The UPMC Central Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program, established in 1972, offers a comprehensive five-year training experience with continued accreditation by both the ACGME and AOA. Located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the program provides comprehensive surgical training for 5 residents per year for a total of 25 residents.
The majority of the education that residents receive is at our three main hospitals (“P3 hospitals” ) which includes Harrisburg Hospital, Community General Osteopathic Hospital, and West Shore Hospital.
The program is lead by Dr. Timothy Ackerman, DO, FAOAO, FAOA, FAAOS, who completed his residency with the UPMC Central-PA program (1999-2004). He then completed Sports Medicine fellowship in Philadelphia where he worked with the Philadelphia Eagles Football Team and the Philadelphia Flyers Hockey Team. He became the program director in 2010. In addition to Dr. Ackerman, over 70% of the attending surgeons in the program have completed this residency program. This allows an intimate relationship with the attendings of the program who can easily relate to many of the experiences of the residents in the program.
Residents gain extensive experience in general orthopaedics and subspecialties, including sports medicine, hand and upper extremity, foot and ankle, spine, adult reconstruction, trauma, pediatric orthopaedics, and orthopaedic oncology – all of which are provided within our P3 hospital system . The program also features an on-site orthopaedic clinic, run by residents and supervised by attending orthopaedic surgeons, offering weekly outpatient care
Affiliations with major tertiary care facilities enhance the training experience, with rotations at institutions such as Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, UPMC Presbyterian, UPMC Mercy, and Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. These partnerships provide residents with diverse clinical exposures in pediatric orthopaedics, trauma, musculoskeletal radiology, and plastic surgery.
Beyond patient care and operative experience, the program prides itself in a strong academic curriculum featuring daily resident and/or attending led didactics as well as monthly subspecialty journal clubs. The residents also frequently engage in skills labs as well as a yearly cadaver lab to further their surgical skills. The program has also begun using virtual reality technology from PrecisionOS to enhance hands-on learning. Through the use of VR headsets, residents can simulate surgical environments and select practice cases. This software also features detailed anatomical models as well as their interactions with surgical instruments.
In addition, the program celebrates a 100% board pass rate over the past 20+ years. Through the program’s commitment to academic advancement, a strong foundation of knowledge is built, and this allows the residents to perform their clinical duties with utmost confidence.
Graduates of the program have successfully secured fellowships at prestigious institutions including, but not limited to, Harvard University, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Cleveland Clinic, Duke University, and the University of Pittsburgh. The fellowships have been completed in various subspecialties such as adult reconstruction, spine, sports medicine, trauma, hand and upper extremity, foot and ankle, orthopedic oncology, and pediatric orthopaedics.
The UPMC Central Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program emphasizes a commitment to academic excellence, clinical proficiency, and compassionate patient care, fostering an environment that encourages lifelong learning and professional development. By the end of training, each resident graduates with the ability to practice competently and independently.
