The Pediatric Orthopaedics Fellowship Program at Connecticut Children’s Hospital and the University of Connecticut is a single-year clinical training program that aims to prepare the physician for a career in the operative and non-operative care of pediatric orthopedic illnesses. The Fellowship is based at Connecticut Children’s, the only free-standing Children’s Hospital in Connecticut, and ahistorical continuation of Newington Children’s Hospital, a renowned pediatric orthopedic training facility.

During this year, you will be exposed to Pediatric Orthopaedics in the range of patient management settings, including outpatient clinics, the emergency department, inpatient floors and the operating room. Specific disease processes that will be emphasized during the year include pediatric orthopedic trauma, pediatric spine disorders, neuromuscular disease, foot and ankle disorders, and pediatric sports medicine.

In addition, you will have exposure to an internationally recognized Motion Analysis Laboratory where pathologic gait and human motion will be studied.

The Fellowship is structured on a mentorship model, whereby you will rotate with specific faculty for one to two month intervals, working under their supervision in all clinical settings. You will be exposed to an exhaustive didactic curriculum with a standard lecture series given by the faculty as well as a weekly Indications conference (pre-op/post-op), a monthly Spine conference with neurosurgery faculty, a monthly Morbidity and Mortality conference and a monthly Journal Club. The Fellow is expected to fully engage in didactic opportunities and will be asked to teach residents and mid-levels through formal lectures or in the clinical setting. You will also be expected to complete a clinical or basic science research project at year’s end and will do so under the direction of one of the faculty or in collaboration with the basic science laboratories in University of Connecticut Medical School.

Once you have completed the program, you should leave with a great degree of comfort in recognizing and treating the spectrum of pediatric orthopedic disease processes. The didactic emphasis and the research components will hopefully provide a basis for future research endeavors and inspire a life-long commitment to learning about these often crippling childhood disorders.