About the Program

The goal of the fellowship is to provide training in the advanced care of patients with sports related disorders of the knee, shoulder, and elbow. We offer a high volume surgical experience in all aspects of orthopedic sports medicine including ACL reconstruction, multi-ligamentous knee injuries, patellar stabilization, arthroscopic and open shoulder reconstruction, shoulder replacement, and elbow arthroscopy.

The curriculum is designed to give fellows gradually increasing autonomy throughout the academic year. The year will begin working one on one with the attending staff. As the year progresses, fellows will develop their own patient base for which they will be responsible for the diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and return to sport of their patients. Fellows work under the direct supervision of the attending staff with progression of autonomy based on the ability of the individual as determined by the continuous evaluation of the attending staff.

Opportunities for Research

Though, the primary focus of the training is the advancement of clinical and operative skills, each fellow will be expected to participate in clinical, orthopedic research. There are multiple research opportunities available including access to a large ACL registry that is supported by two full time research assistants. A weekly research meeting will be held to follow the progress of all ongoing research projects. Each fellow will be required to complete at least one project during the year and prepare a manuscript suitable for publication.

Weekly continuing education meetings are held throughout the year and cover all major sports medicine topics. The lectures will rotate among faculty and fellows such that each fellow will be expected to give five to six lectures per year. Fellows will also attend a weekly “Case Presentation” Conference” where they will present all of their surgical cases for the upcoming week. Interesting or difficult patients may be brought to the conference to enhance the discussion. The faculty currently attends a monthly journal club and fellows will also take an active role in this meeting and are given ample time through out the year to attend professional meetings.

Team Coverage & Community Work

The philosophy of this fellowship regarding team coverage is to provide a balanced, well-rounded approach to event coverage that will make the fellows proficient and confident in this area without creating an excessive burden on their time. There will be a minimum amount of athletic team coverage required of all fellows. However, if an individual fellow has a particular interest in this area, ample opportunities for additional coverage will be available. The required coverage will include: pre-participation physicals for their assigned high school and for the University of California, Irvine, weekly training room visits, and on the field coverage of football games for their assigned high school. Kaiser Permanente will also be covering a Disney sponsored marathon in the Southern California area and fellows will be expected to participate in this event.

Evaluation and Feedback

Evaluation takes place daily as fellows and faculty work side-by side in all aspects of patient care with opportunity for ongoing informal assessment concerning fellows’ knowledge, skills, attitudes, and professionalism. Quarterly, a formal evaluation of the fellows will be submitted by each faculty member. The results of this will be reviewed with the fellow in a meeting with the fellowship director. This will give the fellows the opportunity to have a periodic update on their educational progress and thus allow them to correct any deficiencies that are identified.

Goals and Objectives

The overall goal of this fellowship program is to provide a highly educational environment in which fellows will become trained to provide the highest quality of patient care. This will include a caring, professional attitude toward patients, accurate diagnoses, and evidence-based treatment of the highest technically quality. It is of the utmost importance of the fellowship director and the faculty that the fellows do not feel that they are here to increase the productivity of the group. The practice currently functions quite well without fellows and the motivation for this program is simply the desire to help train future surgeons. Due to the nature of our practice, the fellows will not provide any financial gain for the faculty and it is our belief that our unique practice structure provides an ideal learning environment.