Didactics & Educational Opportunities

Education is one of the many strong points of the fellowship program. The Spine Fellowship is home to world-class orthopedic surgeons that are leaders within their respective subspecialties. Other surgeons travel great distances to hear many of them speak, whereas the residency program has the benefit of frequent interactive educational experiences with these same people. Conferences and lectures are held throughout each week in various formats on a wide range of topics.

In addition to the weekly conferences and lectures, fellows have the ability to improve their surgical technique and anatomical understanding through wet lab experiences. Cadavers are available for anatomic dissections and labs are held multiple times each year.

Finally, at all points throughout the year, fellows are encouraged to attend orthopedic spine courses organized by such entities as the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, AO Spine, NASS, etc. Funding for travel is available.

Education, experience and opportunity create a well-rounded Spine Fellowship Program providing exceptional training and graduates who have ranked highly as competent orthopedic surgeons in all spine sub-specialties. Listed below is the current overview of the spine fellowship curriculum from 2013-2014.

Didactics and Educational Opportunities: Monday evenings

1. Cervical Spine Anatomy: Edward Goldberg, MD
2. Thoracolumbar Anatomy: Gunnar Andersson, MD
3. Spine OITE questions: David Fardon, MD
4. Craniocervical and high cervical spine injuries, Kern Singh, MD
5. Low cervical spine injuries: Howard An, MD
6. Thoracolumbar spine injuries: Frank Phillips, MD
7. Low lumbar spine and lumbosacral injuries: Christopher DeWald, MD
8. Spinal cord injury: Christopher DeWald, MD
9. Basic science of intervertebral disk: Howard An, MD
10. Lumbar herniated disk and spinal stenosis: Gunnar Andersson, MD
11. Cervical herniated disk and spinal stenosis: Edward Goldberg, MD
12. Congenital and Juvenile scoliosis, Christopher DeWald, MD
13. Adolescent and adult idiopathic scoliosis: Howard An, MD
14. Spondylolisthesis: Kern Singh, MD
15. Sagittal plane deformities: Frank Phillips, MD
16. Spinal Tumors: Howard An, MD
17. Spinal Infections and Inflammatory Conditions: David Fardon, MD

Additional opportunities are provided on a service specific basis.