Sports Medicine

Curriculum

Although I applied through the traditional ‘shoulder match’, I am eternally grateful that I ended up at Columbia for my fellowship. The wide array of cases, including complex knee ligament reconstruction cases, allowed me to eventually obtain the job I have now. I am currently in a full time academic practice at a level 1 trauma center in an inner-city hospital. I usually do 4-6 multi ligamentous knee reconstruction cases a month. There is no way I would have been ready for this job without my experience during fellowship.

Balazs Galdi, MD
Chief of Sports Medicine
Team Physician, Rutgers University Division 1 Athletics
Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery
Rutgers - New Jersey Medical School
 

Surgical Techniques Conference

Surgical techniques conference is a tremendous learning experience for optimizing surgical technique and takes place every Friday morning in Carroll Conference room. The conference entails a sports medicine fellow or sports service resident to present a recorded surgical procedure step by step. Each step is analyzed by attending staff for effectiveness, efficiency, and "what if" scenarios. Past fellows consider this to be one of the strongest learning experiences of their fellowship for surgical skill development.

Arthroscopy Laboratory

A state of the art arthroscopy laboratory is utilized by fellows to practice surgical technique on cadavers. Four fully functional stations within the lab make it possible for twelve surgeons to work simultaneously. Fellows can engage in perfect practice for surgical skill development that can be applied directly to actual patient surgery.

Core Conference

Weekly didactic lectures covering comprehensive aspects of Primary Care and Orthopedic Sports Medicine are integrated into an organized conference schedule by the Orthopedic Sports Medicine fellows and the Sports Medicine staff. Development of lecture preparation and presentation skills is essential to fellows seeking both academic and private practice careers. Topics will be seasonally-themed to complement fellows game coverage responsibilities. Lectures will have cases included to apply practical knowledge and controversial and emerging concepts will be discussed openly by attending staff and fellows. The result is a tremendous academic foundation for the sports medicine fellow.

Fall Season Topics

  • Concussion
  • Cervical Spine and Neurologic Emergencies
  • Shoulder Instability and Labral Injury
  • Foot and Ankle Injuries
  • Hip, Groin, Pelvic Injuries
  • Shoulder: AC Joint, Scapular, Clavicle
  • Knee: ACL

Winter Season Topics

  • Knee: PCL/LCL/PLC Injuries
  • Knee: Meniscus
  • Tendinopathies
  • Respiratory
  • Infectious Disease
  • Shoulder: Rotator Cuff
  • Endocrinopathies
  • Exercise Physiology
  • Throwing Shoulder
  • Elbow Injuries
  • Regional Anesthesia/Pain Control

Spring Season Topics

  • Articular Cartilage Injuries
  • Patellofemoral Joint Injuries
  • Skin/Dermatologic Issues
  • Lumbar Spine
  • Shoulder/Elbow Problems in Young Throwing Athletes
  • Facial Trauma
  • Female Athlete
  • Hand and Wrist Injuries
  • GI/GU
  • Sports Psychology
  • Rehabilitation and Return to Play: ACL/PCL
  • Rehabilitation: Rotator Cuff and Labral Repairs

Summer Season Topics

  • Senior Athlete
  • Sports Nutrition
  • Sports Medicine Ethics
  • Special Needs Athletes