Morristown Medical Center offers five-year residency and one-year fellowship in orthopedic surgery

MORRISTOWN, NJ (Morris County) – Atlantic Health System’s Morristown Medical Center announced Monday that it has established a comprehensive medical education program comprised of a five-year orthopedic surgery residency and one year fellowship in Adult Reconstruction.

Both programs will be led by James C. Wittig, MD, Chairman of the Department of Orthopedics, Morristown Medical Center and Medical Director, Orthopedics and Orthopedic Oncology, Atlantic Health System and Associate Program Director, Ellen Dean, MD, Chief of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery, Morristown Medical Center and John Dundon, MD, Chief of Adult Reconstruction, Morristown Medical Center.

They will offer a comprehensive and fully immersive curriculum that includes clinical training in orthopedics, didactic learning and extensive patient care experience, ensuring the future quality of orthopedic medicine at Morristown Medical Center.

In 2022, more than one million total hip and knee replacements were performed in the U.S. and that number is expected to double over the next decade.

“Establishing these programs at Morristown Medical Center will enable us to build on our solid foundation, allowing us to welcome new surgeons trained in the highest standards while helping to meet growing patient demand,” said Dr. Wittig. “We are already highly competitive in attracting the finest minds and brightest surgical talent in the country to practice here, and we’re excited to bring this latest offering to the future leaders of orthopedic surgery.”

Made possible by the incredible generosity of Kathleen E. Christie, president of the Women’s Association for Morristown Medical Center, the Christie Family Orthopedic Residency Program recently received Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accreditation and has started recruiting for the July 2023 class. The Christie Family Orthopedic Fellowship is also actively recruiting for its first two fellows who will begin their one-year tenure during the 2024 academic year.

“Kathy Christie’s transformational gift will have a substantial impact on the medical center’s ability to continue to advance medical education in orthopedics,” said Jennifer L. Smith, Chief Development Officer, Foundation for Morristown Medical Center. “The benefit to the hospital and the communities we serve will be far-reaching and we are truly grateful to Kathy for all she continues to do to support ongoing excellence in orthopedics at Morristown Medical Center.”

Morristown Medical Center’s orthopedic department has over 100 active physicians on staff representing nine orthopedic disciplines, including seven fellowship-trained orthopedic trauma surgeons. This past year approximately 11,500 orthopedic surgeries were performed at Morristown Medical Center. Over the next five years, the hospital projects that the number of orthopedic surgical procedures will increase by at least 1,000 cases annually.

The creation of the Christie Family Orthopedic Residency and Fellowship Programs is an essential step in the hospital’s development as a world-class orthopedic center. In New Jersey, a mere nine accredited orthopedic residency programs exist, and only 154 are available across the nation. Of the top 50 orthopedic centers in the United States, all 50 have a robust orthopedic fellowship program. These critical continuing-education initiatives enable the hospital to build a funnel of new surgeons trained to the highest standards who can help meet growing patient demand. The residency and fellowship programs also benefit the hospital’s research efforts and elevate its regional and national profile, as the orthopedic department continues to pursue the best surgical talent to train and practice at Morristown Medical Center and Atlantic Health System.