Walter Reed Orthopaedic Residency

Welcome to Walter Reed Orthopaedics! This website serves as a resource for our orthopaedic surgery residency program. We encourage you to explore the site and see what exciting opportunities Walter Reed offers. You will learn how our program is set up to maximize exposure and operative experience in all sub-specialties. You will meet our current residents and find out how and when to do a sub-internship rotation. We will offer some tips and tricks on navigating the military match. And finally, we encourage you to reach out to ask questions and provide any feedback. We look forward to meeting you and training the next generation of world class orthopaedic surgeons.

Chairman’s Welcome
Military orthopaedic surgery has a rich history, and Walter Reed is the flagship institution! I want to personally welcome you to learn more about our premier training program. Our program produces six exceptional orthopaedic surgeons each year who go on to serve our nation's heroes.

The faculty at Walter Reed create an academically-oriented environment to teach residents. They serve as mentors both in and out of the operating room. Residents become a part of a growing and prestigious alumni family. I believe it is the people that set Walter Reed ahead of other institutions, military and civilian.

We pride ourselves in not only creating technically competent surgeons, but also fostering fine military officers. Our physician-officers are compassionate, curious and professional. I am glad you are interested in Walter Reed Orthopaedics and invite you to visit us in Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Robert Tracey, USN CDR
Associate Professor of Surgery
Chair, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

Our History

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), while officially formed in 2011, has more than a century of experience caring for warfighters and their families. The original Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) was opened in 1909 and located on Georgia Avenue in Washington, DC. During World War II, the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) opened in 1940 to serve the needs of the Navy. In 2011, these two storied institutions unified under one roof to become Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The motivation for combining into one health care system was to benefit from shared best practices, economies of scale, and collective knowledge. In addition, Base Realignment and Closure of 2005 recommended the merger to improve efficiency.

Walter Reed Army Medical Center was the U.S. Army’s flagship medical center. Soldier’s from every war from World War I through Operation Iraqi Freedom had been treated there. The namesake, Major Walter Reed, was an Army physician who discovered that yellow fever was, in fact, a vector borne illness and not transmitted through direct contact. In the late 2000’s, care was transferred to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD and the facility at Walter Reed Army Medical Center closed in 2011.

National Naval Medical Center was opened during World War II to better serve the needs of wounded sailors. It was commissioned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938 and opened two years later. Following the merger with WRAMC, it became the site of the current Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Campus. It continues to serve as the epicenter for military medicine; it houses vast amounts of knowledge and medical innovation learned over a century of caring for wounded warriors and their families.