RESEARCH

The Registrars will do a dissertation, part or all of which should be published in a peer reviewed journal. The Registrar will at least once, submit a paper for oral presentation at the SAOA Congress, and at the University‘s faculty day. The research monitoring committee meets every week to monitor the progress. A registrar is seen at least once a month at the meeting.

 

TRAINING PROGRAMME AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA DURATION

The programme will be for 5 years.

 

REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION:

The candidate for registrar appointment must have at least 6 months of experience as a Medical Officer in a hospital where there is a registered Orthopaedic Surgeon supervising. This is aimed at making sure that the candidate understands what the specialty entails.

The candidate must have passed the Primary exam of the College of Surgery, as experience has shown that Registrars who do not have a Primary, struggle to finish in 5 years. Must also have attended both the Surgical Skills and ATLS Course.

 

GENERAL DUTIES:

Generally the Registrars will be required to do ward work, calls, clinic & surgical operations, and generally manage orthopaedic patients. They will be required to teach medical students, and other students. They will be required to partake actively in all the academic meetings of the department.

These are:

Early morning Trauma Meeting at 07h00,             

Radiology Meetings                                                                                                          

Journal Club                                                                                                                   

Moridity & Mortality Meeting                                                                                               

Consultant Presentations                                                                                                    

Tuesday Afternoon Academic Meetings                                                                              

Personnel Meetings

Any other meeting that is part of the academic programme as decided by the consultant staff. Attendance of 90% at these meetings is required over the 5 years.

The registrar will also present referaats (seminars) as often as she/he is on the programme.

An end of block assessment will be done at the end of each 4mnth block. This will be a full clinical assessment, and assessment of other parameters as determined by the consultants.

 

  YEAR 1:

The registrars will rotate through trauma firms at Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Kaalafong Hospital, 1 Military Hospital, Tembisa Hospital and other hospitals. He/she will attend an Anatomy Course which starts at the beginning of the year over 6 weeks and write an Anatomy Exam. If he/she has not already done so, must do an ATLS Course during the year.

Subject to availability, will do the basic A.O. course during this year. End of block assessment will be particularly important during this year, as the registrar will not be allowed to continue with training if he/she has bad work ethic, and assessed to be a bad clinician.

 

YEAR 2:

The Registrar will rotate for 6 months through the surgical specialties. After this he/she will be eligible to write the Intermediate exam. We will run a Course on the Intermediate exams syllabus, as the College Intermediate requires a knowledge of orthopaedic principles.

End of block assessment will again continue for the 4/12 he/she will be in orthopaedics.

 

YEAR 3:

Registrars will go to senior rotation (i.e rotate through the subspecialties). The registrar will not do senior rotation if he/she has not yet passed the intermediate exam. The registrar will write the Pathology exam of the University during this year, or after doing the tumour and sepsis rotation block.

It is at this stage that they will start their dissertation, present at congress, and have a clinical paper in a journal.

Membership of the SAOA will be encouraged at this stage. Must do course on research methods (TNM Course).

 

YEAR 4: 

Senior rotations                                                                                                                   

Paper presentation at congress                                                                                                            

Dissertation in advanced stage

 

YEAR 5: 

Senior rotations

Present thesis    

College written and oral examinations                                                                                         

At the successful completion of this 5 years, we will then certify that the candidate has fulfilled the requirements of our training.