Orthopedic Surgery Residency Program Launches at Hackensack University Medical Center

Program features subspecialty depth, 2:1 faculty-to-resident ratio

The new Orthopedic Surgery Residency Program at Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center welcomed its first three residents in July 2023.

In conjunction with Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, the ACGME-approved program offers high patient volume experience with broad surgical case range, an accomplished and committed faculty, comprehensive didactic and clinical learning opportunities and protected research time.

As Hackensack University Medical Center is a Level One Trauma Center and home to board-certified traumatologists, the program provides our first-ever orthopedic residents significant experience treating fractures and other injuries. The robust sport medicine program also means a wide range of athletic case exposure.

When the five-year program is fully enrolled, it will host a complement of 15 residents. And a large, engaged faculty means residents experience a 2:1 ratio of faculty to resident and mentorship opportunities from the first year onward.

The orthopedic faculty includes multiple board-certified, fellowship-trained attendings across the full spectrum of musculoskeletal surgical specialties including adult reconstruction (total joint surgery), sports, hand surgery, foot and ankle surgery, shoulder and elbow surgery, orthopedic trauma surgery, pediatric orthopedics, spine surgery and musculoskeletal oncology. Residents are offered a robust educational experience that includes didactics, case and research presentations, conferences, journal clubs, workshops, self-critical analysis and protected research time.

“Our department is proud to foster a supportive environment of collegial orthopedic inquiry and a philosophy of lifelong learning,” said Wayne Berberian, M.D., Residency Program Director, Department of Orthopedics, Hackensack University Medical Center, and Professor of Orthopedics, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine.

Residents gain clinical experience in the medical center’s new, fifty-bed Orthopedic Institute, which provides advanced technology surgical suites. They can also practice techniques in a surgical skills laboratory, such as inserting a screw on a foam bone model or positioning and draping patients.

Residents may pursue clinical and basic science research projects in collaboration with faculty, including basic science labs at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. They are expected to write a minimum of one paper for a meeting presentation or publication during the program, accomplished with faculty and peer mentorship and feedback.

The center’s joint registry tracking the department’s high surgical case volume also presents unique research opportunities. The Orthopedic Surgery department performed nearly a thousand total hip arthroplasties and almost two thousand total knee arthroplasties in academic year 2020-2021.

Learn more about innovative orthopedic care at Hackensack University Medical Center.