Julia Williams
Julia Williams
Editor-in-Chief
Northeast’s medical campus was sprawling with 30 of the top medical students from across the U.S. on June 6 and 7 as students traveled near and far to attend Kansas City University’s (KCU) fourth annual, free Orthopedic Boot Camp.
Hosted by KCU Alumnus and Program Director of Orthopedic Surgery Charles Orth ( D.O., FAOAO), this two-day camp offered third and fourth year medical students from various states — including New York, Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Florida, Arizona, Iowa and California, among others — an opportunity to gain hands-on experience within the orthopedic field, while still obtaining their Doctor of Medicine, M.D. or Doctor of Osteopathy, D.O.
Dr. Orth received his medical degree in 1988 from KCU where he studied osteopathic programs including anatomy physiology and the musculoskeletal system. When he graduated from medical school, Dr. Orth said — at that time — he wanted to become an orthopedic surgeon.
KCU’s branch of orthopedic medicine is partnered with Research Medical Center, which is where many medical course graduates — including Dr. Orth — go on to complete their residencies. At Research Medical Center, Dr. Orth said this primary site for orthopedics has the same vision as his faculty for the pursuit of excellence in orthopedic surgery.
Dr. Orth has now served as the program director for Research Medical Center’s orthopedic residency for the past 13 years and additionally rotates shifts at North Kansas City Hospital, which is now also referred to as NKC Health.
This orthopedic boot camp, which Dr. Orth pioneered for KCU, is now in its fourth year. Originally, this training program operated through the American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics (AOAO). However, it is now an annual event hosted by KCU.
Dr. Orth shared that, while KCU was the first institution to offer this programming, there are only four other universities across the U.S. — including those in Ohio and Florida — who offer this specified hands-on training for medical students. Of those four, KCU remains the only institution within the midwest to hold this camp.
To qualify for selection, individuals must be third or fourth year medical students as KCU requires camp attendees to have initial knowledge of orthopedic medicine, which is taught during the first and second years of medical school.
Throughout its 48 hours, KCU’s boot camp goes over what they refer to as the “basics” of an orthopedic rotation. This includes anywhere from repairing broken bones to trauma cases and arthritis in joints. A separate section is additionally offered on pediatrics.
Dr. Orth said it is the hands-on experience, which is offered at this boot camp, that is so imperative for aspiring medical professionals to physically hold instruments and participate in many procedures they may encounter.
This is achieved through lab set ups, where participants are taught, and have the opportunity to practice incisions, stitches and dealing with trauma cases, which include inserting screws and plates to repair and stabilize broken bones. For extremity injuries, the process of stabilization of broken bones by splinting or casting is also practiced at this boot camp.
“I’m [always] just eager to teach, to see the curiosity within the student,” Dr. Orth said in an interview. “When they walk into a lecture versus when they leave, a ready, more relaxed person comes out. That may be the next person taking care of me.”
While groups of medical students have had the opportunity to practice these procedures at KCU’s orthopedic boot camp for the past four years, one new element was added this year: simulation goggles.
These goggles place students in an operating room and create a virtual reality of a surgery. In this simulation, it allowed them an opportunity to fix a patient’s broken bones, and other procedures.
“We want [the boot camp] to be a safe place for students to ask any question and we won’t judge,” Dr. Orth said in an interview. “We want to take the fear out, to set up a nice foundation for [students] to do well on their rotations.”
While this camp lasts just two days, Dr. Orth shared that as many students are seeking a residency in some area of the medical field, those who participate in the boot camp have an opportunity to interview at KCU for their residency, where they would complete their work at Research Medical Center.
This was the case for KCU First Year Resident Cameron Sprong, who also completed medical school through KCU and attended the boot camp.
“It’s a great opportunity for medical students to learn the big picture of orthopedics; It’s hugely beneficial,” Sprong said.
Sprong shared that this hands-on experience he gained as a boot camp participant continues to influence his current work as a resident.
“The experience with tools, implants and tactive drills, it helps to better understand what the surgeon is doing and lets you struggle with it,” Sprong said.
While the simulation goggles were not a feature available for Sprong, they are an additional facet, which he said play an important role in a medical student’s repetition and practice.
“They can see the patient, if they look the other way, they can see the operating tables; they can work through the case from start to finish,” Sprong said. This is particularly important, he shared, so that when these students are in the operating room as residents, it won’t be their first time moving through the steps.
Sprong is currently completing his residency at Research Medical Center, and although he is still deciding what kind of doctor he wants to become, he currently works in trauma orthopedics including hip and wrist and said he enjoys hand orthopedics.
Orthopedic Surgeons Inc. — an independently-owned, 14-member physician practice in Kansas and Missouri who has fully supported orthopedic education for the last 54 years — assisted KCU and Dr. Orth in organizing and leading this bootcamp experience.
“KCU is a great sponsor institution,” Dr. Orth said. “All students have to do is show up, we just want to teach them and help them on their journey.”
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