Thank you for your interest in the orthopedic surgery residency program of the Joseph Barnhart Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine.
Our focus is to educate residents to become highly skilled, compassionate, and ethically sound orthopedic surgeons. We work to build a culture of lifelong learners who contribute to the field, and we expect our residents to grow into clinical leaders, educators, and researchers. We are extremely proud of our graduates, the majority of whom serve as academic faculty across the country.
Our program is diverse and unique. We are in the heart of Houston in the Texas Medical Center (TMC), the largest health science complex in the world, in one of the most diverse cities in the country. Our residents work in a variety of clinical settings within the TMC. These include Ben Taub Hospital, a county hospital and one of only two adult Level One trauma centers in Houston; the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), one of the largest and busiest VA hospitals in the country; Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, a large, academically focused community hospital whose McNair campus currently functions as an orthopedic hospital and is where the majority of our orthopedic surgery cases are performed; and Texas Children’s Hospital, the largest children’s hospital in the country, a pediatric Level One trauma center, and home to the fifth ranked pediatric orthopedics program in the nation. This variety of settings gives our residents a large volume and a rich diversity of patient encounters.
One of the great strengths of our program is the balance of early clinical and surgical exposure with resident independence and guided autonomy. As a result, our residents develop excellent clinical judgment and high-level decision-making skills, and they leave residency well prepared to enter practice. This training begins on day one of the intern year and progresses through the chief resident year, when our chief residents are expected to serve as leaders and educators alongside faculty and help to organize and administer the orthopedic services at Ben Taub and the VAMC.
Paired with the broad clinical experience, we provide a strong academic foundation. Residents have protected time for a core curriculum lecture series each Wednesday morning, each subspecialty service holds at least one weekly conference, and Orthopedic Surgery grand rounds are held each Friday morning. Daily morning fracture rounds take place at both Ben Taub Hospital and Texas Children’s Hospital. The Baylor College of Medicine Surgical Skills Laboratory and Simulation Center hosts the surgical skills curriculum for our intern class.
Our department also provides opportunities for residents to participate in meaningful research. Residents have access to robust clinical databases, world-class basic science researchers and human performance and movement data. We ensure that each resident has protected time to facilitate involvement in and completion of research projects.
As excellent as the clinical and academic experience is, it is surpassed only by the diversity, camaraderie and talent of our residents. They come from many backgrounds, bring different strengths, and genuinely look out for one another. We aim to be a training program where any personality of resident can grow and thrive, and that culture is what I am proudest of.
We are looking for a diverse group of residents who are hardworking, eager to learn and motivated to take advantage of the many opportunities available here in the Texas Medical Center. If that sounds like you, I hope you will consider joining us. I look forward to meeting you.
Nicole Montgomery, M.D.
Program Director, Orthopedic Surgery Residency
The Joseph Barnhart Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine