up until the Board Exam
• Get a 25% discount off the low resident price of the new 2006 Orthopaedic Basic Science Exam (print version only)

Registration is open!
Call 1-800-626-6726 or visit www.aaos.org/boardprep

 

Cervical Spine Research Society (CSRS) Traveling Fellowship

The CSRS is sponsoring a Traveling Fellowship for clinician-scientists who have completed a year or more of spine fellowship training. This program is designed to expose the spine surgeon to other institutions and individuals with expertise in the cervical spine to broaden their experience and help foster his or her academic career.

Award:	$10,000 per month for a maximum of three months
Travel Dates:	July 1 - November 30, 2006
Duration:	One month minimum; three month maximum
Sites:	North American and international sites are eligible
Deadline:	April 15, 2006
Details:	Contact the CSRS office at 847-698-1628

 

OREF/ Sanofi~Aventis Clinical Research Training Fellowship

OREF is pleased to announce a new $140,000 two-year clinical research training fellowship to be awarded on the topic of Joint Replacement. The fellowship will be awarded to a physician who:

• Desires a career involving outcomes and health policy research
• Has completed an accredited North American orthopaedic residency
• Is recommended by the chair of the Department of Orthopaedics

This fellowship will provide $70,000 per year for two years for a physician working toward a Masters in Public Health (M.P.H.). During the two years, the fellow will:

• Complete courses on the methods of outcomes and health services research
• Be appointed to the Department of Orthopaedics where he/she will have some clinical exposure
• Conduct an orthopaedic project on total joint replacement, to include DVT

Fellows will have a choice of institutions from which to select a site for training. Applications will be available beginning March 1, 2006, and the deadline for submission is August 1, 2006. To receive the application please contact Mary Marino at (847) 384-4359 or marino@oref.org. Please address questions to Jean McGuire by e-mail or 847- 384-4348.

 

Abstract submission for the 2007 Annual Meeting

Abstract submission for the 2007 Annual Meeting is now available on the Academy's website. Submit your research for presentation as a podium or a poster presentation. The deadline for submitting abstracts is June 1, 2006. The Annual Meeting will take place February 14 - 18, 2007 in San Diego, CA. Make sure your research gets the attention it deserves submit your abstract now!

 

Clinical Topic

The clinical topic articles provide a précis dealing with a clinical orthopaedic topic. The purpose is to provide basic information on the topic and stimulate your interest in researching other sources on this issue either through the references cited or Orthopaedic Knowledge Online, etc. Click here to view prior clinical topics.

"Common Pediatric Foot Conditions"
by Laurel C. Blakemore, M.D., Children’s National Medical Center; Washington, D.C.

Orthopaedic surgeons are commonly asked to evaluate infants and children for foot deformities. Many of these conditions are benign and resolve spontaneously over time, but some may need intervention later in life, and a few require early treatment. Recognition of these disorders allows the surgeon to offer reassurance to the patient’s family or, when appropriate, prompt initiation of effective treatment. View the complete article.

 

NEW - Test Yourself on the Clinical Topic

1. You are asked to assess a 10-day-old infant for a unilateral foot deformity. Birth history is unremarkable, and there is no known family history of lower extremity deformities. Physical examination reveals a moderately stiff equinovarus foot with a deep medial crease.

Appropriate management consists of:
A. Observation until the age of 3 months, followed by serial manipulation and casting.
B. Immediate initiation of serial manipulation and short leg casting, followed by tendoachilles lengthening.
C. Posteromedial release at 9 months of age.
D. Further evaluation with bilateral foot radiographs.
E. Immediate initiation of serial manipulation and long leg casting followed by possible tendoachilles tenotomy.

2. A 5-year-old child presents for evaluation of a painful right foot. The history is significant for a foot deformity at birth, treated with serial casting from the age of 4 to 6 months. Physical examination reveals an adducted forefoot, valgus heel, and calluses over the plantar aspect of the talar head and base of the fifth metatarsal.

Evaluation and management should include:
A. Immediate initiation of serial casting.
B. Physical therapy while awaiting the results of an MRI scan of the foot.
C. Plain weight-bearing radiographs of the foot.
D. All of the above.

Answers to last month's questions:
Question 1: #4
Question 2: #1

View the questions (In the Clinical Topic Section of Last month's E-Letter)

 

Practice Tips

Evaluating practice opportunities - Asking the right questions can help you avoid costly career missteps
By Ryan M. Dopirak, MD

The average orthopaedic surgeon will make two or three practice changes over the course of his or her career. Half of all orthopaedists will make a change within the first two years of joining a practice—a disruption that can result in increased stress, wasted time and lost income. Evaluating practice opportunities with a critical eye is crucial to avoid such costly mistakes. Click here to read the complete article which is featured in this month's AAOS Bulletin. Click here to access the current and past issues of the AAOS Bulletin

 

Internet Resources

AAOS Resident and Candidate Member Website

This site has been developed by the Candidate Members Services Committee to provide timely information to you concerning the Academy. It contains information on a variety of topics including:

• Membership in the Academy
• Board exam preparation
• Licensing information
• Services provided by the AAOS to you
• Links to the Academy's Job Placement Service and the Practice Management Center

 

Calendar

For a complete listing of AAOS sponsored CME Courses: AAOS CME Course Calendar

March 21, 2006	6th Annual Practice Management Symposium for Orthopaedic Residents 12:00 Noon until 5:30 PM McCormick Place Chicago, Illinois
March 22 - 26, 2006	AAOS Annual Meeting McCormick Place Chicago, IL Note: Advance Registration is closed
March 31, 2006	ABOS Part I Late Application Deadline (submit $875 application fee plus $250 late fee)
May, 2006	ABOS Part I Candidates Receive Notification of Admission and Admission Cards
May 5 - 6, 2006	OTA Residents Fracture Update Course An Intensive 2-Day Symposium for Residents Atlanta (Buckhead), Georgia
May 17-20, 2006	Orthopaedics, Spinal Cord Injury, Emergent & Urgent Burn Care Association of Prosthetic-Orthotic Clinics’ Annual Meeting Hyatt Regency Sacramento, CA Hosted by the Sacramento Shriners Hospital for Children
May 31- June 4, 2006	AAOS Board Preparation and Review Course Chicago Downtown Marriott Chicago, IL
July 24, 2006	ABOS Part I EXAMINATION Location: Riverside Center/Hyatt Regency Chicago, Illinois