Orthopedic Sports Medicine Fellowship | MedStar Union Memorial

The MedStar Health physician team for the Baltimore Ravens football team poses for a photo on the field before a game.

The MedStar Health—Union Memorial Hospital Fellowship Program in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine

MedStar Health - Georgetown University Partnership The Sports Medicine Fellowship at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital and MedStar Washington Hospital Center is one of the fastest growing, well-balanced sports medicine fellowships in the country.

Established in 1978 with a continued commitment to research, it is the only accredited sports medicine fellowship in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C., area.

Fellows train in a thoughtful, multidisciplinary learning environment, learning the art and science of sports medicine—a solid foundation for career success.

Group photo of MedStar Health sports medicine physicians and a sports medicine fellow at Orioles training camp.

Daniel Howgate (fellow) along with Medstar Team Physicians and Oriole Staff.

Learn more about the Sports Medicine Fellowship Program by watching the video below.

Clinical and academic excellence

Three doctors perform a training exercise at MedStar Health. Our program seeks to balance:

High-volume clinical and surgical experiences
Wide variety of team coverage and organizational partnerships
Exciting research and educational opportunities

The program is built on a mentorship-based model. Fellows participate in all facets of their attending’s service. This provides a real-world look at the practice of sports medicine, with meaningful patient follow-up and athletic team coverage.

Learning experiences are centered around direct participation in office practice, hospital, and surgery center operative cases. Responsibilities are increased gradually in a variety of training room and on-field settings.

Our program has had a long and successful record of caring for athletes in the Mid-Atlantic and a growing national reputation. Our fellows are viewed as an integral part of our practice and success, treated as peers, and expected to approach this opportunity in a responsible, mature manner.

Attending physician office hours

Each fellow will accompany an attending and directly participate in office hours, up to two and one-half days weekly.

The fellow will usually have the opportunity to evaluate each new patient, develop a treatment plan, and discuss findings with their attending.

Clinic volumes vary from 30-60 patients daily and include a variety of adult and adolescent patients involved in recreational, scholastic, collegiate, and professional sports.
Operative experience

Each fellow will be directly involved in 500-750 cases each year. This will involve a blend of hospital-based in/outpatient surgery and outpatient surgery center-based procedures.
Athletic training rooms and teams coverage

A wide variety of team coverage experience is a priority. Fellows participate in the care of the Baltimore Ravens and attend NFL Scouting Combines.

They also provide care for the Washington Nationals and attend spring training.

We cover nearly fifteen university programs in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area, including two division I-AA football programs, six division I lacrosse programs, and a number of D-II and D-III sports programs.

We continue to provide care for special events such as the U.S. Junior Track and Field Olympics, the Baltimore Marathon, and the PGA Tour of America.

The fellows take on a wide range of responsibility from working as the team physicians at scholastic and smaller colleges, working in close coordination with supervising staff at university programs, and in a more observational role with the professional athletic teams.
Other rotations

We are excited to report that our fellowship program offers an incredible funded clinical opportunity to spend approximately 3-4 weeks in London (UK)/Marseilles (France)/Hannover (Germany) getting clinical experience with world renowned osteotomy surgeons. The London Osteotomy Center will host our MedStar Orthopedic Sports Medicine fellows for a 3–4-week European advanced osteotomy experience. Tentative plans include 3-4 days in London, UK with Dr. Adrian Wilson, 10-11 days with Dr. Kristian Kley in Hannover, Germany and 14 days with Dr. Matthieu Olivier in Marseille, France. These are approximate times and are subject to change based on case load and surgeon availability.

The policies and procedures that govern fellows at the hospitals apply to these rotations. Evaluations involve the common 360-degree faculty evaluation utilized by the core staff, and the fellow will evaluate their rotation in trimester meetings with their program director and a formal evaluation, which is used at the end of the year. Clinical Rotations are in Baltimore and Washington DC housing is provided at no cost during the DC rotation. The Fellowship Program provides an apartment for the fellow at Residences on the Avenue just a 4 minute walk to the Surgery Center. Click here for a tour- https://www.residencesontheavenue.com.
MedStar Washington Hospital Center
Wiemi Douoguih, MD
Faculty advisor for education and clinical rotation

This rotation with Dr. Douoguih will supplement the fellowship experience with exposure to upper-extremity/throwing injuries.

MedStar Washington Hospital Center is a Level I Trauma Center, providing significant exposure to high-energy multiligamentous knee injuries and knee dislocations.

