Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Baylor College of Medicine Temple Program

Program Identity & Fit

This is a university-affiliated, community-embedded orthopedic program built around a distinctive one-on-one "mentorship model" in which residents follow a single fellowship-trained attending through clinic and OR rather than being double-scrubbed alongside co-residents, fostering early autonomy and direct operative responsibility even at the junior level. Training occurs across three closely clustered sites—the main academic medical center, a children's hospital, and the VA—giving residents broad exposure to trauma, joints, sports, hand, pediatrics, foot/ankle, spine, and oncology within a Level I trauma, high-volume tertiary environment. Research is structurally present (ACGME-required project, four dedicated months, a research month during intern year) but not positioned as the program's central identity; the emphasis is squarely on operative volume, graduated autonomy, and produces surgeons prepared for either fellowship or independent general orthopedic practice, as reflected in chief experience at the VA being cited as proof of readiness for practice. The daily conference culture (Orthobullets-based OITE curriculum, trauma conference, cadaveric anatomy labs led by residents) signals a program that values self-directed teaching, strong board performance, and hands-on surgical judgment over passive observation.