University of South Florida Morsani Program

Program Identity & Fit

USF Morsani's orthopaedic program is an academic, tertiary/quaternary-level department built on a formal academic-clinical merger with Florida Orthopaedic Institute (FOI), giving residents an unusually large multi-site network spanning Level 1 trauma at Tampa General, pediatric orthopaedics at Johns Hopkins All Children's, musculoskeletal oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center, VA-based care of socioeconomically disadvantaged patients, and community exposure at Brandon Regional and AdventHealth sites. Research is embedded in the core curriculum through the FORE foundation, with dedicated statisticians, epidemiologists, and coordinators, and residents are expected to complete projects culminating in national presentation and peer-reviewed publication with funded travel support. Nearly every graduate over the past decade has pursued fellowship training (hand, sports, trauma, adult reconstruction, spine, shoulder/elbow, oncology) at nationally recognized centers, reflecting a program identity oriented toward producing subspecialized academic and fellowship-bound surgeons rather than general orthopaedists. The department explicitly frames its mission as preparing "orthopaedic leaders" as clinicians, surgeons, and investigators, valuing residents who can operate across a broad spectrum of high-acuity and subspecialty environments while sustaining scholarly output.