Primary Sports Medicine Fellowship

Department of Medicine

John P. DiFiori, MD, FACSM, FAMSSM, Chief, Primary Sports Medicine Service
Sameer Dixit, MD, Fellowship Director
James J. Kinderknecht, MD, Associate Fellowship Director

Duration: 1 year (July 1–June 30)
Stipend: $96,216.26 per annum/benefits (subsidized housing also available)
Positions: 2 ACGME-Accredited
Location: Hospital for Special Surgery
Contact: Jeff Jean-Pierre, 212.606.1556, jeanpierrej@hss.edu

Goals and Characteristics

This one-year fellowship is ACGME accredited and designed to offer the fellow clinical experience and expertise in the recognition and management of athletic injuries. Throughout the year, the fellow will work alongside 18 Primary Sports Medicine attendings gaining broad exposure to sports medicine including injury prevention strategies, injury evaluation and diagnosis, restoration of function through rehabilitation and other nonsurgical means, and the role of a team physician. Additionally, the fellow will have the opportunity to work with the Sports Medicine Service attendings and interface with the sports medicine fellows to acquire an even stronger understanding of musculoskeletal injuries and surgical indications. Residents from Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Emergency Medicine are encouraged to apply.

Event Coverage Highlights

The fellow’s sports coverage includes high school, and professional teams with the unique opportunity to work in a variety of team settings with substantial hands-on experiences at all levels.

• NY Giants: including training camp, weekly training room session, game coverage, NFL combine
• NY Mets: including game coverage, spring training in Florida
• St. John’s University Men’s Basketball: training room and game coverage
• Head Team Physician for a NYC high school football team
• Mass event coverage including Lake Placid IronMan, NYC Marathon, Heart Screen New York
• 1 month ski trauma rotation at Killington, Vermont

Curriculum

A fellow’s typical weekly schedule includes:

 

Rotations include:

• Primary Sports Medicine
• Sports Orthopedics
• Women’s Sports Medicine Center
• Pediatric Orthopedics
• Hand
• Foot & Ankle
• Elective time

 

Fellows will also participate in:

• Half day per week of Adolescent Care Clinic in the Department of Pediatrics at New York Presbyterian Hospital (Cornell Campus) - Primary Care Continuity Clinic requirement
• PSAL Clinic: High school football injury clinic
• Acute Musculoskeletal Care Clinic
• A robust ultrasound curriculum which includes didactic instruction, hands on training and a cadaveric lab
• Weekly one on one instruction in radiology with an experienced MSK radiologist

Faculty

The fellow will work alongside the largest Primary Sports Medicine Service in the country.

 

The faculty have varied interests and numerous distinctions including:

• Team physicians for the NY Giants, NY Mets, NY Knicks, NY Rangers, NY Liberty, and the Westchester Knicks
• Team Physicians for USA Basketball, USA Volleyball, US Biathlon, and USA Lacrosse
• Founding Member and multiple Past-Presidents of AMSSM
• Program Chair of the 2016 AMSSM 25th Annual Meeting
• Numerous “Top Doctor” recipients
• NBA Physician of the Year
• Founder of the Ironstrength workout
• Director of Sports Medicine for the NBA
• Authors of many published books

The fellow will also have the opportunity to work alongside the Sports Medicine Service and sports medicine fellows.

Didactics

• Fellows Conference - Weekly small group setting directed at Primary Sports and Sports Medicine fellows.
• Musculoskeletal MRI Reading Conference / CORE Lecture Series – Weekly academic conference for the Sports Medicine Service that involves advanced imaging didactics, case presentations, literature review, and discussion regarding management strategies.
• Primary Sports Medicine monthly didactics covering case presentations, lecture topics, and journal club.
• Lectures and training sessions throughout the year for MSK ultrasound training to include a skills lab.
• Professional and academic development lecture series at Cornell Medical School.
• Physical Exam lecture series

Research

• Fellows become involved in ongoing studies of the Primary Sports Medicine Service and have the support to begin a project of their own.
• The expectation for fellows is to submit a research abstract and case abstract to the AMSSM Annual Meeting.
• Current areas of research include: marathon running injury prevention, bone stress injuries, vitamin D deficiency, cardiac screening in Olympic athletes, and comparison of hyaluronic acid preparations.

Conferences

The fellow will have the opportunity to attend:

• Annual AMSSM National Conference and Pre-Conference Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Workshop
• ACSM National Conference, or a conference of the fellow’s choice at the discretion of the fellowship director

How to Apply

• HSS participates in the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) for its fellowship application process. HSS participates in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP).
• Please note: the program is listed under the Sports Medicine (Pediatrics) section (ACGME ID #3333512014) on the ERAS website.
• Residents from Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Emergency Medicine are encouraged to apply.
• Applications are due by October 1, 2024. All applications will be reviewed at that time, and invitations for interviews will be sent by October 15, 2024.
• Interview date: Saturday, November 2, 2024.

Benefits

• Duration: 1 year (July 1 to June 30)
• The Housing and Parking Coordinator in Human Resources is available to assist residents and fellows who are interested in obtaining housing through HSS. HSS does not guarantee housing for fellows, however, to date we have always been able to provide housing assignments to all interested fellows.
• For more information about HSS housing policies for fellows, including size, price and location of available apartments, and move-in/move-out dates, please contact the Housing and Parking Coordinator at 212.606.1350 or jesness@hss.edu.

Resident Elective

We offer a two-week observership with the Primary Sports Medicine Service for PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents seriously interested in pursuing a sports medicine fellowship at HSS. During your rotation, you will have the opportunity to work with several faculty members from the Primary Sports Medicine Service, as well as possibly attend sports coverage events with the current fellow based on schedule availability.

We receive a high number of applications for this opportunity and, unfortunately, have limited capacity as we want to ensure that each rotator has a high quality and personalized experience. Applications are accepted through September 1st of each academic year. Thereafter, all applications are reviewed by our education committee and the applicants will be offered potential dates for rotating based on availability. If interested in applying, please email your CV, a brief personal statement explaining your interest in a career in sports medicine, any specific interests you may have within the field to Jeff Jean-Pierre at jeanpierrej@hss.edu. We do not offer rotations during the month of July.

Contact Us

If you have further questions about the fellowship and/or application process, feel free to contact:

• Sameer Dixit, MD (Program Director) at dixits@hss.edu
• Jeff Jean-Pierre, 212.606.1556, jeanpierrej@hss.edu

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