Oregon Shoulder & Elbow Fellowship
Patrick J. Denard, MD, Program Director
Matthew Nugent, MD
Cameron Phillips, MD
2780 E. Barnett Rd.
Medford, Oregon 97504
Phone: (541) 779-6250
E-mail: pjdenard@gmail.com
Website: https://oregonshoulder.com/shoulder-fellowship/
Duration: 1 year (August 1 to July 31)
Number of Fellows: 2 fellows per year
Location: Oregon Shoulder Institute, Medford & Grants Pass, Oregon
Fellowship Description:
Based in Southern Oregon, the mission of the Oregon Shoulder & Elbow Fellowship is to train shoulder and elbow specialists who will be experts in their field and help advance both the quality of shoulder and elbow care as well as the field of shoulder and elbow surgery.
The fellowship provides exposure to the field of shoulder and elbow under the guidance of Drs. Patrick Denard, Matthew Nugent, and Cameron Phillips.
https://oregonshoulder.com/patrick-denard-md/
https://oregonshoulder.com/cameron-phillips-md/
https://www.oregonortho.com/provider/matthew-nugent-md
Our goal is not only to help train the future shoulder and elbow specialists of the world, but also to help the fellow grow as a person and have life-long relationships with the fellowship program.
Operative and Clinical Experience:
The fellow will participate in over 600 cases per year. As the regional referral area, a high variety of cases are seen despite being in a non-academic center. The exposure includes advanced shoulder arthroscopy techniques including an in-depth exposure to the management of massive rotator cuff tears. Approximately 300 total shoulder arthroplasties are performed per year as well as approximately 50 fracture cases (proximal humerus, clavicle fractures, humeral shaft fractures, etc.). The fellow will gain exposure to elbow, particularly trauma and instability. An opportunity is also provided to gain exposure to knee surgery if desired.
Fellows rotate in 3 month blocks spending time with Dr. Denard, followed by Drs. Phillips and Nugent, and then repeating so that they spend approximately 6 months with each faculty member. The work week is Monday-Friday consisting of 1.5 days of clinic, 0.5 research days, and 3 surgical days. Over the year the fellow will progress in independence with the goal of acquiring the clinical and operative skills necessary to be an expert in the field. Clinic includes exposure to ultrasound for assessment of the rotator cuff and injection techniques. Call is 1 weekend per month at a level 2 trauma center with a physician assistant taking primary call. There is opportunity to take additional call for pay.
The practice setting is private practice at the Oregon Shoulder Institute and Southern Oregon Orthopedics where the fellow will learn practice management as well as how to establish a research program in private practice if desired.
Weekly indications conferences are conducted as well as monthly shoulder conferences (a mix of case-based conferences and evening journal clubs). The fellow is provided fully funded opportunities to attend 2 national shoulder conferences.
Research:
We believe that research is an important part of both the educational process and central to the mission of the fellowship. Clinical outcomes are collected in an electronic database and several research projects are ongoing both within the Oregon Shoulder Institute and as part of multi-centered studies with national and international sites providing access to prospective data with over 2000 patients. An on-site research coordinator facilitates data collection. The fellow is provided with dedicated research time and expected to complete at least 2 research projects during the academic year. Although the fellowship is private-practice based, fellows who desire academic positions will be well-qualified in this pursuit as they will have ample opportunity to perform more research as our institution contributes to an average of 25 publications per year. Examples of our publications can be found here:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=denard+pj&sort=date&size=100
Salary and Requirements:
The fellowship is funded through the Southern Oregon Orthopedics Research Foundation. A salary of $65,000 is provided as well as benefits and paid support to attend 2 shoulder meetings annually. Note, a full Oregon State Medical license is required to begin the fellowship and therefore international graduates typically do not qualify. J1 Visa sponsorship is not offered.