Designed for the prospective orthopaedic resident and for the student not planning orthopaedic specialization but desiring an extensive exposure to all phases of orthopaedic care, this elective covers preventative aspects, preoperative evaluation, surgery, and postoperative care and rehabilitation of a wide gamut of orthopaedic conditions. Pediatric, adult and geriatric patients with congenital, traumatic and degenerative problems are regularly encountered, and some neoplasms and infections are confronted. The student will work closely with the resident staff under the supervision of the faculty. The student will spend a great deal of time in the emergency and operating rooms and on the orthopaedic wards and will become acquainted with the research activities in orthopaedics. Four to six hours of didactic instruction per week are required. The student will be involved in case presentations and discussion.

This rotation is designed for all students seeking sports medicine experience. Physicians involved in both non-operative and operative assessment and care of athletes staff the USC Sports Medicine Center and participate in the curriculum. Students interested in a career in Orthopaedics or those not planning an Orthopaedic specialty but looking to enhance their exposure to Sports Medicine are welcome to apply. This elective is intended to expose students to acute, chronic and overuse sports injuries, both in-season and off-season, and to the necessity for communication with allied personnel, i.e. athletic trainers, therapists, etc. On occasion, students will be expected to accompany faculty to after-hours clinics, practice and/or games for area high school, collegiate and professional teams. At least one scholarly effort will be required during the month-long rotation, i.e. conference presentation, case report. Students will also be expected to attend approximately four hours weekly of didactic teaching.

To gain clinical experience in the diagnosis and management of orthopedic problems in a community hospital setting. Rotation would involve seeing patients in an office environment (history, physicial exam, office based procedures such as injections, etc, pre-op work-ups/orders) and the hospital environment (direct assistance to surgeon in the operating environment, rounding on hospitilized patients to include entering clinical notes into the Electronic Medical Record (Epic), and triaging unstable orthopedic patients in the Emergency Department).