This one-year Fellowship, sponsored by the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Children’s Hospital and TriHealth Hand Surgery Specialists is for residents seeking certification in hand surgery and microsurgery. Established in 1987 by Peter J. Stern, MD, it underscores his strong commitment to education which is a fundamental value of the physicians and the attending staff. Starting in 2018, the fellowship will broaden the pediatric exposure with the transition to a new fellowship director, Kevin J. Little, MD. Dr. Stern will continue to have an active role in surgical and clinical education with fellows at both University Hospital and the Hand Surgery Center.
Designed for Orthopedic and Plastic surgeons who have completed their residency training, the Fellowship is divided into six 2-month rotations during the fellowship year.
The Fellowship is accredited by the ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education). An accredited fellowship is a required component of the Certificate of Added Qualifications in surgery of the hand. This certificate is the medical establishment’s imprimatur for doctors aspiring to the hand surgery specialty.
Our Fellowship has a broad educational curriculum and a clinical experience for three fellows. There is exposure to 14 faculty members, all with a CAQ in hand surgery. Faculty expertise varies from general hand and trauma, to microsurgery, pediatric, brachial plexus, peripheral nerve and complex trauma and reconstruction. As fellows become more experienced in the management of hand and upper extremity problems, they are given increased responsibility.
Fellows learn through a large volume of exposures to surgery (approximately 5,000 cases annually) as well as exposure in the outpatient clinic (approximately 40,000 visits annually). They attend several weekly conferences, have exposure to two visiting professors and attend a combined meeting with the Louisville and Indianapolis hand groups. They are on call every fourth night.
Fellows are challenged to contribute to the advancement of Hand Surgery through anatomic and clinical research, and to present their findings at scientific meetings. Upon completion of the program, we expect that participants will have completed a manuscript that can be submitted for publication in a peer review journal.
Our goal is to provide a comprehensive education in hand and upper extremity surgery. We anticipate that our Fellows will devote the majority of their practices to this specialty and become active members of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand.
The following principles make up the core of our philosophy:
Our physicians must know the “why,” and not just the “how,” of hand surgery.
Hand surgery is a science that must be thoroughly understood in order to provide the highest quality patient care.
That learning the art of diagnosis and conservative non-surgical management is as important as mastering surgical techniques.