University of Toronto Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Fellowship
Overview
The University of Toronto Orthopaedic Sports Medicine (UTOSM) Program is comprised of a core group of teaching hospitals that are fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. All attending staff have an official appointment in the Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine. The home base for the UTOSM clinical and research program is at Women’s College Hospital – a state of the art ambulatory center with a strong academic focus. Additional affiliated hospitals include Hospital for Sick Children, Mount Sinai Hospital, St. Michael’s Hospital, Sunnybrook Hospital, Michael Garron Hospital, and the University Health Network. The UTOSM fellowship is offered to graduates of an accredited Residency Program who wish to pursue further subspecialty training in the field of Orthopaedic Sports Medicine.
UTOSM offers an Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Fellowship with a wide range of tertiary referrals. Upper limb cases include shoulder/elbow arthroscopy and reconstruction with some arthroplasty. Lower limb cases include hip arthroscopy, primary/revision ACL, multiligament knee reconstruction, cartilage restoration, ankle arthroscopy, and pediatrics. One of the strengths of our program is the training the fellows receive by working with our group of diversely-trained faculty. There is also opportunity for the coverage of amateur, collegiate and professional sporting events including the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, National Ballet of Canada, Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC, and Toronto Blue Jays.
Staff
- Dr. John Theodoropoulos
Fellowship Director, Assistant Professor (WCH, MSH)
Special interests: shoulder, knee, articular cartilage, clinical research - Dr. Daniel Whelan
UTOSM Program Director, Assistant Professor (WCH, SMH)
Special Interests: knee, hip arthroscopy, knee dislocations, clinical epidemiology research - Dr. Darrell Ogilvie Harris
Professor (UHN)
Special Interests: shoulder, knee, ankle, education, stem cell, clinical research - Dr. Jihad Abouali
Lecturer (MGH)
Special Interests: general sports, knee, shoulder, collaborative research - Dr. Jaskarndip Chahal
Assistant Professor (WCH, UHN)
Special Interests: shoulder, knee, clinical epidemiology research - Dr. Tim Dwyer
Assistant Professor (WCH, MSH)
Special Interests: shoulder, knee, education research - Dr. Paul Marks
Associate Professor (Sunnybrook Hospital)
Special Interests: knee, articular cartilage and ACL research - Dr. Aaron Nauth
Lecturer (SMH)
Special Interests: shoulder, knee, trauma, basic science and clinical research - Dr. Christian Veillette
Assistant Professor (WCH, UHN)
Special Interests: shoulder, elbow, MSC in tendon repair, informatics, IT, and clinical research - Dr. Patrick Henry
Assistant Professor (SHSC)
Special Interests: shoulder arthroscopy, elbow reconstruction, clinical research. - Dr. David Wasserstein
Assistant Professor (SHSC, WCH)
Special Interests: complex knee, foot & ankle, trauma, clinical epidemiology, injury prevention. - Dr. Sebastian Tomescu
Lecturer (SBK)
Special Interests: knee, osteotomities, patella femoral instability, biomechanics research - Dr. Timothy Leroux
Assistant Professor (UHN, WCH)
Special Interests: Arthroscopic shoulder surgery and shoulder replacements, and elbow reconstruction; research in clinical epidemiology, outcomes research, and health systems research
Rotation Structure
There are 8 fellowship positions each consisting of 3 four-month rotations. The rotations can be a mix of Upper and Lower Extremity cases or more focused depending on requests and availability. The actual rotations will be assigned close to the commencement of the fellowship. Applicants are asked to indicate if they have a particular request/interests.
Requirements for Appointment
Candidates must have successfully completed an Orthopaedic Residency Program in an accepted, accredited Training Program in North America. Foreign fellows are accepted if they have completed comparable Orthopaedic training, as determined by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.
Application Requirements: CV, 3 letters of reference, letter of intent with research interested and completed UTOSM application.
The Attending Surgeon(s) of UTOSM, the Heads of the Divisions of Orthopaedic Surgery, the hospital surgeon-in-chief and the University divisional fellowship coordinator must approve candidates.
All Fellows must be approved by the University of Toronto and must qualify for licensure with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (go to www.cpso.on.ca for details). Foreign Fellows will require a work visa. This will be processed by the University of Toronto and requires approximately 12 months lead-time.
Foreign Fellows must provide evidence that their medical training was completed in English or must successfully pass the TOEFL with a minimum overall score of 93, as well as a minimum score of 24 on the speaking portion.
