Program Description

Our program is a one year ACGME accredited fellowship for applicants who have completed a residency in Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, or Pediatrics and who desire indepth training in Sports Medicine and musculoskeletal issues with the goal of sitting for the Sports Medicine CAQ examination.

Goals

The ultimate goal of our program is to develop a well-rounded primary care sports medicine physician who can confidently care for all aspects of the athlete or active individual. This care may begin at the time of the pre-participation physical, at the time of injury, such as in the athletic arena, or any time thereafter and progress through the evaluation, diagnosis, and non-operative treatment of the individual. The graduate will have a clear understanding and be able to distinguish between the appropriateness of non-operative and operative care. The physician will be able to guide treatment including rehabilitation protocols to maximize the individual’s ability to return to pre-injury function. At the completion of the fellowship the graduate will be clinically competent in diagnosing, managing medical illnesses and injuries related to sports activities and exercise, and implement prevention programs. These programs will encourage overall healthy lifestyle choices including good eating habits, proper weight maintenance, exercise, and injury prevention programs.

The key components of our program include:

Knowledge

• Integration of basic science incorporated through daily patient care and teaching, labs, lectures, rotations and self-learning
• Patient Care: Patient evaluation in a variant of settings, i.e., office, ER, on-field, training room, etc.
• Health promotion and prevention
• Sport-specific issues
• Medical legal and ethical aspects of exercise and sports
• Interpersonal and communication skills
• Self-evaluation and improvement
• Professionalism

Skills

• History and physical examination
• Medical management of the athlete
• Pre-participation evaluation
• Rehabilitation
• Prevention

Experience

The fellow will have a wide exposure to injuries and appropriate treatment. This exposure will include clinic time with primary care sports medicine attendings involved directly with the program and all subspecialities of orthopaedics including: Hand and elbow, shoulder, spine, hip, knee, cartilage, pediatric, foot and ankle. During the subspecialty rotations they will rotate in their clinic and observe in the OR giving them a full comprehensive care of the injury. They will also have the opportunity to rotate through a number of other specialties such as rheumatology, cardiology, physiatry, EMG, rehabilitation and radiology. The specific rotations will expose the resident to specific injuries involving that specialty and the appropriate history taking, examination, appropriate imaging needed, diagnoses, treatment, and follow up. They will acquire the knowledge and confidence to know when the athlete can return to play.

The fellow will have direct opportunity to evaluate injuries on the field, training room, and in the clinic. The fellow will be assigned their own high school team with supervision of the primary care sports medicine attending. They will also be involved in the care of athletes at all levels from the pediatric, adolescent, college, and professional level. The fellow will be required to participate in preparticipation physicals at all levels of athletic skill. They will participate in mass event coverage and develop the skills necessary to provide this type of coverage after graduation.

Conferences

The resident has the opportunity to participate in conferences including: Primary care sports medicine conference that includes presentations from the primary care sports medicine attendings and subspecialists on primary care sports medicine issues (for example, exercised induce asthma, the diabetic athlete, heat illnesses, etc.). The fellow will also be responsible for developing talks and sharing them with this group. This will allow the fellow to develop their presentation skills. The fellow will participate in a dissection program with the Orthopaedic Sports Medicine fellows (4). Other conferences include Orthopaedic sports medicine conference, orthopaedic grand rounds, spine conference, primary care specialty grand rounds and journal club.

The Rush Experience

The Rush Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship Program is based at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, thus providing hands on learning from an institution committed to excellent professional development, research, clinical skills and outstanding patient care. The fellow will have access to a wide variety of physicians during his/her training as well as state-of-the art equipment and resources. The fellow will participate in a variety of sports coverage providing diverse exposure to sports injuries and illnesses. Additionally, Rush provides team coverage for the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Bulls, Rush Arena Football, Chicago Steel, Chicago Force, Women's Professional Roller Derby, Chicago Bandits, Hubbard Street and River North Dance Companies, Trinity University Athletic Program as well as local high school team coverage.

Our program’s inaugural year is 2006-7, offering one fellowship position annually. The academic year is August 1st through July 31st, thus allowing time for the fellow to move and get acclimated to Chicago. The fellow’s salary is commensurate with a PGY-4 level. Medical and disability insurance are provided. Housing is not provided. Parking is provided. Twenty days of vacation/meeting/ interview time is allowed. Our program participates in the Match.