FAQ
An Open Letter to Applicants | Deadline & Interview | Research | Curriculum | Rotations | FAQ
Program Strengths:
The UW Sports Medicine Fellowship is ideally positioned to provide the fellow with a well balanced training experience, which combines excellent primary care sports training with several notable highlights:
- Faculty Leadership:: Our faculty serve on the board of the AMSSM, work with Team USA Track and Field, USA Swimming and Diving, serve as team physicians for UW athletics, and are actively involved in national research initiatives. They are leaders in the field of sports medicine and are excellent mentors to fellows looking to develop skills in both academic and community sports medicine. Under their tutelage, the fellow will become an integral team member of the UW athletic healthcare team and gain confidence in managing the medical problems of the elite athlete.
- Faculty Diversity:The fellowship has 4 full time sports medicine CAQ trained faculty on staff, making it one of the largest fellowship faculties in the nation. 3 of our current faculty a trained in family medicine, while the fourth, Dr. Monique Burton, is residency trained in pediatrics. The program plans to hire a 5th faculty member by the start of the 2008-2009 academic year. Thus the faculty to fellow ratio is 5:1.
- Core Training: By the completion of fellowship training, the fellow will be proficient in such areas as muscuscoloskeletal physical assessment, joint injection, casting and splinting, cardiopulmonary exercise testing, cardiac stress testing, caring for the elite athlete, psychosocial assessment of athletes, team approach to musculoskeletal care, and coordinating mass event coverage. Please visit our curriculum page to review the fellowship curriculum.
- Research: Our program emphasizes research in its curriculum. Current studies include the asssment of sudden cardiac arrest in the athletic setting and assessing ferritin levels in athletes. The fellow is expected to become involved in a research project in his/her year with the fellowship. This project will be supervised by one or more faculty mentor, who provides, guidance, leadership, and advice. There is an option for the fellow to develop an individualized research study or work with a faculty member on ongoing research endeavors. The UW Sports Medicine Fellowship is one of the nation’s best funded research fellowships, and research is an integral part of fellowship training here.
- Speaker Development: Lecture opportunities for the fellow are numerous. The fellow coodinates monthly journal clubs on recent articles in the literature. The fellow is expected to lecture to primary care sports medicine faculty, orthopedic sports medicine faculty, sports physiatry faculty, UW trainers and medical staff biannually at a UWMC Sports Academic Conference. Fellows have frequently presented their and interesting cases at the AMSSM national meeting. There are also opportunities to present topics of research or academic focus at a variety of local and national CME conferences. The fellow is also expected to give talks to medical students at the UW School of medicine and to residents as part of the University of Washington Family Medicine Residency Curriculum.
- Team Event Coverage:The UW sports medicine fellow has plenty of opportunities to cover athletic events. The fellow serves as head team physician at a local high school (Nathan Hale High School), covering all of the team’s football games during the fall season. He/She also serves as head team physician for the University of Washington’s Husky Hockey Team (www.huskyhockey.net). In addition to these responsibilities, the fellow serves as assistant team physician for UW Men’s Varsity Football, Basketball, Soccer, and Women’s Basketball, Soccer, and Volleyball. UW athletes come to see the UW Fellow as one of their primary care providers, someone to whom they bring their injuries, worries, and triumphs.
- Mass Event Coverage: The UW sports medicine fellow also will serve as medical director of the Seattle Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk, where he/she is integrally involved in planning the medical coverage of this event and carrying for nearly 2,500 walkers during the actual event. This is an event of great responsibility and greater reward! The fellow will also assist in covering the Seattle Marathon and the Washington State Wrestling Tournament.
- Musculoskeletal Ultrasound: The UW Fellowship recently purchased a musculoskeletal ultrasound, which will aid the fellow in developing unique skills in the use of this novel and exciting technique in musculoskeletal medicine.
- Education: The UW fellow is expected to attend the AMSSM Research fellows meeting and the AMSSM national meeting.
- Unopposed program: More on this later: The UW primary care sports medicine fellow is the ONLY sports medicine fellow at the UW. There is no competing orthopedic sports medicine fellowship.
- Our Location: Seattle. Seattle has so much to offer; sample some of its best through the Seattle Life link.
Weaknesses:
- Travel: All fellowship rotations do take place in Seattle. However, some of the sites do require a degree of travel. Rotations take place at the UW Hall Health Student Health/ Primary Care center, the UW Neighborhood Northgate Clinic, The Univesity of Washington Intracollegiate Athletic Training Room, the UW Sports Medicine Clinic, Harborview Medical Center, and the University of Washington Medical Center. No site is more than a 15 minute commute from one another, but some travel is required on a daily basis, and having a car is beneficial to fellowship travel.
- Heavy research emphasis (for some applicants): This can be a good or bad attribute, depending on your interest in training. If you are not interested in research, this program may not be an ideal fit for you. Essentially, given the interests of the faculty here and the tradition that the fellowship has developed, the incoming fellow will be expected to become involved in research and a variety of other academic activities
- Multiple EMR’s: The fellow must become adept with 4 medical records during the training year. The EpicCare record serves as the primary medical record for fellowship activities. See below for more information.
What careers do graduates find?
Our fellowship graduates have pursued a variety of careers following their training. Some have gone on to take roles as faculty at our fellowship or other primary care sports medicine training sites. Others have gone to work as community primary care sports medicine clinicians. Still others have joined orthopedic groups. Our fellows have also taken opportunities with professional sporting teams and collegiate athletics, serving as team physicians for the Seattle Mariners, San Antonio Spurs, and local universities (UW, Seattle Pacific University). As you may be able to tell, our fellows have felt comfortable in pursuing a wide variety of career opportunities across the entire spectrum of sports medicine care. We feel that this is a reflection of the diverse and comprehensive training that the UW Sports Medicine Fellowship offers.
