Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship

A fellowship training program in primary care sports medicine was instituted in 1991 at the University of North Carolina. The program is affiliated with the Department of Pediatrics at UNC and is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Candidates from emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics are considered for the single position offered yearly. The two-year fellowship consists of a junior year emphasizing research and a senior year focusing on clinical sports medicine.

The Section of Sports Medicine at the University of North Carolina is located in the James A. Taylor Student Health Service, which is adjacent to UNC Hospitals. The mission of the section is to provide total health care to the student-athletes at the university and provide expertise in sports medicine to the community and state as well as nationally and internationally. The Student Health Service provides comprehensive outpatient care.

Program Highlights

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has one of the premiere athletic programs, winning the 1994 Sears Cup for all-around success at the Division I level. There are 28 varsity teams and two junior varsity teams. Almost all of the athletic facilities are on-campus. Three training rooms are located on campus next to athletic venues. Fellows have primary team responsibilities for several teams. The majority of student-athlete patient visits are conducted at the Student Health Service located on campus.

UNC Sports Medicine also provides sports medicine coverage for the two high schools in Chapel Hill, and fellows are assigned to one of the high schools as its team physician. The fellow spends one half-day a week at the high school conducting a sports medicine clinic.

Each fellow is required to spend one half-day a week doing primary care. Approximately half of the first year of the fellowship is committed toward research. In the second year, the majority of the fellow’s clinical time will be spent in the sports medicine clinic, and several electives are available. Sports medicine provides the opportunity for seeing a variety of patients in addition to student-athletes, including youth, college students and adult private patients. Teaching to students and residents from several disciplines is encouraged.

Application Process

Those interested in the UNC Primary Care Sports Medicine fellowship may obtain an application online from the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) or by contacting AMSSM.

AMSSM
11639 Earnshaw
Overland Park, KS 66210
(913) 469-6261

The deadline for receipt of application and supporting materials at UNC in Chapel Hill is October 15. Please send the completed fellowship application with supporting materials to:


Bryan W. Smith, MD, PhD
Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Orthopaedics
Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship Director
UNC Student Health Service
CB# 7470
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7470
(919) 966-3655
heelsdoc@unc.edu

This program participates in the primary care sports medicine fellowship match conducted by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). Contact with the NRMP should be made before September 1.

NRMP
2450 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20037-1127
nrmp@aamc.org
(202) 828-0566