Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Fellowship

Mission Statement

For over 100 years the mission of Children’s Health has been to “make life better for children”. This is a foundational component of our fellowship and will expand our mission to improve the life of all individuals by providing the best medical care of the musculoskeletal system through orthopaedics and sports medicine, utilizing innovative clinic and surgical technologies, and to improve patient care through education, research, and clinical skill development. It is our goal not only to provide quality orthopaedic and sports medicine care but to educate the next generation of physicians with the common goal of achieving this mission. 

Program Overview

• Program Director: J. Lee Pace, MD 
• Duration: 12 months  
• Positions: 1 ACGME-accredited

This fellowship is designed to provide a comprehensive education with exposure to different types of practice. Between the three clinical sites (Children’s Health Andrews Institute Plano CHAI, Plano Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Center POSMC, and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center UTSW), the fellowship can provide pediatric, adolescent, and adult sports education with case diversity that ranges from routine to complex. Exposure to the core areas of surgical care of sports medicine: knee, shoulder, elbow will be robust and balanced. In addition, the fellow will receive high level exposure to routine and complex care of hip problems. The fellow will be exposed to different practice models; hospital employees/”privademic” model (CHAI), private practice (POSMC), and class academic model (UTSW). The fellows will rotate between the clinic, OR, and field coverage, with all of the faculty members. Multiple faculty members perform more complex surgical procedures that sometimes require inpatient management of which the fellow will have exposure during their educational rotation experiences.  

The fellow will rotate through each clinic site for two months twice during the year. CHAI Plano will be the homebase for the fellow with regards to research as this is where John Abt, PhD, the fellowship research director is located.  

Outreach is an expectation of the fellowship as this will prepare fellows to become an active participant in the care of their local community when they enter practice. Fellows will have the opportunity and expectation to provide sideline coverage for a local high school football team in the late summer and fall each year. The fellow will be the primary point of contact for higher level care of the athletes, with appropriate supervision from faculty. Local high school coverage will be arranged with the outreach team at CHAI Plano. The fellows will have opportunities to work with athletes from professional MLS level soccer (FC Dallas), minor league baseball (Frisco Rough Riders) and all major sports at college and high school levels and recreational athletes outside of the education system.  

The Children’s Health Andrews Institute Orthopedic Sports Medicine Fellowship gives fellows the opportunity to provide orthopedic services in a sports medicine setting with children, adolescents, and adults. The fellowship emphasizes a patient-centric approach to orthopedic treatment and management, providing individualized and specialized care. Upon completion of the one-year, full-time fellowship, trainees will have established a relevant research agenda and be adequately prepared for independent practice in the field of orthopedic sports medicine.