Orthotics residency
The residency
model that has been implemented at Children's Memorial Hospital consists of a
series of designated clinical rotations designed to ensure that specific
content areas are thoroughly
addressed during training. For each rotation, trainees have an ABC -certified practitioner
as a designated mentor to provide support, guidance and feedback.
The mentor-resident relationship
The mentor-resident relationship is one of the most important elements of the
residency. During the rotations, the resident shadows the mentor including
coverage of specific clinics. The process becomes a continuous learning
experience whether under direct or in-direct supervision. The shift
and degree to which supervision is implemented is based on previous clinical rotations,
knowledge base, clinical skills and the mastery of family-practitioner skills related to
feelings or emotions. In all cases, either the mentor or
resident director need to sign off on patient cases.
During
each clinical rotation, participants are asked to present one clinical case at the weekly
staff meeting. In addition to the case study, the resident, mentor
and resident director meet weekly to discuss residents' assigned
research papers and evidence-based medicine related
to cases seen during each rotation. For example, a resident going through the spinal rotation may see a patient with
scoliosis and be assigned readings specific to scoliosis and required
to respond to related clinical questions using the evidence-based model of
learning.
The clinical rotations include:
- Fabrication
- Spinal
- General orthopedics
- Hand Clinic
o Cranial molding helmets
o Sports Medicine
- Cerebral palsy/Neuromuscular pathologies
- Serial casting
- Comprehensive rotation
Evaluation/Assessment
On the first Monday of every month, the resident
and resident director meet for a scheduled monthly evaluation. During this time, the resident director assesses
the performance of the resident, provides feedback, and address any
concerns that the resident might have.
Research/Community project
Specific time is designated each week
for the resident to work on the NCOPE
-required research project,
and the resident and resident director meet
monthly to discuss the project's progress. In addition, the resident identifies a community project (as
required by NCOPE) and provides a timeline for completion.