The CORE Institute Trauma Fellowship is a 1-year program accredited by the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA). The program is in partnership with faculty from the University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix as well as Banner University Medical Center.

Trauma Faculty

Dr. Niloofar Dehghan
Program Director – CORE Orthopaedic Trauma Fellowship Program
Chief of Trauma – The CORE Institute

Dr. Michael McKee
Chair of Orthopaedics – University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix

Dr. Brock Walker
Banner University Medical Center

Operative Experience

The fellow spends about 4 days/week in the OR. The primary hospital is Banner University Medical Center, where the fellow spends the majority of their time. There is also opportunity to work at Banner Desert Medical Center, and the CORE Specialty Hospital.

One of the benefits of the CORE Trauma fellowship is the volume and breadth of cases. As the only trauma fellow, our fellow has the ability to choose which cases he/she wants to partake in. We cover all aspects of trauma, and our fellows are exposed to a wide variety of trauma cases: upper extremity (clavicle, humerus, elbow, forearm, distal radius); lower extremity (hip, femur, tibia, plateau, pilon, ankle, foot); pelvis/acetabulum; as well as non-union, malunion, and infections.

Our fellows operate with the assistance of residents, with staff supervision. There is minimal observing and the focus in on a hands-on operative experience. There is a graduated autonomy, and as the year progresses the fellow will have more independence and autonomy based on their competency and difficulty of the case.

Our fellows routinely log over 1000 CPT codes per year, well over the minimum number mandated by the OTA. Below is the list of case logs for our fellow from 2021-2022 academic year is listed below.

There is also opportunity for the fellow to have exposure to non-trauma cases, such as arthroplasty (hip, knee, shoulder), upper extremity (shoulder/elbow), and sports. Each of our trauma surgeons also have a side elective practice, which the fellow can be involved with.

Our fellows learn not just about operative techniques, but also how to “run a room”. The fellow is responsible for his/her OR, and will learn management of the room and how to expedite and better facilitate OR resources.

Clinic

The fellow will attend a minimum of half clinic day per week per OTA guidelines. The clinic is where you will learn about indications for surgery, as well as post-operative rehabilitation protocols and management.

Call

The fellow will partake in fellow call, one weekend per month, and 1 day per week. As the fellow progresses, she/he may be able to take independent call in the second half of the program, based on their competency.

Research

The expectation is that the fellow will complete a research project during their fellowship, and present their results at the University of Arizona Orthopaedic Research Day. There are research personnel to help with research ethics board applications and study start-up. We recommend our fellows to have an idea of the research project they are interested in, so we can apply for REB as soon as possible and have this ready in time for their fellowship year.

Education

There are a number of educational activities the fellow will be involved with:

• Trauma rounds every day from 6:30-7:30am with the trauma team, including residents, medical students, fellows, etc. Here we discuss the surgical cases for the day (indications, technical aspects, etc), consults overnight, and review operative x-rays from the day before.

• Didactic orthopaedic lectures by one of the faculty – Thursday mornings

• Journal club – Monthly, second Wednesday of the month

• Trauma Fellow Journal club/case discussion – Monthly, fourth Wednesday of the month

• Grand rounds by a visiting professor – Quarterly

• Cadaver labs – Quarterly

Candidate Requirements

To obtain a medical licence and hospital privileges, candidates need to have completed their residency in the United States or Canada. Therefore, at this time we are unable to accept applicants who have completed their training at other international programs.

Our fellowship programs are for candidates who are dedicated to learning the best orthopedic care and are motivated to deliver superior patient outcomes and strive to pioneer the future of orthopedic research. The organization also continues to be a leader in payor-reform initiatives and at the forefront of systems-based quality initiatives that drive value across health care organizations. For any questions please contact fellowships@thecoreinstitute.com.