Deadline for Application
Fellows must apply by December 1 (18 months preceding the August 1 start date).
Length of Fellowship
The Fellowship Program is twelve months in duration commencing on August 1 and ending on July 31of the following year. The opportunity for a two-year masters or PhD research fellowship encompassing both a clinical and fundamental research year is available upon request for Canadian fellows.
Duties
Patient Care
Fellows are expected to attend outpatient sports clinics and become competent and autonomous in the evaluation of upper and lower extremity sports-medicine related disorders. They will also assist in the pre-operative, intra-operative and post-operative care of the supervisor’s patients, as well as, assist in the evaluation of in-patient, outpatient and Emergency Department consults referred to the supervisor. Finally, it is expected that fellows will assist on the hospital ward and didactic teaching responsibilities of the Division of Orthopaedics at each hospital and work in a timely fashion with other house staff attending to patients in the Emergency Department.
It is understood that the above responsibilities will not interfere with the Orthopaedic Residency Training Program of the University of Toronto but will, rather, complement and reinforce the teaching of residents. Fellows often add an external perspective to teaching at each hospital.
On-Call Responsibilities
Canadian fellows are anticipated to contribute towards general Orthopaedic trauma call. Call coverage will not be more than 1:4 (home call).
Didactic Rounds
On the first Tuesday of every month, UTOSM hosts cross city orthopaedic sports medicine rounds. A full curriculum in arranged at the beginning of the academic year. Fellows will be asked to present 1-2 rounds over the course of the year. On the third Tuesday of every month, primary care sports medicine rounds are hosted by Dr. Doug Richards and are important to improve the fellow’s understanding of the management of non-operative management of sports medicine related disorders.
Fellow’s rounds are conducted once every three months in a nearby venue as a dinner meeting. In this forum, fellows present interesting cases which are discussed by faculty and fellows. The objective is to stimulate learning, create discussion, and facilitate camaraderie.
Professors rounds are held monthly on the second Monday at 6pm. This will consist of a formal presentation by a designated fellow of a timely topic.
University Rounds
Fellows are encouraged to make themselves available for many Orthopaedic, and city-wide educational opportunities offered through the University of Toronto.
Teaching
Fellows participate in the educational endeavours throughout the rotation. They are expected to participate in the teaching activities for medical students, residents and allied health professionals. In particular, fellows will be asked to be involved with OSCEs, teaching orthopaedic residents in the surgical skills lab, and going over didactic sessions using Orthopaedic Knowledge Update as a curriculum guide.
Research
Research is a mandatory requirement of the fellowship. At least two published papers are considered the minimum expectation of our fellows, many fellows achieve far more than this. Fellows are also expected to present their research at a national or international orthopaedic meeting.
Fellowship day
In June of each year there is a fellowship day help by the Division of Orthopaedics. Each fellow will be expected to present their research. A prize is awarded for the best paper.
Cadaver labs
There will be a two-day cadaver bio skills program. The day will be a resident teaching session with all fellows attending as supervisors. Following the departure of the residents, advanced procedures will be carried out by staff and fellows.
Remuneration (Canadian-Trained Fellows)
Canadian Fellows will be self-funded through assist fees and call fees billed to OHIP. Furthermore, the billing fellows will contribute 25% of total billings to the Academic Enrichment Funds of the respective hospitals at which the billings took place.
Remuneration (International Fellows)
The UTOSM fellowship program will guarantee a minimum salary of $75,000.00 CAD per annum.
Vacation and Meeting Time
Fellows are granted four weeks’ vacation per year which includes one week of Professional leave is given to attend a conference. Vacation should be coordinated well in advance to ensure appropriate coverage. The Division may reimburse academic conference/registration fees as well as travel/hotel expenses up to $1000.00 maximum if the fellow is involved with a poster or paper presentation.
ALL REQUESTS FOR LEAVE MUST BE SUBMITTED IN WRITING AT LEAST FOUR WEEKS IN ADVANCE.
Program Evaluation
An in-training evaluation will be undertaken by the Supervisor for each Fellow every 4 months and on completion of their program. Fellows also need to complete an evaluation of their Supervisor. Upon successful evaluation and program completion, fellows will receive a hospital-based certificate of completion and be eligible for a University Faculty of Medicine fellowship certificate.
Contact
For further information on the University of Toronto Orthopaedic Sport Medicine Fellowship opportunity, please contact:
Attention: Program Administrator
Email: utosmfellowship@utoronto.ca
