Orthopedic Surgery | Department of Surgery | School of Medicine

Welcome to the Division of Orthopedic Surgery

The Division of Orthopedic Surgery offers a five-year residency program fully accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. The program covers a broad range of orthopedic subspecialty disciplines including lower extremity and total joint replacement, hand and upper extremity, microsurgery, pediatric orthopedics, spine surgery, sports medicine and arthroscopic reconstruction, foot and ankle surgery, orthopedic traumatology and oncology.

Message from the Director

The Orthopedic Surgery residency program provides a rewarding surgical education for our residents. The training program is characterized by a small number of attending staff (thirteen) and a small number of residents which ensures that residents have personalized attention and interactions with the attending surgeons. Residents gain excellent exposure to the broad field of orthopedic surgery, with emphasis on clinical decision making and technical skills.

Our training program follows the educational principles of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons as articulated in their standards of accreditation for residency programs. Specifically we aspire to have a well organized and well structured academic program to assist residents in acquiring the clinical knowledge, professional attitudes and technical skills necessary for them to become successful orthopedic surgeons. Secondly, our program provides adequate resources to allow residents to develop these skills and knowledge. These resources include good clinic and surgical volumes, strong educational and research resources and staff who are highly committed towards resident teaching. We implement our educational program with clear goals and objectives for residents at the various levels of training. We have developed a comprehensive feedback mechanism to identify where residents are excelling and when they need additional effort and practice in order to achieve the educational goals.

I hope you take this opportunity to learn more about Orthopedic Surgery at Queen's. For more information about Orthopedic Surgery at Queen's University, please do not hesitate to contact Kim Lloyd (kim.m.lloyd@kingstonhsc.ca). We look forward to hearing from you.

Davide Bardana, MD, FRCSC
Program Director, Orthopedic Surgery

Overview of Orthopedic Surgery

The first 16 blocks of residency are known as Surgical Foundations. This is a discrete portion of the Orthopedic Surgery training program under the supervision of the Surgical Foundations Program Director, Dr. Michael Yacob. Its goal is to provide a sound grounding in principles common to all surgical disciplines. It offers rotations through Orthopedic Surgery and all of the medical and surgical services that are associated with it.

Following completion of the Surgical Foundations program, residents continue in Orthopedic Surgery. These remaining 44 blocks of residency are under the direct supervision of the Orthopedic Surgery Program Director, Dr. Davide Bardana. The program offers 3 month rotations through each of the 4 services within the Division of Orthopedics:

Service A	Sports Medicine and Upper Extremity	Drs. Bardana, Bicknell, Campbell, Daneshvar, and Pichora
Service B	Arthroplasty and Foot & Ankle	Drs. Diaz Dilernia, Mann, Rudan, and G. Wood
Service C	Pediatrics and Spine	Drs. Borschneck, Kassam, K. Wood, and Yach
Service D	Trauma	Drs. Kassam & Yach

The rotations are carried out sequentially for the 44 blocks, with two blocks for electives/research, with one block reserved as preparation time for the RCPSC fellowship examination. In this way, graduated responsibility is possible, with senior level residents in charge of the service that they are on.

Two blocks of the PGY3/4 year are dedicated elective time. This block is for in depth exposure to a subspecialty and centre of the residents choice.

All residents are expected to conduct research as per the objectives of the Orthopedic Resident Research Program.

On-Call Duties
Orthopedic Surgery at Queen's has a “resident centric” view. We initiated a resident "night float" call system for the orthopedic residents. During the evening hours there are three residents (at various levels of training who are “on-call”. After 23:00 hours a single resident (PGY 2-5) becomes responsible for covering all emergency calls from the ward, the Emergency Department and Operating Room. This initiative has resulted in improved resident satisfaction while allowing us to be in compliance with the PARO contract. It continues to allow graduated responsibility and educational opportunities for residents at various levels of training.

Academic Program

There is a well-structured academic program for the residents. The curriculum follows the Royal College guidelines for training in Orthopedic surgery with a combination of clinical and basic science topics. The academic teaching consists of Weekly Trauma Rounds on Monday mornings, and Grand Rounds on Wednesday mornings. As well as an Academic Half Day on Thursday afternoons from 2-5 pm.

There are also five sub-specialty based academic days consisting of lectures, anatomy and surgical skills, for all residents.

