Our program is designed to provide a broad experience in hand and upper extremity surgery, including trauma, post-traumatic reconstruction, arthritis, congenital, brachial plexus, and microsurgery. The fellow is an integral member of a very active clinical service involving surgery, outpatient evaluations, and emergency care. The service is well supported including a full clinical staff and a large ambulatory surgery center. The fellow may choose, according to their desires and goals, whether to be involved in a broad spectrum of elbow and shoulder reconstructive surgery that our service also regularly provides. The fellow is encouraged to engage in research, in either a clinical or laboratory investigation. A dedicated one-week course in microsurgery is provided. Candidates must be board eligible in orthopedic or plastic surgery. Upon completion of the program, the fellow will have achieved a sound knowledge base and competent surgical skills to pursue a comprehensive hand and upper extremity surgery practice.
University of Iowa Hand Surgery Fellowship Facts
Click here for the ACGME Program Requirements
Click here for the ABMS Requirements
Weekly Team Conference
A weekly hand team conference led by the fellow, is held on Thursday mornings. A one-year curriculum using the ASSH syllabus as a guide, is established at the beginning of the fellowship. Two conferences per month are topic based to provide broad exposure to the field of upper extremity surgery. One conference per month is an indications conference and the final week is Hand Journal Club.
Anatomy Dissection
Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation is home of the Buckwalter Arthroscopy and Surgical Skills Laboratory. A cadaveric dissection is performed once a month to support both fellow and resident education.
Orthopedic Conferences
The fellow will attend morning sign out/pass ons and is also encouraged to attend the department’s didactic conference with any hand related topics as well as M&Ms and Grand Rounds. The fellow may be asked to present at the department conference on a specific hand topic a few times a year.
Research
The fellow is required to complete one publishable project during the year. A dedicated Research Assistant assigned to the Hand and Upper Extremity team is available to assist with the project. The Orthopedic Department additionally employs a statistician and epidemiologists to assist with research projects.
The fellow is required to complete one project during the year. There is a dedicated Research Assistant assigned to the Hand and Upper Extremity team to assist with the project.