Fellows are also exposed to a slightly different way of approaching common sports medicine conditions, thanks to Dr. Douoguih’s West Coast fellowship at Kerlan & Jobe and his practice development outside of the hospital.

Goals and objectives

Fellows gain insight and growing proficiency in the musculoskeletal care in the throwing athletes including non-operative care and rehabilitation, arthroscopic, and open surgical interventions for both the shoulder and elbow. Special emphasis is on collateral reconstruction about the elbow.

Fellows gain insight, exposure, and growing proficiency in the diagnosis, clinical workup, emergency, and elective care of high-energy trauma multiligamentous knee injury and dislocation. Special emphasis on surgical technique staging and prioritization.

Fellows gain insight to common sports conditions, which vary from the commonly taken approaches in their Union Memorial experience. Some examples may include all inside fixation on ACL reconstruction and soft tissue arthroscopic latarjet procedures for shoulder revision and anterior stabilization.
Shoulder and sports practice at MedStar Harbor Hospital
Leigh Ann Curl, MD and Milford Marchant, MD
Faculty advisers for education and clinical rotation

Goals and objectives

Fellows gain insight and grow proficiently in the diagnosis and treatment of complex shoulder conditions, such as arthroplasty and restoration procedures for arthritis in the active adult population, massive rotator cuff repair, and complex revision instability surgery.

Fellows gain a different shoulder and elbow approach vs a sports approach to common conditions.
Foot and ankle service, MedStar Union Memorial Hospital
Greg Guyton, MD
Faculty Adviser for education and clinical rotation

Goals and objectives

Fellows gain insight and advance proficiency in common foot and ankle procedures, such as brostrom, reconstruction, and ankle arthroplasty.

Fellows will develop proficiency in the clinical diagnosis of common sports-related foot and ankle conditions.

Our people

A group of faculty members from MedStar Health's Sports Medicine Fellowship Program pose for a photo. They are wearing masks.

Meet Our Faculty

Research

During the year, the fellow is expected to actively participate in the variety of research opportunities available through the MedStar Union Memorial Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and its associated facilities.

The high volume of sports medicine cases present a vast array of clinical materials appropriate for both retrospective and prospective studies. A single independent project is required and other independent and collaborative projects are encouraged.

With assistance, the fellow is expected to:

Identify appropriate research questions
Systematically review pertinent literature
Appropriately design materials, methods, and statistical analysis
Bring the paper to a publishable, presentable peer-review form

Surgical Technique and Technology Laboratory

The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital has a Surgical Technique and Technology (STAT) Laboratory. This facility encompasses nearly 5,000 square feet of space and includes a 2,500-square-foot surgical training area, a conference area capable of seating up to 30 people, and a biomechanics research facility. The laboratory facilities are supervised by Brent Parks, MSc Director of the STAT Lab.

The STAT lab facility will accommodate up to six surgical stations for arthroscopic training courses and up to four surgical tables for training in minimally invasive techniques. This facility is well equipped and staffed to handle all types of surgical training courses. We have six complete arthroscopic towers and a full complement of arthroscopic surgical instruments, as well as a full complement of basic surgical instrumentation.

Live, two-way interactive video conferencing is available between the conference area and the STAT lab, and between these areas and two of our operating rooms. Large flat-screen monitors are located throughout the surgical bays for displaying technique videos. The monitors are capable of displaying the same video at each station or display different videos at each station independently. Thus, a large group can be trained in the same technique, or different techniques can be taught at the individual stations.

The conference area is also equipped with a large flat-screen monitor and a computer for didactic lectures prior to entering the surgical skills area. A reception has space for displaying vendor goods as well as several computer stations with wireless connections. Course participants can monitor travel arrangements, flights, etc. A locker room with shower is available so that course participants and instructors can refresh after the courses.
Research instruction

Janet Yu-Yahiro, PhD, Director of Research, MedStar Union Memorial Hospital Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, instructs fellows in state-of-the-art online and computerized research and learning materials through the Medical Library at the MedStar Union Memorial Hospital. She also provides hands-on instruction in research design and literature critique.
Full-time editorial staff
Full-time specialists help with the research and publication process, in the following areas:

Journal criteria for publishable studies

Appropriate target journals

Manuscript preparation for journal articles, book chapters, and other scholarly efforts

Follow-up and interaction with journal editors and publishers

Proofreading, production monitoring, and maintenance of all publication records
Publications