Orthopedic Surgery Academic Schedules 2023-2024

*Please note that the Google Sheet has each academic block on a seperate worksheet down the bottom*

*Please note any changes to these schedules will be updated promptly as well as an email notifcation regarding the change will be sent.*

Admission to Orthopedic Surgery

Applications to the Orthopedic Surgery Postgraduate Education Program must be made through the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS). Interested applicants are encouraged to visit their website. This site contains valuable information not only on current Application Information, but also Iteration Timetables, Match Statistics, as well as a detailed description of the service CaRMS provides.

To obtain more information on Admissions to Postgraduate Medical Education, including Eligibility Criteria and information on Electives, please visit the Postgraduate Medical Education website.

*All Visa-Trainee applicants must apply through the Queen's University Postgraduate Medical Education Office and must have funding through a sponsorship agreement between Queen's University and your funding agency or institution. Please note these applications have a deadline of July 31st, the year prior to the start of the Residency Training Prgram.

Please note that Visa-Trainee applications which are not submitted through the Queen's University Postgraduate Medical Education Office will not be accepted*

We abide by the PGME equitable applicant selection guidelines.

Indigenous Land Acknowledgement

Queen’s University is situated on traditional Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee Territory. To acknowledge this traditional territory is to recognize its longer history, one predating the establishment of the earliest European colonies. It is also to acknowledge this territory’s significance for the Indigenous peoples who lived, and continue to live, upon it – people whose practices and spiritualities were tied to the land and continue to develop in relationship to the territory and its other inhabitants today.

The Kingston Indigenous community continues to reflect the area’s Anishnaabek and Haudenosaunee roots. There is also a significant Métis community and there are First Peoples from other Nations across Turtle Island present here today.

Anti-Discrimination Statement

Queen’s Health Sciences has a long-standing history of implementing discriminatory and oppressive policies including the expulsion of women from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Kingston, in 1883, and the ban of Black medical learners in 1918. While Queen’s Health Sciences (QHS) has issued public apologies to address some of these historical wrongdoings, we still have much work ahead to appropriately address and redress the many forms of institutional racism, discrimination, and oppression that not only existed historically, but continue to permeate our classrooms, offices, meeting rooms, research labs, and clinics.

To openly embrace decolonization and anti-oppression in all forms, we must first confront our own systemic patterns of injustice and profound privilege in QHS. A cultural shift towards a more just, equitable, and inclusive QHS will require us to acknowledge and tackle our own histories of oppression and sit in that discomfort. It will necessitate a process of self-reflection, unlearning and learning, listening to and valuing diverse voices among learners, staff, and faculty and a deep-seated commitment to change. We must be a leading example of the positive change our communities and the world deserve.

QHS disavows any form of oppression and discrimination, and stands against dehumanizing acts here at Queen’s, within the Kingston area, across Canada and around the world. We stand in solidarity with Indigenous and Black communities who continue to confront a systemic cycle of brutality and trauma. We recognize the need to dismantle institutional practices and policies that sustain and fuel acts of racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, xenophobia and other forms of marginalization and oppression.

Inclusion Statement

QHS is committed to fostering excellence and innovation in education, research, and clinical services by integrating equitable, inclusive, and just policies and practices that empower learners, staff, and faculty with diverse lived experiences to thrive at Queens University. We strive to create a sense of belonging amongst all individuals embodying an intersectionality of perspectives, backgrounds, and identities (including, but not limited to any aspect of a person’s physical appearance, ethnic or cultural background, sexual orientation, gender identity, nation of origin, language, socio-economic status, disability status, immigration status, religion and creed, age, or family status, amongst others). Our responsibility is to serve diverse communities and society with humility, compassion, and empathy by educating health care professionals, conducting equitable and inclusive research, and practicing clinical care grounded in cultural safety and justice. We are responsible for building a more just, equitable, and inclusive healthcare system that dismantles barriers and builds bridges.

