I went to a three year program, and I'm absolutely sure I was more prepared to enter the real world than if I would have gone to a two year program. Some ortho cases can be incredibly tough, and going to a longer residency program I was able to do way more cases than if I were at a two year program. These tough cases that you have somebody there holding your hand and walking you through. You don't get that in private practice. You better know how to do those cases. Residency is pretty much like what you put into it, you get out of it. If you just coast along the last 6 months of your residency and don't get anything out of it, that's kinda your fault. What you should be doing is going up to your faculty and picking their brain about what they do in tough situations, how they run their private practices, what equipment they like to use, etc. You should be going out and shadowing in private practices. You should be starting new cases - with the types of things that you still need practice in. You should be in the clinic learning. If you work hard in residency, you can see your finished cases and learn what worked and what didn't work.
