Oregon Shoulder & Elbow Fellowship
Patrick J. Denard, MD, Program Director
Matthew Nugent, MD
Cameron Phillips, MD
2780 E. Barnett Rd.
Medford, Oregon 97504
Phone: (541) 779-6250
E-mail: pjdenard@gmail.com
Website: https://oregonshoulder.com
Duration: 1 year (August 1 to July 31)
Number of Fellows: 2 fellows per year
Location: Oregon Shoulder Institute, Medford, Oregon
Fellowship Description:
Based in beautiful Southern Oregon, the mission of the Oregon Shoulder & Elbow Fellowship is to train shoulder and elbow specialists who will be experts in their field and help advance the field of shoulder and elbow care.
The fellowship provides exposure to the field of shoulder and elbow under the guidance of Drs. Patrick Denard, Matthew Nugent, and Cameron Phillips. A unique international experience is also provided as below.
https://oregonshoulder.com/patrick-denard-md/
https://oregonshoulder.com/cameron-phillips-md/
https://www.oregonortho.com/provider/matthew-nugent-md
Our goal is not only to help train the future shoulder and elbow specialists of the world, but also to help the fellow grow as a person and have life-long relationships with the fellowship program.
Operative and Clinical Experience:
As the regional referral area, a high variety and level of complexity of cases are regularly performed. The exposure includes advanced shoulder arthroscopy techniques including an in-depth exposure to the management of massive rotator cuff tears. The fellowship attendings perform approximately 2000 cases annually, including 600 total shoulder arthroplasties and 75 fracture cases (proximal humerus, clavicle fractures, humeral shaft fractures, etc.). Each fellow will participate in over 600 cases per year.
The work week is Monday-Friday consisting of 1 days of clinic, 1 research days, and 3 surgical days on average. Over the year the fellow will progress in independence with the goal of acquiring the clinical and operative skills necessary to be an expert in the field. Clinic includes exposure to ultrasound for assessment of the rotator cuff and injection techniques.
Call averages 3 days per month at a level 2 trauma center with a physician assistant taking primary call. There is opportunity to take additional call for $2500 per night.
The practice setting is private practice at the Oregon Shoulder Institute and Southern Oregon Orthopedics where the fellow will learn practice management as well as how to establish a research program in private practice if desired.
Weekly indications conferences are conducted as well as monthly shoulder conferences (a mix of case-based conferences and evening journal clubs). The fellow is provided full funding to attend the ASES annual meeting and allowed to attend industry meetings as desired.
International Experience:
Beginning in the 2027-28, fellows will have a 3 week international observational experience in Europe funded by the fellowship program. This provides a unique and valuable opportunity to work with additional a thought leader in shoulder surgery, experience European culture, and observe a different healthcare system.
Research:
We believe that research is an important part of both the educational process and central to the mission of the fellowship. Clinical outcomes are collected in an electronic database and several research projects are ongoing within the Oregon Shoulder Institute. Dr. Denard chairs the ShARC project which is an international multi-centered prospective shoulder arthroplasty database with access to over 4000 patients. Two on-site research coordinator facilitate data collection. Research fellows are also routinely on-site and drive primary data collection. Although the fellowship is private-practice based, fellows who desire academic positions will be well-qualified in this pursuit as they will have ample opportunity to perform more research as our institution contributes to an average of 25 publications per year. On average fellows lead 1 to 2 projects per year but are authors on 15 publications per year, facilitated by collaboration with research fellows.
Examples of our publications can be found here:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=denard+pj&sort=date&size=100
Salary and Requirements:
The fellowship is funded through the Southern Oregon Orthopedics Research Foundation. A salary of $95,000 is provided as well as benefits.
Note, a full Oregon State Medical license is required to begin the fellowship and therefore international graduates typically do not qualify. J1 Visa sponsorship is not offered.