Through the collective development of the QHS EDIIA Action Plan, we strive to undergo a cultural transformation that promotes inclusive leadership and accountability by building and implementing equitable, inclusive, and reconciliatory practices

Statement on Social Accountability

QHS is accountable to its learners, faculty, staff, and alumni. We are also accountable to the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox, and Addington community and more broadly, to the national and global community where QHS can play a role in improving health and health equity. QHS has an obligation to take action to respond to the education and health needs of our communities in an equitable and inclusive manner. It is the responsibility of QHS to develop education, research, and clinical activities that prioritize “health for all” and which support health equity, accessible health care and population health. QHS is also accountable to the many commitments our University and Faculty have already made such as those to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls to action and the Scarborough Charter as well as to human rights declarations and to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Our current and future health professionals, scientists, educators, and communicators must advocate for community members and patients disenfranchised by power structures and social conditions negatively impacting their health. We commit to these multiple layers of social accountability and to regularly assessing and enhancing our social accountability mandate.

QHS EDIIA Initiatives

Goals & Objectives

Upper Extremity & Sports Medicine

Arthroplasty Service Objectives

Arthroplasty Rotation Specific Objectives

Spine Service Objectives

Spine Rotation Specific Objectives

Pediatric Service Objectives

Pediatric's Rotation Specific Objectives

Trauma Service Objectives

Trauma Rotation Specific Objectives

Meetings and Conferences

The Department of Surgery and Division of Orthopedics consider resident attendance at meetings to be an important part of their education. Therefore, we'll provide financial support for residents to attend one meeting during their PGY 1 and 2 years, as well as to attend one meeting during each of their PGY3, PGY4 years, and funding to attend two meetings during their PGY5 year. Further, the Division of Orthopedics supports and encourages senior residents to attend the COA Basic Science course and the CORR review courses, St. Justine Pediatric review course and CORF review course.

In order to encourage resident research, if an individual attends meetings in addition to the foregoing with the purpose of presenting a scientific communication, the Department of Surgery will accept applications for additional funding.

Policies & Procedures

Click Here for more information on Policies.

Research

The Division of Orthopedic Surgery is well known for its research productivity. It has enjoyed a very successful relationship with the Centre for Health Innovation at Queen's University, a multidisciplinary research group comprising participants from ortheopedic surgery, mechanical engineering, rehabilitation therapy, community health and epidemiology, rheumatology, and computer science and information technology.

Members of the Division of Orthopedic Surgery have participated in a number of innovative and important research projects. The products of this activity include a large number of graduate students, most in Mechanical Engineering, but also in Computer Science and Surgery. The Centre has had a very large number of publications and presentations and has been the recipient of many major external funding awards.

Resident Research

All residents are expected to conduct research as per the objectives of the Orthopedic Resident Research Program. Residents are expected to complete and present at least one research project during their residency. The projects are to be presented at the Annual Department of Surgery Resident Research Day, which includes a full day of presentations with a visiting professor.

Goals
• To stimulate interest and provide experience in critical appraisal
• To initiate the process of life long learning

Objectives
• To design two studies and critically assessing their scientific merit
• To gain current knowledge obtained from ongoing research at Queen's and other centres
• To bring two projects to the point of being suitable for submission to a peer reviewed journal

Timeline
PGY 1
• meet with Dr. P. Daneshvar, Research Director, to discuss prospective projects
• choose two topics for study
• identify your supervisor (faculty in Orthopedic Surgery, Neurosurgery, Plastic Surgery, HMRC, Queen’s, or other centres)
• attend course on study design and critical appraisal (part of mandatory common PGY1 Academic Half Day series)
• conduct literature search for background information

PGY 2
• present study proposal at resident research review day (part of Orthopedic training program academic schedule)
• apply for ethics approval (Queen's research office, 301 Fleming Hall)
• submit funding proposal: CIHR & PSI, (applications from Fleming Hall), COF (applications from COA office), Orthopedic trust fund (contact D Borschneck), or KGH Foundation (contact office on Nickel 1)
• begin data collection

PGY 3
• present progress report at resident research review day (part of Orthopedic training program academic schedule)
• complete data collection, analyze results, draw conclusions for project 1
• prepare abstract and present project 1 at a local, national, or international meeting
• continue to collect data for project 2

PGY 4
• present progress report at resident research review daypart of Orthopedic training program academic schedule)
• submit project 1 to a peer reviewed journal
• complete data collection, analyze results, and draw conclusions for project 2
• prepare abstract and present project 2 at a local, national, or international meeting

PGY 5
• submit project 2 to a peer reviewed journal

Links

Queen's University Links

Kingston Links

Affiliated Hospitals

Research

Organizations & Associations