Baylor University Medical Center Program

Program Identity & Fit

Baylor University Medical Center's Orthopaedic Surgery Residency is a small, historic program (training orthopedic surgeons since 1921, including the first female orthopedic surgeon in the US) situated within a large, quaternary-care, faith-based academic medical center with Level I trauma designation and roughly 5,000 orthopedic cases annually. With only four residents per year and a small faculty-to-resident ratio, the program emphasizes close one-on-one attending contact across a full spread of subspecialty rotations (trauma, adult reconstruction, hand, foot and ankle, spine, sports, pediatrics). Research is a required, structured component - residents must complete and submit clinical research for publication, supported by monthly research meetings and institutional research infrastructure (BSW Research Institute) - reflecting an academic orientation layered onto a high-volume clinical training base. The program operates within a large not-for-profit health system that foregrounds community engagement and belonging initiatives, suggesting value placed on residents who contribute to institutional culture beyond clinical volume alone.