Navigating the Transition to Clinical Practice: The Value of Clinic in Orthopedic Residency Training

Background Participation in outpatient clinics is an essential component in the curriculum of many orthopedic surgery residency programs, yet surgeons’ perceptions of their usefulness remain relatively unclear. Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perceived value of the orthopedic surgery resident-run clinic (RRC) compared to an attending’s personal clinic (APC), and how these experiences affected one’s readiness for clinical practice. Methods A web-based questionnaire (via SurveyMonkey) was distributed in 2022 to practicing and retired orthopedic surgeons via the American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics. A total of 118 participants reported on 24 items regarding training background and experiences in RRC and/or APC. Results More respondents felt that aspects of APC were helpful to current practice (98.2% vs 91.3%, p = 0.038), and more identified aspects of RRC where they needed more experience (40.44% vs 58.8%, p = 0.018). The three most beneficial aspects of APC and RRC included physical exam skills (91.7% vs 85.0%), making a diagnosis (79.8% vs 81.3%), and patient communication/empathy (70.6% vs 63.8%). The three most reported aspects that respondents needed more experience with were understanding billing, coding, and insurance (28.4% vs 45.0%), formulating a treatment plan (14.7% vs 15.0%), and efficiency per encounter (9.2% vs 20.0%). Conclusions Our findings reveal that participation in both RRC and an APC during residency is highly valued by orthopedic surgeons, and helpful for their transition to clinical practice. However, areas for improvement were more commonly identified with RRC, which highlights opportunities for continued development of resident education.