Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Training Programme
Dalhousie University
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Surgery

Programme Director: William M. Oxner, M.D., FRCSC
Division Head: J. David Amirault, M.D., FRCSC

The Dalhousie University Residency Training Programme in Orthopaedics began in the late 1960's under the leadership of Dr. Reginald H. Yabsley. Since that time, the size of the programme has increased with new residents entering the programme annually. In addition to the residents selected through the CaRMS match, the programme has trained orthopaedic surgeons sponsored by rural hospitals, the Armed Forces and foreign countries. The faculty has grown to 16 members, and all the major subspecialty categories are well represented.

Dalhousie University is located in Halifax, the capital city of Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia is 1 of 3 Maritime Provinces. It is a small province about 575 km in length and only 130 km wide, but has a coastline that stretches 7400 km. The population of NS is approximately 950,000, with the largest populated area being Halifax which is home to about 380,000 people. The Residency Programme situates itself in the The QEII Health Sciences Centre, which is a Level 1 tertiary care hospital located in downtown Halifax. It is comprised of several buildings; the two main hospitals being the New Halifax Infirmary and the Victoria General, located approximately a 10 minute walk apart. The Department of Orthopaedics is located in the New Halifax Infirmary which is the location where residents spend the majority of their time. They also spend a fair bit of time in paediatric orthopaedics at the IWK Health Centre, which is a Level 1 paediatric tertiary care hospital.

At the Halifax Infirmary, the Division of Orthopaedics is made up of twelve surgeons who form six different services. Dr. J. David Amirault, the current Chief of Orthopaedics and Dr. Gerald P. Reardon form general orthopaedics. Dr. William M. Oxner, the Programme Director and Dr. David I. Alexander form spine. Dr. Ross K. Leighton and Dr. Chad P. Coles form trauma. Dr. Catherine M. Coady and Dr. William D. Stanish form sport medicine. Dr. Michael J. Dunbar and Dr. Michael Gross form arthroplasty and orthopaedic oncology. Dr. David G. Johnston.and Dr. Mark Glazebrook form upper and lower extremities. At the IWK Health Centre, four orthopaedic surgeons form paediatric orthopaedics: Dr. John C. Hyndman, Dr. J. Lorne Leahey, Dr. P. Christopher Cook, Dr. Ron El-Hawary and Dr. Catherine M. Coady.

Programme Overview
The Orthopaedic Training Programme at Dalhousie is a five-year residency programme that provides a strong clinical exposure in all areas of orthopaedic surgery. All patients treated in the Halifax area orthopaedic unit are involved in the teaching programme. There is a very large ambulatory care component of approximately 60,000 outpatient visits per year.

PGY1 - The first year is part of an integrated core programme in surgery which involves the first two years of postgraduate training. Rotations include: adult orthopaedics, paediatric orthopaedics, orthopaedic research, neurosurgery, geriatric medicine, rheumatology, emergency medicine, and anaesthesia.

PGY2 - In 2^nd year, the rotations include; adult orthopaedics, orthopaedic research, vascular surgery, plastic surgery and intensive care unit.

PGY3-5 - The final three years consist of the core orthopaedic surgery component. The resident will rotate through the Halifax area hospitals (QEII Health Sciences Centre and IWK Health Centre) through a variety of rotations all of which have a particular subspecialty interest. During the PGY-3 or PGY-4 year, a protected time for a research rotation is mandatory.

Research
Research is considered an integral part of the programme with residents making annual formal presentations at Orthopaedic Residents Research Day. The residents are supported in travel to any peer review meetings for presentation of their research. Our programme has two MD/PhDs to coordinate resident research and areas of interest include: GAIT Belt, RSA studies, outcomes studies, access to care research, bio-medical research, trauma research, sports medicine research and basic science research.  

Resident Support
Residents in the Dalhousie Residency Programme develop close working relationships with the staff. Regular group and individual meetings throughout the year are scheduled with the Programme Director. The Division Head, senior residents, members of the Resident Training Committee and the Orthopaedic Education Coordinator are all avenues in terms of resident support.

Orthopaedic Experience
The Dalhousie University Orthopaedic Programme offers strong clinical exposure in all area of orthopaedic surgery, extensive operative experience - a well balanced and flexible academic programme that is constantly being evaluated and upgraded to meet the ever changing needs.

For more information on the Residency Programme contact:

Programme Director: Dr. William M. Oxner
Orthopaedic Education Coordinator: Nadine Loppie,
Department of Surgery, Division of Orthopaedics, Dalhousie University
Queen Elizabeth Health Sciences Centre- Halifax Infirmary
1796 Summer Street, 4th Floor, Halifax, NS B3H 3A7
Phone: (902) 473-6156   Fax: (902) 473-3563
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

For more information on the Division of Orthopaedics contact:

Division Head: Dr. J. David Amirault
Administrative Assistant: Sally Devanney
Department of Surgery, Division of Orthopaedics, Dalhousie University
Queen Elizabeth Health Sciences Centre- Halifax Infirmary
1796 Summer Street, 4th Floor, Halifax, NS B3H 3A7
Phone: (902) 473-7105   Fax: (902) 473-4580
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it