A new study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery reported around 90 percent of orthopedic graduates are going into some type of fellowship training, with sports medicine being the most common specialty. The researchers collected surveys from 310 surgeons in the United States who had been in practice for around nine years.
The survey participants were alumni of 113 orthopedic sports medicine programs across 16 states. Here are five key findings from the study:
1. The participants considered fellowship very important for knee and shoulder surgical procedure decision-making.
2. The fellowship had a greater impact on nonoperative treatment for the shoulder than the elbow.
3. The surgeons found fellowship significantly more important than their residency for determining these factors:
• Surgical equipment
• Implants
• Braces
4. The respondents were less comfortable treating multi-ligamentous knee injuries, posterior cruciate ligament injuries and shoulder instability with bone loss.
5. The researchers recommended fellowship-trained sports medicine surgeons consider seeking additional training in the treatments they weren’t comfortable with.
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