Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship

Program Overview

Positions: 2 fellows; Emergency Medicine and Primary Care
Duration: 1 or 2 years, July 1st through June 30th
Stipend: 4 or 5 PGY level
Location: Vanderbilt University Medical Center

The Vanderbilt Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowships are ACGME accredited.  We offer two fellowship experiences based on your residency training experience.

  • Emergency Medicine / 1year.
  • Primary Care and PMR/ 2 years.  During the first year of our two-year primary care sports medicine fellowship program, you will participate in:
    • Treating patients one day a week in your primary care specialty
    • Research 
    • Rotations in sports & pediatric orthopedic surgery 
    • Sports Team coverage

In your second year, you serve in a faculty position as a clinical instructor and also participate in:

  • One day a week in Pediatric Sports Medicine
  • Two clinic days a week as a Sports Medicine Attending at Vanderbilt Student Health & Vanderbilt Orthopedic Institute
  • Two days a week in elective rotations with hand, foot and ankle, and hip surgeons
  • Research
  • Sports Team Coverage

Primary Care Sports Medicine Clinical Training 

As a fellow, you’ll work closely with faculty and staff at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, rotating through pediatric and adult orthopedic sports medicine clinics with non-surgical and surgical faculty. Our faculty include orthopaedic specialists in all aspects of musculoskeletal care, and primary care faculty from all disciplines (Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine and Physiatry).  During your rotations, fellows will receive a broad range of training from surgical and non-surgical faculty, including:

  • The diagnosis and treatment of pediatric and adult musculoskeletal conditions
  • The diagnosis and treatment of medical sports medicine conditions
  • Rehabilitation of injuries in the office and training room
  • Interpreting ImPACT neurocognitive tests through the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center
  • Musculoskeletal ultrasound following the AMSSM, AIUM, and ESSR guidelines
  • Online learning courses and supplementary instruction on ECG interpretation in athletes
  • Sideline Medicine through our Vanderbilt Sideline Medicine Pre-Season Preparation course for physicians, physical therapists and athletic trainers 
  • Nutritional guidance
  • Wellness and performance optimization

Primary Care Sports Medicine Team Coverage

Our fellows treat athletes in the training room and clinic from all levels of sport including recreational, high school, collegiate, and professional.  In addition, fellows gain experience providing sports coverage at a wide variety of events, including:

  • Community sporting events such as:
    • Country Music Marathon
    • Iroquois Steeplechase horse race (medical care for jockeys)
    • Music City Half Marathon
    • SEC Cross Country races
    • Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association State Wrestling Championships
    • Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital Youth Triathlon
  • High School Football
  • NCAA Athletics
    • Vanderbilt University athletics (Div. 1 – SEC)
    • NCAA Events in Nashville – SEC Championships, NCAA Basketball & Baseball
  • AAA Nashville Sounds (Milwaukee Brewers Major League Baseball affiliate)
  • Nashville Predators (National Hockey League)
  • Nashville Soccer Club (Major League Soccer)

Primary Care Sports Medicine Research Opportunities

As a Vanderbilt primary care sports medicine fellow, you’ll be expected to complete at least one research and/or quality improvement project. Fellows typically spend one day a week on research. Opportunities include studies in diagnosis and treatment of clinical conditions, concussion management, injury prevention, and musculoskeletal radiology and ultrasound. A special lecture series is offered to train fellows in clinical research and design.  We encourage fellows to:

  • Develop and complete a research project
  • Develop and complete a QI project
  • Submit presentations to and participate in national and regional sports medicine conferences

Primary Care Sports Medicine Conferences

Fellows complete a rigorous weekly, biweekly, and monthly schedule of conferences and workshops.

Weekly Conferences

Combined Sports Medicine Conference
(Wednesdays 6:30am-7:30am)
All fellows and faculty of every discipline of sports medicine attend. Meetings focus on musculoskeletal care as evaluated by the Sports Medicine Board Examination. Faculty strive to teach fellows the essence of sport medicine using evidence based information.

Primary Care Sports Medicine Conference
(Thursdays 7:00am-8:00am)
Fellows and faculty focus on the medical aspects of sports medicine.

Biweekly Conference

Text Review
(Wednesdays 6:00am-6:30am)
Fellows and faculty review texts outside the discipline of sports medicine, including research design, biostatistics, leadership, health care economics, personal financial planning and other topics.

Monthly Conferences

Musculoskeletal Radiology Conference
(Tuesdays 6:30am-7:30am)
Fellows and faculty review educational cases and interpretations of musculoskeletal imaging with the Musculoskeletal Imaging Division.

