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Orthopedic Residents Attend PediOrtho WEST Resident Education Course 2024

Feb 23, 2024

PediOrtho West Resident Education Course 2024

Shriners Children's Northern California proudly hosted 29 orthopedic residents from five states between their first and third post-graduate year of studies at the 2024 Pediatric Orthopedic Western Education and Surgical Techniques Resident Education Course (PediOrtho WEST).
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[Title Card] Shriners Children’s Northern California logo.

Speaker 1, Vedant Kulkarni, M.D., Co-Director, PediOrtho West Resident Education Course, Shriners Children’s Northern California:

Today we're at PediOrtho West, a dynamic course that's designed for orthopedic surgery residents between their first and third years. It involves both skills labs, as well as case-based content.

[Sign at Event] Welcome to PediOrtho West 2024.

Speaker 2, Jon R. Davids, M.D., Co-Director, PediOrtho West Resident Education Course, Shriners Children’s Northern California:

This course is special. The course is designed to expose orthopedic residents early in their training to the field of pediatric orthopedics.

Speaker 3, Patrick Curran, M.D., Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon, Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego:

I think that this course is very unique in that there is a very close, almost one-to-one ratio of staff. A tremendous amount of experience to trainees, and so it allows for a very interactive, engaging, both case discussion and also within the skills lab for us to spend time close together and work through some of the problems.

Speaker 4, Kristin Toy, M.D., 3rd Year Resident, Samaritan Health Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program:

I think getting to go through cases, it's a full classroom experience. So I think being able to really get challenged and the attending is asking us questions and really pushing our knowledge and getting us to think, I think has been really great.

Then with the simulation, then going in and working with saw bones and casting and definitely come. It's a lot of fun, really educational and makes me more interested and excited for peds.

Speaker 5, Ian Singleton, M.D., 3rd Year Resident, San Francisco Orthopaedic Residency Program:

This course is ideal for me and other residents because it allows for a level of preparation, both for our procedures that we'll see in the hospital, but also for the OID. The materials covered here, it gives you a broad base in peds and the lecture portions cover materials that you may see commonly tested in the OID. Meanwhile, the hands-on skills section allows me to get the feeling and training of what I'll see in the OR to come.

Speaker 6, Caroline Eaton, Executive Director, Foundation for Advancing Pediatric Orthopaedics:

This program is being replicated all over the United States and abroad. Just this past year, we held a very similar course in San Paolo, Brazil and in Rosario, Argentina. Our goal is for the reach of this course to go much further than that.

One out of 10 children will have a significant pediatric incident in their lifetime. Many times it's general orthopedists who will care for these children and general orthopedists need this type of training to really hone their pediatric skills.

[Sign Next to Group of People] Welcome to PediOrtho West 2024.

[End Title Card] Shriners Children’s Northern California logo.


Shriners Children's Northern California proudly hosted 29 orthopedic residents from five states between their first and third years of training at the 2024 Pediatric Orthopedic Western Education and Surgical Techniques Resident Education Course (PediOrtho WEST). The event kicked off with a hosted welcome dinner followed by a full day of education courses.

Emeritus Assistant Chief of Orthopedics Jon R. Davids, M.D., and current Vice Chair of Orthopedics Vedant Kulkarni, M.D., directed the event and gathered a talented group of 24 faculty from nine institutions to provide participants early exposure to the field of pediatric orthopedics. These institutions include Shriners Children’s Northern California, UC Davis Health, and a number of the region's leading children’s hospitals. The event demonstrates Shriners Children’s leadership in medical education and expertise in pediatric orthopedics.

“This course is special,” said Dr. Davids. “There’s no better reward than gaining mastery of a subject and teaching it to the next generation, to improve the quality of care and outcomes. One of Shriners Children’s core mission values is providing educational opportunities for healthcare professionals, and we’re proud to see how this workshop inspires others in the field of pediatric orthopedics.”

During PediOrtho WEST, residents receive training in a variety of pediatric orthopedic surgical techniques through didactic instruction, case-based discussions, and hands-on skills labs.

“The PediOrtho WEST course has nearly 1:1 ratio of learners to faculty, making the course dynamic, engaging and inspiring,” said Dr. Kulkarni. “All the faculty in this course are excited to mentor residents as future leaders in orthopedic surgery.”

This education opportunity was presented free of charge, with food and lodging provided at no cost to participants, thanks to generous support from the Foundation for Advancing Pediatric Orthopaedics, the bioskills labs were provided by industry partner Orthopediatrics Inc.

Shriners Children’s is committed to providing quality educational opportunities for practicing physicians, healthcare professionals, orthopedic residents and medical students. Relationships with more than 35 major educational affiliates allow Shriners Children’s Northern California to foster an academic environment. The success of PediOrtho WEST has led to its materials and structure being used for similar courses across the U.S. and worldwide.

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Residents participate in the skills lab during PediOrtho WEST.

Residents participate in the skills lab during PediOrtho WEST.

A group of residents discuss a case study with a faculty member.

Shriners Children's orthopedic surgeons Jon Davids, M.D., and Vedant Kulkarni, M.D., co-directors of PediOrtho WEST resident education course

An orthopedic surgeon leads the case study's discussion.

Shriners Children's orthopedic surgeon Holly Leshikar, M.D., presents a case study to attending resident.

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