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Orthopedic Fellowship in Sports Medicine

The University of Wisconsin Athletic Department
The UW Health Sports Medicine Center
Fellowship Responsibilities
Benefits
Application Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in the Sports Medicine Fellowship at the University of Wisconsin. UW is an excellent place to master sports medicine: we offer exceptional facilities, a large, diversified faculty, plenty of hands-on clinical experience, and one of the best collegiate athletic departments in the nation. The training you receive here will give you the knowledge and skills you need to excel in the field, whether you go on to become a team physician, a sports medicine orthopedic specialist, or a clinical or basic science researcher.

The University of Wisconsin Athletic Department

As part of the NCAA's Big Ten conference, the University of Wisconsin is proud to have some of the most promising young athletes in the country. Badger football, basketball, ice hockey, wrestling - more than twenty sports in all - make UW an exciting place for any sports enthusiast.

The UW Athletic Department provides excellent training facilities for those athletes at the Dave McClain Athletic Facility. Built in 1988, the McClain Center ranks among the top indoor practice and training sites in the nation. The 166,264-square-foot facility has a 90-yard artificial surface field, with a ceiling high enough for kicking; on-site X-ray machines; locker rooms; a weight room; a theater-style auditorium; classrooms and a players' lounge.

More training and practice sites are located at Camp Randall Stadium, the Camp Randall Memorial Sports Center (The Shell), the Nielsen Tennis Stadium, the Goodman Diamond Softball Complex, the Natatorium and Southeast Recreational Facility (SERF), the Kohl Center and the Wisconsin Boathouse. Competition venues include Camp Randall Stadium, the Dane County Coliseum, the Field House and the Kohl Center.

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The UW Health Sports Medicine Center

The nationally-recognized University of Wisconsin Hospital Sports Medicine Center provides evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation of sports-related injuries, as well as injury prevention and rehabilitation seminars for coaches and athletic trainers. Other services available at the Sports Medicine Center include physical therapy, a state-of-the-art fitness center, an aquatic activity center, an athletic training outreach program and a health promotion outreach program.

The medical staff at the Sports Medicine Center consists of three orthopedic surgeons, two pediatricians, a family medicine physician who specializes in sports injuries, 12 certified athletic trainers, three exercise physiologists and a specialized sports physical therapy staff. The Center is located in a new 84,000-square-foot building in the University Research Park; also located there is the Family Medicine Clinic, the Spine Center and a musculoskeletal magnetic resonance imaging facility.

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Fellowship Responsibilities

University of Wisconsin accepts one sports medicine fellow per year, whose responsibilities are focused in four distinct areas:

  •  Clinical Care - you will have the opportunity to examine and treat hundreds of patients in the Sports Medicine Clinic. You will also receive extensive exposure to a variety of sports medicine-related surgical techniques.
  •  Athletic Department Support - By providing supervised and unsupervised game coverage for the University Wisconsin Athletic teams, you will learn how to examine, evaluate, and treat acutely injured athletes.
  •  Education - throughout your fellowship, you will broaden your academic horizons by participating in and leading a number of conferences, lectures and other educational sessions.
  •  Research - you will have numerous opportunities to participate in sports medicine related research. You will also receive support from the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and the Department of Surgery in order to meet the fellowship's research and publication requirements.

Clinical Care

The fellow is an integral part of the outpatient clinical facility at the UW Sports Medicine Center. Together with the attending physician, a physical therapist, and in some cases, an Orthopedic Surgery resident, the fellow is taught how to perform a comprehensive orthopedic examination of sports-related musculoskeletal injuries. Patients who are referred to the clinic's physical therapy department are seen within one to two weeks, making it easy for the fellow to observe the therapists and gain an understanding of the rehabilitation process.

All inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures are performed at the University of Wisconsin Hospital. The sports medicine fellow gains substantial experience in knee and shoulder reconstruction, as well as in general arthroscopic surgery of the knee, shoulder, ankle and elbow.

An attending physician scrubs on all cases and assists the fellow during surgery. In addition to hands-on supervision during the case, sports medicine surgical instruction also includes preoperative discussion, where the fellow and the attending discuss surgical options and appropriate procedures, and postoperative clinic visits, where the fellow learns rehabilitation protocols and evaluates the final results.

