Our Post-Residency Fellowship Program
The Hand and Upper Extremity Fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) is a one-year Harvard-affiliated ACGME-accredited post-residency training program. The fellowship is a cooperative effort between the Orthopedic and Plastic Surgery departments with residents from each department forming an integral part of the service.
As part of the fellowship experience, fellows have the opportunity to work with faculty in numerous clinical settings from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC, Level 1 trauma), Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital–Needham (BID Needham), Boston Children's Hospital (BCH), Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates (HVMA), Mount Auburn Hospital (MAH), and Shields Ambulatory Surgery Centers. The fellowship offers a combined and complementary experience with time evenly divided between orthopedic and plastic surgery faculty.
The program begins August 1 and concludes on July 31 of the following year. We participate in the National Residency Match Program. Like with all hand surgery fellowships, the process is highly competitive. Applicant interviews will be held virtually February 10 and 11, 2023. There are three fellowship positions available with selections made irrespective of residency background.
For questions and more information, please email Lori Meady.
Application and Eligibility
Any resident who has completed an orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery, or general surgery residency program is eligible to apply. The applicant must be eligible to obtain a medical license in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and meet all of the credentialing criteria of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and affiliated institutions.
To apply, interested applicants should submit:
-
Universal Hand Application (available on the ASSH website)
- Curriculum Vitae
- USMLE or equivalent
- Medical school transcript
- Four letters of reference, including one from your Program Director
The application deadline is November 15, 2022. Please note, applications that are incomplete will not be reviewed.
The Hand and Upper Extremity Fellowship provides comprehensive and timely training for all hand and upper extremity pathology. There is a focus on diagnostic accuracy and on broad exposure to the full gamut of therapeutic options. There is ample exposure to trauma and post-traumatic reconstruction, treatment of arthritis, including small joint arthroplasty, arthroscopy and management of complex elbow pathology. The plastic surgery experience will include congenital hand and wrist as well as soft tissue flaps and microvascular surgery.
Clinical Rotations and Case Volume
Hand and Upper Extremity Fellows have three basic rotations incorporating faculty in a variety of clinical settings. Each rotation includes time spent with orthopedic and plastic surgery faculty. There are also opportunities for individualized electives. By providing exposure to diverse approaches to upper extremity pathology and creating a close collaborative environment between orthopedic and plastic surgeons, fellows graduate with a broad and innovative armamentarium allowing them to tackle the most complex surgical cases.
Rotations Include
Adult Hand & Upper Extremity Surgery at BIDMC and BID Needham
Hear about this rotation from Drs. Rozental and Harper (video).
Adult Hand & Upper Extremity Surgery at BIDMC and HVMA
Hear about this rotation from Drs. Dolan and Kim (video).
Adult and Pediatric Hand and Microvascular Surgery at BIDMC, BID Milton, and CHB
Hear about this rotation from Dr. Taghinia (video) and Dr. Dowlatshahi (video).
Rotation Schedule
Case Volume
- Each fellow has an independent clinic, supervised by a faculty member, allowing continuity of care throughout the year.
- Fellows operate with graduated independence.
- Over the last 4 years, hand and upper extremity fellows have performed between 800 and 1200 annual cases each.
Fellow Responsibilities, Didactics and Research, and Conference Schedule
Fellow Responsibilities
Fellows are assigned to specific clinic and OR blocks depending on the clinical rotation. The team also includes a junior orthopedic surgery resident and a plastic surgery resident. Fellows are responsible for managing the service, daily rounding and supervising the residents.
Call is shared evenly among 3 fellows and includes BIDMC (level I) and BID Needham (level 3). There are no in-house call responsibilities. The call team also includes orthopedic and plastic surgery residents as well as an attending surgeon.
Fellow Didactics and Research
The Hand and Upper Extremity Service has a robust didactic and conference schedule.
Fellows are required to participate in at least one research project during their training. Presentations and publications are highly encouraged.
Funding is available for fellows to attend a microsurgery course at the start of the year and to attend one professional meeting of their choice.
View our Didactics Schedule.
Conference Schedule
Weekly conference indicated attended by all faculty, fellows and residents.
- Weekly Tuesday Classic article/Modern treatment conference. This forms the core of the didactics with 52 topics spanning the breadth of hand and upper extremity surgery.
- Didactics Schedule
- Weekly Thursday Indications conference.
- Monthly morbidity and mortality conference.
- Monthly Harvard-wide journal club.
- Quarterly cadaveric dissection workshops.
- Quarterly research meeting.
- Annual Arthrex Arthroscopy Lab, Naples FL
Faculty and Recent Fellows
Faculty
Program Director: Tamara Rozental, MD (Orthopedic Surgery)
Associate Program Director: Carl Harper, MD (Orthopedic Surgery)
Other Faculty
Current Fellows
- Andrew Bauer, MD – Residency, University of Pennsylvania, Division of Plastic Surgery
- Gregory Frechette – Residency, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Department of Orthopedic Surgery
- Kevin Zuo – Residency, University of Toronto, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Recent Fellows
2021-2022
- Brent Pickrell, MD, Los Angeles Surgery Specialists
- Jimmy Chan, MD, Sports Fellowship, Rush Sports Medicine
- Brian Schmidtberg, MD, Hartford, CT
2020-2021
- Brian Schurko, MD, Atrius Health Care
- Rikesh Gandhi, MD, Anderson Orthopaedic Clinic
- Swapnil Kachare, MD, MGH PRS Fellowship
2019-2020
- David Colen, MD, Yale School of Medicine
- Brandon Shulman, MD, OrthoConnecticut Coastal Orthopedics
- Amanda Walsh, MD, Icahn School of Medicine Mount Sinai
2018-2019
- Marissa Baca, MD, Straith Clinic, MI
- Hyuma Leland, MD, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, CA
- Jacob Tulipan, MD, Rothman Institute, Southern NJ
2017-2018
- Tracy Webber, MD, Norwood Hospital, MA
- Kevin Han, MD, Phoenix, AZ
- Michael Hendry, MD, Queen’s University, Kingston, CA
2016-2017
- Nicholas Caggiano, MD
- Aviram Giladi, MD, Curtis Hand Institute, Baltimore, MD
- Sammy Dowlatshahi, MD, BIDMC, Harvard Medical School, MA
2015-2016
- Michael Vosbikian, MD, Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School, NJ
- Carl Harper, MD, BIDMC Harvard Medical School, MA
2014-2015
- Janet Yueh, MD, Cohen Winters Plastic Surgery, NJ
- Michael Johnson, MD, The Vancouver Clinic, OR
2013-2014
- Michael Lin, MD, Alpine Orthopaedics Medical Group, CA
- Olukemi Fajolu, MD, Less Institute, FL
Diversity Statement
The Harvard Hand Fellowship at BIDMC program believes that diversity is integral to excellence, and refers to the variety of personal experiences, values, and worldviews that arise from differences of culture and circumstance. Such differences include race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, language, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, socioeconomic status, and geographic region, and more. The aims of diversity are to broaden and deepen our experience in all areas of learning and work that support our mission of improving the health of the public. For the aims of diversity to be fully realized, the institutional culture must be one of inclusion, where all individuals are valued and honored, and resources and opportunity are distributed equitably and without undue bias. We embrace these values and seek such diversity in our fellowship applicants and faculty.
