Sports Fellowship Curriculum

Overview

Our comprehensive exposure to all aspects of primary care sports medicine (PCSM) is accomplished by a combination of yearlong longitudinal experiences, focused specialty rotations, didactics and sporting-event coverage. Flexible scheduling allows fellows to pursue personal interests as well as prepare for post-graduate positions. The curriculum is designed to cover all topics included in the ABFM Certificate of Added Qualifications Examination.

Longitudinal experiences

Valley Health Partners Family Health Center (VHPFHC) is a federally qualified health center look-alike located at Lehigh Valley Hospital–17th Street, Allentown, Pa. Here, the fellows will be the primary provider for the weekly sports medicine clinic. Patients are referred by other clinic providers for evaluation of common orthopedic complaints. The schedule is designed to give fellows ample time to perform ultrasound studies on several patients per session. This site is also where our fellows who are trained in family and internal medicine will conduct their primary care clinic hours.

Lehigh Valley Physician Group (LVPG) Orthopedics has offices throughout the Lehigh Valley and employs more than 25 orthopedic specialists, including our core faculty in primary care sports medicine. Fellows will regularly spend time with our six sports orthopedists and three PCSM specialists in the office and the operating room.

Fellows are each assigned to be the team physician at a local high school as well as help at a local college (Muhlenberg, Lafayette College or Lehigh University). Fellows are responsible for conducting a weekly training room injury clinic along with the assigned attending. Event coverage will be spread throughout the school year to include football, wrestling and lacrosse.

Core Rotations

These rotations cover all the specialties within Sports Medicine. Typically, fellows will be in their rotation sites 3-4 half days per week.

Orientation: 4 weeks in July
This initial time frame allows for the Network and Sports Medicine orientations as well as many sessions with the Primary Care and Orthopedic Sports Medicine faculty. There are also more didactics here covering joint exams and commonly encountered conditions.

Orthopedic Sports Medicine: 2 sessions, each 4 weeks
This experience will have the fellow with our 6 Sports Orthopedists, both in the clinic and in the operating room. Some sessions will also be spent with the Trauma Service and the Joint Replacement specialists.

Hand surgery: 4 weeks
Focused experience on the elbow, hand, and wrist with our 2 Hand Surgeons. Time will be spent in the clinic and operating room, as well as the rehab department.

Foot and Ankle: 4 weeks
Time in this rotation is split between our board-certified fellowship-trained Orthopedist and our 2 fellowship-trained Podiatrists in the clinic and operating room.

Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery: 4 weeks
Clinic and operating room time spent with the Lehigh Valley’s only Pediatric Orthopedic surgeon.

Spine: 6 weeks
This multifaceted experience is divided between our Orthopedic Spine surgeons and our Physiatrists.  Fellows will gain experience in reviewing imaging and observing/performing EMGs.

Medicine: 6 weeks
This session is comprised of 4 different components: Sports Cardiology, Rheumatology, Concussion Center, and Physical Therapy.

Electives: 4 weeks in January, 8 weeks in May and June
January elective may be used for many experiences that interest the fellow including away electives, Board study, Nutrition, Radiology, or Alternative Medicine.  The May/June elective occurs after the annual AMSSM meeting and is designed to help the fellow gain needed experiences to prepare for their post-fellowship positions.

Didactics

In addition to covering common bread-and-butter topics each week, lectures and workshops are conducted on more obscure topics like Dietary Supplements, Acupuncture, Sports Nutrition, Cycling, Dance Medicine, and Casting and Splinting.

Several conferences are also required including:

• AMSSM Fellow’s Research and Leadership Conference (July)
• AMSSM Annual Meeting (April)
• AMSSM Board Review Course (June)
• York Hospital Sports Psychology Seminar (1 day-March)
• Penn State Wilderness Medicine Conference (1 day-May)

Event Coverage

In addition to covering their high school and college sporting events, fellows will have an experience in professional sports. The Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League are the top developmental team for the Philadelphia Flyers.  Fellows will cover at least 10 home games and assist the medical team in evaluating and treating the players. Optionally, the fellows may travel with the team to away games at Hershey and Wilkes-Barre Scranton and serve as the team physician for the evening. 

Other professional experiences include working alongside the Emergency Department attendings at Pocono Raceway during NASCAR events and with the site physician at the Trexlertown Velodrome for professional cycling.

Sample Week