Research Conference
(Wednesdays 6:00am-6:30am)
Fellows and faculty review the current and future research projects underway within the division

Morbidity and Mortality Conference
(Wednesdays 6:30am-7:30am)
Fellows and faculty review morbidity and mortality and quality assurance projects.

Other Clubs and Activities

Monthly Journal Club
(One Evening/Month)
The Vanderbilt Sports Medicine Journal Club explores specific topics of interest by reviewing the best evidence, and often leads to a formal systematic review of the literature and publication.

Application Process

To apply to our Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship programs, you must first complete an accredited residency program in:

  • Emergency Medicine
  • Internal Medicine
  • Medicine/ Pediatrics
  • Pediatrics
  • Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

Vanderbilt University Medical Center does not have a Department of Family Medicine. As such, we do not accept applications from Family Medicine residents.

To apply:

We accept applications based on the ERAS schedule:

  • Annual application deadline: September 15th
  • Applications are reviewed and invitations for interviews are extended on a rolling basis
  • Interviews are held in Mid-October - Early November annually
  • Interview dates for the current application cycle are: TBA

For more information, contact Karen Shelton, Fellowship Coordinator at karen.shelton@vumc.org or send mail to:

Vanderbilt Sports Medicine
1215 21st Ave South
Medical Center East
South Tower, Suite 3200
Nashville, TN 37232

Fellow Benefits 

In addition to standard PGY-4 or 5 salary and benefits, our fellows have access to:

  • 24/7 exercise facility (free weight/aerobics) within our orthopedic surgery department
  • Office with computer and workspace
  • National and regional sports medicine conference participation, such as:
    • AMSSM Annual Meeting
    • AMSSM Fellows Research Conference
    • Southeast ACSM-Clinical Track
  • Vanderbilt Sideline Medicine Course
  • Readily available orthopedic anatomy cadaver lab on medical campus
  • Vanderbilt-branded clothing

Our Current and Past Fellows

Amber Mounday  

 

 Amber Mounday, MD
Hometown : 
Undergrad : University of Kansas
Medical School : University of Kansas Medical Center
Residency : Washington University of Medicine in St. Louis
 

Past Fellows

Our past fellows Primary Care Sports Medicine fellows and their current positions include:

  • Kevin Bonfield, MD (MedPeds), St. Elizabeth Primary Care, Alexandria, KY, 2020-2022
  • Zachary Krumsick, MD (EM), Sound Physicians, Pittsburg, KS, 2020-2021
  • Beaux Grantier, MD, (EM) SouthLake Orthopedics; Birmingham, AL 2018 – 2019
  • Jared Willard, MD, (MedPeds) Vanderbilt Sports Medicine; Nashville, TN 2018 – 2019 
  • David Neblitt, MD, (Peds) Hughston Clinic; Nashville, TN 2017 – 2018
  • Jason Williams, MD, (EM) Physicians Urgent Care; Nashville, TN 2017 – 2018
  • Josh Hellums, MD, (EM) Blanchfield Army Hospital 2016 – 2017
  • Ashlee LaFontaine, MD, (Peds) Vanderbilt Orthopedics; Nashville, TN 2016 – 2017
  • PJ Bourke, MD, (EM) Sentra Healthcare; Virginia Beach, VA 2015 – 2016
  • Paul Meirick, MD, (Int Med) St. Cloud Orthopedics; St. Cloud, MN 2015 – 2016
  • Kevin Dabrowski, MD, (EM) Deceased 2014 – 2015 
  • Ryan Kelln, DO, (Peds) Children’s Hospital of LA; Pasadena, CA 2014 – 2015
  • Kelly Chain, MD, (Peds) Pediatric Orthopedic Specialists; Orange, CA 2013 – 2014
  • Cheyenne Wiseman, MD, (EM) Kaiser Permanente; Sheboygan, WI 2013 – 2014
  • Christi Colbenson, MD, (EM) Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 2012 – 2013
  • Katie Rizzone, MD, (MedPeds) University of Rochester; Rochester, NY 2012 – 2013
  • Doug Connor MD, (Peds) ThedaCare Orthopedic Care; Appleton, WI 2010 – 2011
  • Asley Karpinos, MD, (MedPeds)Vanderbilt Sports Medicine; Nashville, TN 2011 – 2012
  • David Liddle, MD, (Int Med) Intermountain Healthcare; Logan, UT 2009 – 2010