James P. Waddell, M.D., FRCSC
A.J. Latner Professor & Chairman
Toronto, ON

The Orthopaedic Residency Programme at the University of Toronto is part of the Department of Surgery Training Programme. The Department of Surgery Training Programme, known as the Gallie Training Programme, started over 70 years ago under the leadership of W.E. Gallie, Chairman of the Department of Surgery and Dean of the University of Toronto Medical School. This training model in which residents were exposed to multiple surgical disciplines before focusing their training exclusively on the specialty of their choice was the first of its kind and has been widely copied, initially in Canada, then the United States and now is a model for training in much of the world.

The Orthopaedic Trainees are integrated into the Department of Surgery Training Programme in the initial two years of their training to ensure that they have appropriate exposure to the non-orthopaedic disciplines that interact with orthopaedic surgery and to be certain that their initial two years fully comply with the Royal College requirements for core training. Close integration of the many divisions in the Department of Surgery allows for central coordination of resident rotations as well as complete integration of the eight teaching hospitals associated with the University.

The Orthopaedic Residency Programme at the University of Toronto is a six year training programme; during the first two years the residents spend 12 months off-service and 12 months in orthopaedic training. Three subsequent clinical years are devoted to subspecialty training in the areas of trauma, lower limb reconstruction, oncology, hand, spine, foot & ankle, paediatrics and sports. The sixth year is a research year which is an integral part of the orthopaedic experience at U of T. This year was introduced in 1961 and, with rare exception, has been a continuous part of the programme since that time. The research year is fully funded and allows the residents an excellent opportunity to pursue dedicated research in education, epidemiology or the basic sciences.

Educational opportunities abound. In addition to the usual hospital-based teaching rounds there is a dedicated half-day each week for didactic teaching for all residents; this is protected time and the seminars are lead by faculty members with international reputations in their perspective specialties. In addition, there are monthly University-wide rounds which are topic specific and many faculty sponsored meetings throughout the year highlighting such topics as upper limb surgery, foot & ankle surgery and fracture care. There are three and six month elective opportunities available for U of T trainees – these include community-based electives within the Province of Ontario as well as elective opportunities in Wellington, New Zealand and Milan, Italy.

The training programme at the University of Toronto achieves a balance between resident education and clinical fellow education. This balance is achieved by virtue of the large number of faculty, the very high patient volumes through the eight affiliated hospitals and a carefully monitoring of resident and clinical fellow surgical experience. The U of T was the first orthopaedic residency programme to adopt an electronic log book to document and monitor resident surgical experience and this log book ensures that the residents meet the requirements for the rotation-specific objectives which are outlined for all rotations. The monitored progression of clinical skills is ensured for all residents and their exposure to orthopaedic pathology and the opportunities to participate in the treatment of orthopaedic patients is unrivaled.

The University of Toronto is located in the centre of Canada’s largest city on a beautiful campus with many traditional buildings housing university colleges. These colleges were consolidated to start the University of Toronto over 150 years ago. Toronto is Canada’s largest city and one of the world’s most ethnically diverse cities with cultural culinary experiences that reflect this diversity.

The faculty of this University have international reputations not only in their clinical areas of expertise but also in research and education. Particular strengths in undergraduate and postgraduate education, surgical skills teaching, simulation, biomechanics and population health are some of the areas in which we excel. This faculty has allowed us to attract outstanding applicants to our residency programme.