Are any curricular changes anticipated in the near future?
No substantial curricular changes are anticipated at this time. However, our faculty are always on the search for other new and informative learning opportunities in which their fellows may participate. In recent years, such opportunites have included courses in musculoskeletal ultrasound, osteopathic manipulation, and faculty development courses.
Are any leadership or faculty changes expected in the next year?
No leadership changes are expected at this time. Dr. Harmon will continue to serve as the fellowship director for the foreseeable future, with Dr. Drezner serving as associate program director as well.
Does the fellowship offer medical student or resident rotations?
The fellowship does offer rotations to externally-rotating residents. The fellowship does not offer medical student rotations.
Does the fellow have an opportunity to teach?
Yes! The fellow is expected to regularly teach others during their training. The fellow will work closely with University of Washington Family Medicine Residents, outside rotators in Sports Medicine, and medical students during the training year, both in clinic and in the lecture setting. The sports medicine fellow does precept residents regularly in their own clinics, providing ample opportunities for the fellow to provide teaching points, mentorship and guidance. The fellow also has an opportunity to teach UW Family Medicine Faculty such techniques as joint injection during their family medicine clinics. On a local national level, the fellow has the opportunity to lecture and present posters at various continuing medical education courses, including the University of Washington’s Advances in Primary Care Conference, The UW Sports Medicine-sponsored CME’s, and the AMSSM National Meeting.
Is the fellowship opposed or unopposed?
Our program is an unopposed proram. The University of Washington does not have an orthopedic sports medicine fellowship. The primary care sports medicine fellow is the sole sports medicine fellow, and the UW orthopedic faculty consider the sports fellow to be their own fellow as well. The orthopedic faculty are excellent teachers and provide invaluable guidance and teaching in musculoskeletal topics.
Does the fellowship use an EMR?
The UW sports medicine fellowship does make use of the EpicCare EMR as its primary medical record. While with the fellowship, the fellow must become facile at using this EMR as well as 3 other EMR’s employed by UW (MindScape, ORCA, CIS), which vary depending on site of practice and training. The EpicCare EMR is utilized at the UW Hall Health Sports Medicine Clinic, the UW Neighborhood Northgate Clinic, and the UW Training Room.
What type of educational support does the fellowship provide?
The UW sports medicine fellowship provides a CME stipend of $1,500. This fund is primarly used for travel to/from medical conferences and CME course fees. The fellowship also provides 5 CME days to be used at the fellows discretion. The fellow is expected to attend the AMSSM National Conference and the AMSSM Fellows’ Research Conference. Information about these conference may be found on the AMSSM’s website.
Does the UW Sports Medicine Fellowship have a residency affiliation?
The University of Washington’s Sports Medicine Fellowship is affiliated with the University of Washington Family Medicine Residency, which is one of the nation’s most prestigious and well-respected family medicine training sites. Fellows will have 2 weekly continuity clinics at the UW Neighborhood Northgate Clinic, the primary continuity and administrative site for the residency.
Does the fellowship participate in the Match?
The University of Washington’s Sports Medicine Fellowship does participate in the NRMP along with other accredited sports medicine fellowships. The match will take place on January 9th, 2008. The rank order deadline for this year is December 19th, 2007. More information can be found at the NRMP website.
How does the fellowship communicate with applicants?
The fellowship accepts the AMSSM Sports Medicine Fellowship application. Once an application has been received (along with at least 1 letter of recommendation) , it will be reviewed and a decision to invite an applicant for interview is made. You will receive a letter inviting you for an interview by mail or email from Sheila Trudeau. Following the interview, you may not receive further communication from the fellowship until after match day. Do not take this as a sign of disinterest. Rather, this is part of the fellowship’s communication policy.
What are the fellowship's application requirements?
At a minimum, the fellowship requests the following information from applicants:
- Completed AMSSM Application
- 3 letters of recommendation (1 from your residency's program director)
- Curriculum vitae
- Personal statement
- Copy of USMLE/COMPLEX transcript
- Copy of medical school diploma & transcript
- Certificate or other validation of all previous training
- Copy of current state medical licensure
Please refer to the Application Information section of this website for more information.
When does the fellowship conduct interviews?
The UW sports medicine fellowship conducts interviews on Wednesdays between late September and early December. Upon receiving an interview offer, you will be offered several interview dates from which to choose. We will do our best to accommodate you, but typically, we can offer only Wednesday interview dates.
Does the fellowship offer accomodations prior to the interview date?
The fellowship does not formally offer hotel accommodation prior the the interview day. However, accommodation may occasionally be arranged in special circumstances, through housing with the current sports medicine fellow.
Is the fellowship accredited through the ACGME?
Yes, the UW Sports medicine fellowship is accredited through the ACGME. Fellows are thus allowed to sit for the CAQ exam in sports medicine following successful completion of this fellowship program. The program is one of the longest-standing accredited fellowships, having achieved this distinction in 1996.
What is the fellowship's vacation allowance?
The fellow is allowed 15 weekdays and 6 week-end days to use toward vacation. Additionally, 5 days are provided for CME purposes.
What is the fellow's salary? What about other Benefits?
The UW Sports Medicine Fellow receives a R4 (4th year resident) salary during their fellowship year. Salary information can be found at the UW Benefits Office Site. The 2007-2008 R4 stipend is $52,944. The fellow does receive benefits including health and dental insurance as part of enrolling as a fellow at the University of Washington. Parking is provided at the UW Neighborhood Northgate Clinic free of cost. However, if the fellow desires to obtain parking at other sites (Hall Health, Husky Stadium, Harborview Medical Center), this is deducted from the fellow’s salary
