Pediatric Orthopedics Fellowship

The Pediatric Orthopedic, Sports Medicine, and Spine Institute at Nicklaus Children's provides a one year, ACGME & POSNA-accredited Fellowship in Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery. The program provides a comprehensive exposure to subspecialty areas of Pediatric Orthopedics, including Trauma/Fracture care, Pediatric Sports Medicine, Neuromuscular Disorders, Hip Pathology, and Limb Deformity Correction. There is a strong collaboration with our active Pediatric Spinal Deformity Program. Eligible applicants for the Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery Fellowship Program must have satisfactorily completed an Orthopedic Surgery Residency program accredited by the ACGME.

Curriculum

During the one-year fellowship, the fellows have the opportunity to participate in all aspects of pediatric orthopedic surgery and to work collaboratively with other pediatric surgical subspecialties including a multi-disciplinary approach when required. The fellows will rotate through core subspecialty blocks with the ability to tailor their fellowship to focus on specific interests. The fellowship will prioritize operating room experience while provided ample clinical experience time to ensure fellows become well-rounded graduates. The majority of time will be spent at the main campus hospital and clinic building, but fellows will have the opportunity to gain experience at outpatient clinic locations and the NCH outpatient surgical center. The fellowship curriculum includes weekly didactic sessions led by experienced faculty covering core topics of pediatric orthopedic surgery. The fellow will actively engage in our weekly pre-op/post-op conference where a case-based learning model provides discussion on pathophysiology, surgical indications, strategic preoperative planning, and appropriate post-operative care. Additionally, there is a regular MSK Radiology conference that will expose fellows to cases involving advanced imaging modalities and diagnostic interpretation.

Affiliated prosthetists and orthotists regularly attend orthopedic clinics as well as multidisciplinary clinics. Through a hands-on approach, attendings and ancillary staff will provide fellows instruction on advanced casting and splinting techniques, including clubfoot casting. To encourage continuity of care, fellows will participate in all aspects of patient evaluation and treatment, including outpatient evaluations, inpatient and ED consults, surgical treatment, and clinical follow-up care. They will be exposed to acute and chronic pathology and formulate comprehensive treatment plans.

The fellow will have the opportunity to teach rotating residents in orthopedic surgery from multiple ACGME-accredited affiliated programs as well as educate 4^th year medical students from our main academic affiliate; Florida International University College of Medicine.

In addition to core pediatric orthopedic educational sessions, the NCH GME program provides other educational conferences the fellow may elect to attend.

Research is highly encouraged during the fellowship year. Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education holds a yearly Research Methods Bootcamp for first year fellows in collaboration with the Nicklaus Children’s Research Institute (NCRI). All fellows are also required to complete CITI training which covers the topics of ethics in research among others before being able to submit any IRB application. The Fellow is assigned a research mentor and can seek additional one-on-one training from the research Institute biostatistician. The NCRI provides institutional research support including IRB, biostatistician’s support, data analysts, and grant writers. The fellows are expected to publish and present at national meetings. There is ample material to review, and there is also an institutional collaboration with the Florida International University College of Medicine should fellows have interest in any basic science research. All fellows are trained in Quality Improvement (QI) methods and are expected to complete a QI project.

Learn more about Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and its Pediatric Orthopedic, Sports Medicine, and Spine Institute (pdf).

Meet the Pediatric Orthopedic Team

How to Apply

Pediatric orthopaedic surgery has moved to a single fellowship match day, supervised by the San Francisco Matching Program (SFMP). To participate in the pediatric orthopaedic surgery match, you must register with the SFMP on their website. The registration fees are outlined on the website and vary depending of the number of programs to which a resident applies.

SF Match Website: http://www.sfmatch.org/