Orthopedic Oncology Experience During Residency.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the characteristics and logistics of orthopedic oncology rotations at various residency programs across the USA and determine the effect of orthopedic oncology rotations on Orthopedic In-Training Examination (OITE) scores. An eight-question survey was sent to 162 orthopedic surgery residency programs obtained from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education public database. Pre-oncology rotation and post-oncology rotation OITE scores for 24 residents at a major academic medical center were collected and analyzed. The response rate was 43.8%. Survey results were as follows: 90.1% responded positively to having a dedicated orthopedic oncology rotation in their curriculum; 49.3% carried out their oncology rotation at a hospital outside of their home institution; 70.4% of programs had only one dedicated orthopedic oncology rotation throughout residency; 42.3% indicated that residents experience 6-10weeks of dedicated orthopedic oncology training during the 5-year residency program; 42.2% indicated that residents experience oncology rotations during post-graduate year 4; and 80.3% of programs had orthopedic oncology trained surgeons on their faculty. The mean increase in OITE oncology scores after the rotation was 12.1% (p = 0.005). There are variations in orthopedic oncology curricula across residency programs, most notably in the number of weeks residents participate in a dedicated oncology rotation, the post-graduate year that residents rotate on an oncology service, and the location where residents obtain their orthopedic oncology training. Participating in a dedicated orthopedic oncology rotation resulted in significant improvement in scores on the oncology domain of the OITE.