Summa Health System-NEOMED Program

Program Identity & Fit

Summa Health/NEOMED is a community-based, academically-affiliated orthopaedic surgery program in Akron built around hands-on, high-volume operative training with progressive autonomy across five years, drawing on fellowship-trained faculty across all major subspecialties. The curriculum is procedurally dense (cadaver labs, VirtaMed arthroscopic simulation, a 145+ video resident-made surgical library, OrthoBullets PASS access) and structured to prepare a well-rounded general orthopaedic surgeon rather than a narrow subspecialist. Research is institutionally embedded rather than peripheral: a mandatory two-month PGY-III/IV research rotation, dedicated Research Director/Committee, foundation funding (Hoyt Musculoskeletal Research Foundation), and university partnerships (Akron, Kent State, NEOMED) support resident scholarship aimed at national presentation and publication. The program's self-described identity emphasizes a collegial, close-knit culture that values technical competence, patient-first professionalism, teamwork, and balance, with graduates typically pursuing subspecialty fellowships after a broad general-orthopaedic foundation.