Dr. Levine- I am a current PGY3 considering pursuing a fellowship in Shoulder/Elbow. I have heard many negative remarks about obtaining fellowship training in this field because of the significant overlap from other fields. Particularly I've been told Sports-trained surgeons will be "taking" the shoulder arthroscopy cases and the Trauma-trained surgeons will be "taking" the complext shoulder/eblow trauma. This leaves the shoulder/elbow surgeon with mainly arthroplasty cases- which are less common surgeries overall, I assume. I would really like to pursue an academic career but I'm concerned about being able to get a job because of these remarks. Are these concerns valid in your mind?
You are reporting some commonly discussed misconceptions about the 2 specialties. It is very true that shoulder and elbow graduates who go into academic positions are sometimes met with some resistance by the "sports" faculty because they feel there may be some turf battles. However, shortly after a shoulder/elbow trained fellow arrives the concern typically goes by the wayside because most Sports fellowships (there are some notable exceptions of course) do not have the same training as a dedicated shoulder and elbow fellowship (complex rotator cuff surgery including tendon transfers; primary and revision shoulder arthroplasty; trauma of the shoulder and elbow; primary and revision instability surgery including bone defects; etc....).
It is hard to generalize of course and it is critically important to realize that ultimately the job one obtains is very "situational" - some years there are many academic jobs and other times there simply are not. Our experience echoes that of the other shoulder and elbow fellowships in that our graduates typically obtain dedicated shoulder and elbow positions - not sports positions with shoulder and elbow emphasis.
Let me know if you have any other questions regarding this provocative topic --
Dr. Levine:
Is there any site that posts jobs for shoulder and elbow positions. Currently a shoulder/elbow fellow. Gone through couple of journals and internet but found maybe two or three. Thanks
No site of which I'm aware. Usually it's "word of mouth" and academic programs will contact fellowship directors, etc...
However, if there is a geographical area you're interested it never hurts to send your CV and cover letter to the Chairman of programs in that area - sometimes that may spur some interest in recruiting - --