Athletic Department Support

The sports medicine fellow helps provide medical services for all University of Wisconsin varsity men's and women's athletic teams. This includes pre-participation physicals and daily evaluation of over 800 athletes in a variety of sports, including football, basketball, ice hockey, soccer, crew, and volleyball. Clinics, staffed by attending physicians and/or the fellow, are
also held in the training room two to four nights per week, depending on the season.

The fellow is the primary orthopedic consultant for soccer, crew, swimming, and cheerleading. He or she also assists in the coverage of all major sports (football, basketball, and hockey), and travels with the football team to all regular season games and bowl games. Game coverage allows the fellow to receive hands-on experience evaluating athletes and managing on-the-field athletic injuries.

Education

The conference schedule for the Sports Medicine Fellowship includes a monthly Journal Club, a bimonthly fellow lecture (mini-talk), individual case presentations, and staff-directed lectures on subjects such as radiology, biomechanics, and rehabilitation.

The mini-talk is designed to give the fellow experience making a short presentation on a particular sports medicine-related subject. These are not formal presentations, although the fellow will be expected to lead a discussion, revise existing handouts, and generate an up-to-date bibliography on the subject matter. After selected mini-talks, assigned individuals present interesting cases to the group for discussion of diagnostic and treatment issues.

Research

The fellow is required to participate in clinical or laboratory research one to two days per week, completing at least one project for publication by the end of the fellowship. Ongoing collaborative projects with the University of Wisconsin Veterinary School, the Department of Physical Education, and our Bioengineering and Exercise Physiology Laboratories provide unlimited
research opportunities.

The fellow has the latitude to select research projects that specifically interest him or her; in order to promote education in the biomechanics and physiology of exercise and associated injuries, the fellow interacts one-on-one with the Department of Orthopedic Surgery's Bioengineer, Biochemist, and Exercise Physiologist. Financial support for these projects is readily available through the Department's Research and Development Fund. In addition, the Department of Surgery provides overall editorial and statistical support as needed throughout the research project.

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Benefits

Stipends

Stipends for house officers at University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics are revised annually and are kept close to the median figures for other university and Midwestern hospitals. The stipend level is based on entrance requirements and any previous training applicable toward the specialty of training. The yearly stipend for the Sports Medicine fellowship is based on the PGY-6 level of training, which for 2001-2002 is $44,232.

In addition to the yearly stipend, the fellow will receive up to $1000 during his or her fellowship year to attend a scientific meeting pertaining to arthroscopy and/or sports medicine.

Insurance

Health: Comprehensive insurance plans are provided at little or no cost to the house officer. Disability: The hospital provides long-term disability coverage at no cost to the house officer. Liability: Professional liability insurance is furnished by the State of Wisconsin for training-related accidents. Life: The hospital offers $25,000 in life insurance at no cost to the house officer. Other: Catastrophic, dental and accidental death policies are also available at group rates.

Leave Policies

Each fellow receives three weeks of vacation and one week of meeting time during the fellowship.

Evaluations

Evaluations of the fellow and fellowship are performed on a quarterly basis. At this time both the fellow and attending physicians complete evaluation forms; these forms are then formally discussed. Through this process, problem areas can be identified and early and dealt with as necessary.

Other Benefits

Full access to the University of Wisconsin's recreational and cultural facilities. Tax-free reimbursement accounts allow deposit of money into medical or dependent care reimbursement accounts through pre-tax payroll deductions. Other discounts and benefits are available through the House Staff Association.

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Application Guidelines

Applicants must have completed a certified Orthopedic residency program, be board-eligible in Orthopedics, and be fully licensed in the State of Wisconsin. To receive more information or an application for the Sports
Medicine Fellowship, please contact:

John F.Orwin, MD
Sports Medicine Fellowship Director
Department of Surgery
University of Wisconsin
600 Highland Avenue, K4/7
Madison, Wisconsin 53792-3228
608-263-5636 or e-mail orwin@surgery.wisc.edu

We look forward to hearing from you!

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First published: 07/15/02 Last updated: 08/27/08 webmaster@surgery.wisc.edu
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