The MedStar Health orthopaedic surgery faculty are active in research. Their work has been published in the leading orthopaedic journals including Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Current Orthopaedics and Related Research, Arthroscopy, American Journal of Sports Medicine, Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, and Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. View a list of publications from 2024-2025 here.
Equipment and software

Technology accessible through the editorial and fellowship office include a digital projector, laptop computer, scanner, digital camera, and primal picture 3D anatomic software package.
Research funding

All projects are submitted to the Orthopaedic Research Committee for review and approval before initiation. Adequate funds are available for all deserving sports medicine fellowship projects.
Sports injury epidemiology

The Department has an ongoing working relationship with the Injury Prevention Center at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the U.S. Military, and other nationally placed sports and occupational epidemiologists.

Teaching opportunities

Fellows take an active role in teaching other physicians and medical students.

Fellows are responsible for:

Two-hour lab with residents on knee and shoulder
Inservice for athletic training staff (cadaver lab session, Towson University)
Trimester meeting case presentation and local/regional presentation of research efforts
The fellows will be expected to research the topic, provide references, and field questions from the residency staff

Additional teaching opportunities:

Didactic Conference

A joint effort of the Orthopaedic Sports Fellowship training programs at the MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, weekly comprehensive multidisciplinary conferences cover a full range of sports topics. The program is designed according to requirements for graduate medical education in orthopaedic sports medicine as outlined by the ACGME, AAOS, ABOS, AMA, and the RRC.
Lab sessions
A STAT Lab session is held the first Tuesday of every month. Cadaveric labs include:

Meniscal Repair

Elbow Arthroscopy

Articular Cartilage Restoration

Carticel Certification

Posterior Lateral Corner

Meniscal Transplantation

OATS

Clavicle Fracture Fixation

Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction

Posterior Cruciate

Hip Arthroscopy

High Tibial Osteotomy

Fellows also assist residents with basic knee and shoulder and advanced knee and shoulder labs, as well as cutting-edge cadaver labs.
Shoulder and elbow lectures

Fellows attend shoulder and elbow lectures every other week. Topics include shoulder and elbow instability, rotator cuff, arthritis, and shoulder arthroplasty. Combined cases are presented monthly.
Self-directed learning

A major component of learning during the fellowship year will be the fellow’s cumulative portfolio, a repository of self-directed learning activities. It should serve as a foundation for career-long learning habits, a tool for self-assessment, and a means of fellow and program evaluation by the division staff. The fellow will meet with the educational director during orientation week to discuss the portfolio contents and at quarterly division meetings to discuss portfolio progression.
Trimester reviews

Regular trimester meetings bring fellows and core staff together to discuss areas of interest in the program, all fellow evaluations, case presentation, and other issues.

Training locations

MedStar Union Memorial Hospital

MedStar Union Memorial Hospital is a national leader in orthopaedic and spine care. Home to the world-renowned Curtis National Hand Center, the first hospital-based sports medicine program on the East Coast, and one of the top-10 shoulder replacement programs in the country, our specialists are fellowship-trained in hand, foot and ankle, hip and knee, spine, sports medicine, pain management, and physical medicine and rehabilitation. Consistently recognized as a top orthopaedic program by U.S. News & World Report, MedStar Union Memorial was the first in Maryland to earn advanced accreditation from The Joint Commission in spine surgery and shoulder replacement.

201 E University Pkwy.
Baltimore, MD 21218

MedStar Washington Hospital Center

MedStar Washington Hospital Center is the largest private, not-for-profit hospital in Washington, D.C., It houses 926 inpatient beds and is consistently ranked among the nation’s top hospitals in U.S. News & World Report.

110 Irving St., NW
Washington, D.C., 20010

MedStar Georgetown University Hospital

MedStar Georgetown University Hospital is a tertiary referral hospital, the center of most academic activity, and an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. Located adjacent to the medical school, the medical library, and the undergraduate campus, the location encourages intellectual discourse.

3800 Reservoir Rd., NW
Washington, D.C., 20007

MedStar Surgery Center

MedStar Surgery Center is conveniently located in downtown Washington, D.C., We are the first and most experienced freestanding multi-specialty surgery center in the area. Our staff of specialists provide expert treatment and the highest quality patient-centered care in a professional and comfortable environment.

1133 21st St., NW
Building 2
10th Floor, Suite 1000
Washington, D.C., 20036

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