Oregon Health & Science University OHSU Health Program

Program Identity & Fit

OHSU is Oregon's only academic health center, and its orthopaedic residency is explicitly structured around a one-to-one daily faculty-resident mentorship model rather than a fellow-mediated hierarchy, giving residents early, graduated operative responsibility across all subspecialties. The program explicitly states its mission is resident education (not fellow education) and aims to train surgeons for the full spectrum of Pacific Northwest practice - urban, rural, and academic - while explicitly working to diversify the orthopaedic workforce. Research is embedded but applied rather than purely investigative: every resident must produce at least one scholarly contribution, supported by a dedicated Research Director, research staff, and translational labs (stem cell/cartilage engineering, spine fusion, epidemiology of osteoporotic fracture and back pain), and showcased annually through the resident-authored Oregon Journal of Orthopaedics and the Beals Memorial Seminar. Recent graduates pursue a broad range of named subspecialty fellowships (hand, spine, sports, trauma, adult reconstruction, foot/ankle), indicating the program values well-rounded surgeons who ultimately subspecialize rather than a single dominant track.