Good luck to everyone in the upcoming Match! While we all hope for good news today, we must realize we wonât all receive it. Itâs a good idea for us each to have a back-up plan, just in case. Despite having almost 20 interviews at top-notch programs last year, I was forced to use my back-up plan, and was relieved to have the opportunity to do a year-long Orthopaedic Oncology Research Fellowship at Penn. I am now putting the word out about my position for the 2010-2011 academic year to hopefully provide one of you with the amazing opportunity I had.
The research position is at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA), and is a one-year salaried full-time research position in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. The fellow participates in entirely clinical Orthopaedic Oncology research with the former chairman, Dr. Richard D. Lackman, and his new partner, Dr. Andrea J. Evenski. There are no clinical responsibilities, but the fellow is welcome to attend morning conferences (daily), Grand Rounds (weekly), sawbones workshops, and social events with the Penn residents. While the primary responsibilities are to the ongoing Orthopaedic Oncology projects (of which there are many!), the fellow is permitted to participate in projects in other divisions of the department. There are also opportunities to take courses and earn a certificate in Clinical Research Training through the universityâs Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, which I did and highly recommend.
In addition to improving your research skills, youâll learn a great deal about Orthopaedic Oncology. Itâs a unique field where you will see cases unlike anything else in Orthopaedics. Many patients arrive in the office scared and leave reassured, either by their benign diagnosis or by the life- and limb-saving options available to them. No prior experience in Orthopaedic Oncology is required and you donât need a strong interest in pursuing it as a career to do this fellowship. Regardless, youâll gain a much better understanding of the field, learning how to recognize the rare musculoskeletal tumors which may present to your practice in the future and how to serve your patients well. The experience will also certainly help you on the OITE! Additionally, your general orthopaedic knowledge will also benefit from working in the department among great teachers and residents.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the fellowship will strengthen your orthopaedic application and be an asset for the rest of your orthopaedic career. I was able to add 10 peer-reviewed journal articles and 12 presentations to my CV by application time this fall (with several additional papers/presentation subsequently). Although I can't yet share my match status for this year, I am the seventh fellow to complete this fellowship and five of the previous six fellows matched into orthopaedics on their second try.
If you are interested in this position then, please fax your CV (include any board scores â official report not required) and a brief statement explaining your interest to 215-829-5060 (Attn: Vincent Moretti) or email the above documents as attachments to [url=mailto]
[email protected][/url]. We'll be accepting applications until 6pm EST tonight. Decisions will be made tonight/tomorrow.
Thanks and Good Luck!
Vincent Moretti
Clinical Research Fellow
[url=mailto]
[email protected][/url]
