Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship Curriculum

The Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship at Wake Forest School of Medicine is designed to enhance an individual's skills in sports medicine by gaining experience in a variety of settings which include:

Clinical training
Procedural tests
Coverage at various facilities including Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem Dash and more
Didactic and teaching through weekly and month conferences and clubs
Dedicated research curriculum to further enhance the training experience

In addition to having a dedicated ultrasound for the program, fellows also have access to:

Center for Experiential and Applied Learning
Carpenter Library
Fellow office library

Clinical Rotations

Sports Medicine fellows have the opportunity to gain additional training during on-site sports coverage in a variety of settings which include:

Sports Medicine Clinics

Sports Medicine Clinics at the Family Practice Center
Sports Medicine Clinics at the Medical Plaza-Miller
Sports Medicine - Stratford
Wake Forest University (WFU) Training Room
Winston-Salem State University Training Room
Family Medicine Continuity Clinics
WFU Health and Exercise Science
Assistance in the Operating Room
University Student Health
UNC School of the Arts Training Room
Orthopedic Subspecialty Clinics (Sports Medicine, Hand/Upper Extremity, Foot/Ankle, Hip, Spine)

On-site Sports Coverage

Electives

Electives in many diverse areas are available to help a fellow expand on an area of interest or to improve an area of weakness,including:

Electives usually occur one half-day per week for one to three months. Fellows are encouraged to use the many resources available in the School of Medicine.

On Call Responsibilities

Fellows will follow a call schedule with the student health clinic at Wake Forest University throughout the academic year. Fellows will usually be on call 3 to 6 nights per month from 5 pm to 8 am.

Conferences and Didactics

Fellows will be responsible for participating in the following conferences and didactic sessions:

Annual American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) Fellows Research and Leadership Conference
Annual AMSSM meeting
Ultrasound workshop
Weekly didactic sessions held each Wednesday
Weekly sports medicine noon conference held each Friday
Journal club
Southeast fellows conclave

Research Opportunities

Active participation and an interest in learning is a must, and involvement in clinical research is encouraged.. Time and supervision are available to produce at least one major publication or scientific presentation in the field of sports medicine.

Primary Care Sports Medicine fellows in the Department of Family and Community Medicine are actively involved in clinical research and are expected to produce at least one major publication or scientific presentation in the field of sports medicine.

Fellows have easy access to the research director, epidemiologists and research assistants to gain further insights into research design and statistical analysis. One half-day per week is set aside for research and scholarly activity.

Registration and travel is provided for each fellow to attend the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) Research Workshop for Sports Medicine Fellows. This national conference on research techniques and experimental design occurs early in the fellowship year.

Fellowship Research Opportunities

The fellowship program provides ample opportunities in diverse areas for ongoing research, including:

Clinical research and applied sports medicine at all levels, for example, little league, high school, college and professional levels
Basic research opportunities and ongoing research available in physiology of sports injuries
Kinesiology-research opportunities at Wake Forest University Biomechanics Lab
Rehabilitation research available through both the physical therapy department and Wake Forest University athletic trainers
Graded exercise testing for several studies and community programs at Wake Forest University Department of Exercise Science

Research Highlights

Concussion Biomarker Study

"Geno-metabolomic biomarkers for post-concussion symptoms" - In this translational study, involving investigators from Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist's Bioengineering, Physical Medicine and Rehab, Pediatric Neurosurgery, Family Medicine and Sports Medicine, we aim to take a geno-metabolomics approach, with a particular emphasis on fatty acid metabolism and the fatty acid desaturase (FADS) gene to identify novel biomarkers that are associated with post-concussion symptoms.

GID BIO

The Sports Medicine Section and Atrium Health WFB were selected as one of several clinical sites for an FDA-compliant clinical trial measuring the safety and efficacy of GID BIO’s cellular therapy for knee osteoarthritis. Dr Sparks serves as PI for this study and Drs. Thornton, Lintner, and Miles are co-investigators along with colleagues in the Department of Orthopedics. The study will assess whether stromal cells isolated from adipose tissue utilizing GID’s SVF-2 technology platform are effective in the treatment of knee OA. The overarching aim of these endeavors is to identify additional treatment options to help patients better manage symptoms associated with knee OA.

HITS

The imaging Telemetry and Kinematic (iTAKL) modeling study relates head motions during hits in youth and high school football to neurocognitive and imaging data to determine effects of sub concussive and concussive head impacts, and true incidence of cognitive and objective imaging changes.

Dr. Rosenbaum is involved with implementing an Athletic Training in Youth Football organization as part of our iTAKL efforts.

NCAA-Department of Defense (DoD)

Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem State University joined the NCAA-DoD CARE Consortium in the summer of 2016. The Concussion Assessment Research and Education (CARE) Study involves completing baseline concussion assessments on all athletes before their first official practice as well as post-concussion assessments on athletes that sustain a diagnosed concussion during the year. Wake Forest University is led by primary investigator and team physician Christopher Miles, MD and PI and team physician, Laura Lintner, DO, leads the study at Winston-Salem State University.

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