The Division of Trauma and Fracture Surgery sponsors a 12-month program for high-performing premedical undergraduates and graduate medical students called the Adult Learner Clinical Exploration (ACE) Program for Orthopedic Trauma. We encourage qualified applicants with a demonstrated career interest in orthopedic trauma surgery to apply.

The program offers up to six paid positions each year and follows the academic calendar from July 1 to June 30.

Program Objectives

The purpose of the ACE Program is to provide a full-immersion experience in all aspects of orthopedic trauma services. If you are accepted into this program, you have the chance to observe all phases of the clinical and basic science research processes and gain in-depth exposure to orthopedic surgery and academic medicine.

Most ACE participants go on to either medical school (if an undergraduate student at a college or university) or to orthopedic surgical residencies at hospitals throughout the country (if already in medical school). A small minority have not pursued medicine and have instead used their training to pursue careers in business and finance.

Program Overview

As a participant in the ACE program, you receive direct supervision from Kenneth A. Egol, MD, chief of the Division of Trauma and Fracture Surgery and vice chair for education in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, and Sanjit R. Konda, MD, director of geriatric orthopedic trauma and fracture surgery. You are involved in studies evaluating functional outcomes of fractures and traumas to the musculoskeletal system.

Approximately 20 percent of your time is devoted to attending clinical patient sessions, during which you observe patient and surgeon interactions and document your experience for later discussion with members of the division.

Approximately 80 percent of your time is spent analyzing clinical data, drafting narratives of patient outcomes, and assisting our faculty physicians in other tasks, such as providing support for continuing medical education symposia.

Program Opportunities

Your work may involve multiple long-term, prospective, ongoing data registries, and you are expected to turn in independent projects, reports, and presentations. You can expect to participate in the following activities:

• observation of data gathering during clinic hours
• preparation for patient interaction through practice patient interviews using approved survey instruments
• consideration and active observation, with opportunities for meaningful contributions, of the design and execution of trauma services projects intended to promote new learning in the field
• immersion in the process of submitting orthopedic trauma protocols to NYU Grossman School of Medicine institutional review boards (IRBs)
• preparation of outcomes results for academic publications and presentations to peers, under the direction of members of the Division of Trauma and Fracture Surgery

We encourage you to approach our trauma surgeons with ideas for clinical outcomes exploration projects and develop any vetted ideas into study protocols. You also conduct literature reviews and take part in the process of producing abstracts for national scientific meetings and manuscripts for journal submissions.

Clinical Training

During the program, you work at a number of hospitals, including NYU Langone’s Tisch Hospital, NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital, and NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn, as well as NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. This experience gives you a comprehensive understanding of orthopedic surgery in both clinical and operating room settings and a detailed understanding of the impact of patients’ demographic backgrounds on various orthopedic conditions.

Educational and Developmental Training

As an ACE student, you interact directly with our orthopedic surgery residents and attend practice skills courses at NYU Langone locations. This allows you to gain pertinent knowledge and get involved in the work of our physician–researchers.

The following are among the many educational courses and services offered throughout the year:

• computer training in Microsoft Excel and Access, tools used in the day-to-day tasks of data collection and analysis
• research support provided by NYU Health Sciences Library, including assistance in using citation management programs such as EndNote, advice on how to conduct more effective meta-analysis literature searches, and other services
• courses that serve as primers in working with IRBs
• training sessions offered through the department’s Surgical Skills Lab, during which you observe residents and attending physicians demonstrating different procedures on cadavers

ACE students also attend the yearlong didactic program for the orthopedic surgery residency. This includes weekly morning conferences during which cases are presented and relevant literature is discussed by attending and resident physicians, as well as specialty team conferences. In addition, you participate in journal clubs and lecture series offered through the Department of Orthopedic Surgery.

Requirements

ACE students must be U.S. citizens and graduates of U.S.-accredited undergraduate colleges and universities or enrolled in a U.S. medical school and be in good standing. We do not accept international medical graduates.

How to Apply

You can apply to the ACE Program by sending a current CV and letter of interest to Dr. Egol by email to kenneth.egol@nyulangone.org or by mail to the following address:

Kenneth A. Egol, MD
NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital
301 East 17th Street
New York, NY 10003

Applications are accepted between August and November of each year. Interviews are held in early December for the following year.