Shoulder and Elbow Fellowship
The Shoulder and Elbow Fellowship at The Rothman Orthopaedic Institute at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia is considered one of the premier fellowships in the country. An extensive and varied experience is offered in all aspects of surgical and nonsurgical management of disorders of the shoulder and elbow. The shoulder and elbow service manages over 25,000 outpatient visits per year and over 3000 surgical cases per year. Fellows gain a varied experience by rotating through many teaching sites, including Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, The Methodist Division of Thomas Jefferson University, Rothman Orthopaedic Institute Specialty Hospital (ROSH), The Riverview Surgery Center, and PhyCare Hospital, Riddle Hospital.
This extensive clinical experience guarantees exposure to a wide variety of traumatic, degenerative, and athletic injuries. Faculty members are also involved in product and technique development, so fellows can expect to learn the most advanced skills in open and arthroscopic reconstructive surgeries. There are ample opportunities for writing and research and fellows are provided one day each week to pursue these goals. There is also a weekly shoulder and elbow conference, topics including formal lectures, journal club, and interesting case discussions. Candidates must be eligible for employment in the US and a medical license prior to training.
We appreciate your interest in the Shoulder & Elbow Fellowship at the Rothman Orthopaedic Institute and Thomas Jefferson University. To be clear, the primary goal of the fellowship is to provide a superior clinical experience geared towards educating the next generation of shoulder & elbow surgeons. Our philosophy is that optimal surgical training comes from a high volume of surgical experience, diversity of pathology, and faculty who are dedicated to education. Fellows will have hands on exposure to both common and uncommon shoulder and elbow procedures and diagnoses that span the gamut of arthroscopy, arthroplasty, fracture work, and soft tissue reconstructive procedures. We recognize that procedures and techniques will evolve; and so, we aim to teach fellows timeless principles and the ability to critically think both inside and outside of the operating room. The operative experience is supplemented with a robust research and educational program. Fellows are encouraged to take advantage of a research infrastructure that includes multiple databases, research coordinators and fellows, and statisticians. Research projects range from retrospective studies to randomized, prospective clinical trials. Additional education opportunities include a weekly conference, cadaveric labs, and travel to local, regional, and national meetings. From my perspective, we are always hoping to improve our fellowship and to compete with other excellent programs. Because of this, we work hard to implement and embrace changes based on fellow feedback and new opportunities that arise. Lastly, in this fellowship, you will become a member of our tightly knit group of surgeons who love to spend time with their families and have fun at work. We remain proud of all of our former fellows and consider them part of our family. We celebrate this with a biannual meeting of the Phoenix Society (former fellows of the Rothman Orthopaedic Institute, University of Pennsylvania, and Cleveland Clinic). Please enjoy your tour through the website, we hope you find it informative.
Sincerely,
Surena Namdari MD, MSc
Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery
Fellowship Director
Co-Director of Shoulder & Elbow Research
The fellow will gain experience in many procedures, including but not limited to the following:
Shoulder:
Anatomic and Reverse Arthroplasty
Revision arthroplasty
Arthroscopic rotator cuff repair
Arthroscopic rotator cuff repair with graft augmentation
Superior capsule reconstruction
Balloon spacer
Arthroscopic and Open instability operations
Labral / Biceps Surgery
Shoulder arthrodesis
Acromioclavicular and Sternoclavicular reconstruction
Open Tendon repairs
Tendon transfers
Cartilage restoration
Fractures
Preoperative planning software
Augmented/mixed reality technology
Custom and 3D Printed Implants
Elbow:
Tendon repairs
Ligament repair/reconstruction
Primary Total elbow arthroplasty
Revision Total elbow arthroplasty
Elbow arthroscopy
Open elbow contracture release
Cartilage restoration
Fractures
This program consists of four 3-month rotation experiences.
Typical rotation involves 2-4 operative days and 1-2 clinic days per week.
- Clinical Faculty: Drs. Abboud, Austin, Getz, Lazarus, Namdari, Ramsey, Williams
Conferences
- Once weekly Shoulder/Elbow Conference
- Didactic lecture
- Journal Club
- Morbidity & Mortality
- Interesting Cases Research
- Research award given to 1 fellow/year
Protected research time
Research resources
Call
- One in six weeks (Shoulder/Elbow only)
The Rothman Orthopaedic Institute has numerous full-time staff, research fellows, and expanded facilities available for clinical and basic science research. Basic Science section of Orthopaedics is well funded from programs such as the NIH, Department of Defense, and other funding sources. Although, the Shoulder & Elbow Fellows can certainly take advantage of these facilities, majority of the fellows engage in clinical research. The Clinical Research Division, occupying 3000 sq feet space, is particularly prolific, with national prominence at meetings such as the annual meetings of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Shoulder & Elbow Surgeons, the Musculoskeletal Infection Society and numerous other national and regional meetings such as the Eastern Orthopaedic Association and the Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Association. The clinical research division has a full-time biostatistician who can help with the design of studies and subsequent data analyses for manuscript preparation. There is an active clinical trial division that helps with the preparation of the regulatory paper work for the IRB approval and also execution of the prospective studies. There are several databases available for clinic investigations of primary and revision shoulder and elbow arthroplasty. The Shoulder & Elbow Fellows are expected to engage in numerous research projects during their one –year tenure at Rothman. They are encouraged to help in the completion of ongoing studies, and more importantly, to generate their own ideas for investigation that fall under our “themes”. The Fellow is expected to ask clinically relevant questions, design a study to answer those questions, and ensure timely completion of the study. The full-time personnel in research, including research fellows, international scholars, and medical students are active participants in the research process. The Faculty are also very engaged and readily available to provide mentorship. The Fellows are encouraged to submit their work for presentation in various national meetings and expected to ultimately publish their work in high tier journals. The Fellows are provided one protected day per week to allow them to fulfill the research requirements.
All application materials must be submitted through the San Francisco Match program. More details of this process can be found in the following link https://sfmatch.org/.
- Salary is commensurate with a PGY6 level.
- Fellow is provided malpractice insurance, hospital, medical and dental insurance (for self and dependents).
- Four weeks vacation.
- CME allowance for continuing education.
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