Welcome to the University of Washington Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship!
Dear applicant,
Thank you for taking a look at our sports medicine fellowship at the University of Washington. My name is Dave Siebert, and I am thrilled to be the program director during a time of exciting growth in the field of sports medicine. Sports medicine physicians are taking on leadership roles throughout the country, in local communities, as team physicians, and as advocates for health and wellness. I am excited to invite you to review this website and evaluate our program as you consider your own fellowship opportunities. The UW Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship trains leaders in the field of sports medicine by emphasizing leadership, providing a robust athletic coverage experience (collegiate varsity and club sports, professional, and high school), developing a robust scholarship foundation, and delivering comprehensive and innovative clinical and procedural experience. We are happy to consider applicants with core training in family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics, and we offer 2 fellowship spots (one FM/IM & one pediatric).
As you consider so many excellent sports medicine fellowship across the country, you’ll be confronted with many different program styles. It can be challenging to navigate the interview trail, and we do not take for granted the effort – both time and financial – that you will put into the fellowship match process. To help you feel comfortable in your decision, I will highlight some of our most notable strengths.
First, fellows at UW benefit from learning and receiving mentorship from renowned faculty members who are truly national and international leaders in the field of sports medicine. Our more than one dozen core faculty members provide a wealth of experience, serving as team physicians for all University of Washington Husky sports, USA Swimming and Diving, USA Nordic and Paralympic Sport, the NWSL’s Reign FC, and the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks. Our group includes two former presidents of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM), one former member of AMSSM’s Board of Directors, medical consultants to the NBA and NCAA, and the head team physician of a Big Ten athletic department. Our collaborations span across institutions and departments with research that involves the study of sudden cardiac arrest & cardiovascular screening, concussion, and athlete mental health. We wish to create a medical home where our fellows take the next step in a supportive yet challenging environment ripe with learning opportunities. Despite all of that, as a former UW fellow (2016-2017), I can attest that the best part of our group is that it truly feels like a family, one that both challenges and supports one another as they develop their careers.
The University of Washington Sports Medicine Fellowship delivers a broad and comprehensive training to its fellows. We have multiple longitudinal diagnostic ultrasound courses, and our fellows routinely graduate having completed hundreds of ultrasound-guided procedures, such platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections, percutaneous tenotomy (Tenex), and peripheral nerve hydrodissections. These procedures are taught alongside such core skills such as the musculoskeletal physical examination, casting and splinting, radiographic interpretation, and joint injections. You will participate in scholarship opportunities alongside some of the most prolific sports medicine researchers in the country. You will be afforded an opportunity to present your research to a national audience and develop a scholarship portfolio that may well drive forward your career.
As a fellow at the UW, you’ll be afforded the opportunity to care for the wounded athlete, the weekend warrior, and the most elite of athletes in this active part of the country. You will care for athletes of all ages, abilities, and interests. You will serve as a co-medical director of mass endurance events such as The Seattle Marathon. These experiences will provide you with the skills and confidence to take on the challenges of your own career.
The UW Sports Medicine Fellowship will prepare you for a variety of careers in sports medicine. Our graduates have gone on to work in both academic and community settings. They now include sports medicine educators, fellowship faculty members, department chairs, collegiate and professional team physicians, and community sports medicine providers. By the variety of careers that our graduates have chosen, it is clear that this fellowship is suited to prepare the fellow for a wide variety of practice opportunities.
A big additional perk to our program is the city in which we live. Seattle is a rare place where big city life comfortably co-exists with the great outdoors. It is a beautiful city of serene and awe-inspiring vistas. It’s a young city, with a palpable pulse where cultural, civic, recreational and professional activities thrive. You’ll find that your patients live very active lives, and they charge you with getting back to those lives as safely and quickly as possible. As you can tell, I am proud of our program, its foundation, its opportunities, and our graduates. I hope that you will give our program a sincere look when considering fellowships. We have much to offer.
Sincerely,
Dave Siebert, MD, CAQSM
Director – Primary Care Sports Medicine fellowship
Director of Sports Medicine, Department of Family Medicine
Associate Professor, University of Washington
Team physician, Seattle Seahawks and UW Huskies