Fellowship

PHYSIATRIC SPORTS MEDICINE, SPINE and EMG

Thanks for your interest in the Sports Medicine/Spine/EMG fellowship.  Below is a basic description of the experience with an application. 

Our intent, at this time, is to interview over the summer and try to make a decision in early September. You can come and visit MSU and/or talk with faculty, the current fellows, or faculty at any time, or we can do a video interview.  It is important that you have a good idea what the fellowship is about before you commit for two years of your life.  However, a visit here beforehand is NOT required.

PLEASE NOTE: Beginning in 2014 we implemented changes and our program is currently a 24 month (2 years) program.

• We are looking for a two-year commitment from the fellow. This next fellow candidate will start in July of the current year, and their employment will span 24 months.
• The first year you will work as an attending physician and will focus on:
  • Spine (clinic/injections, 6-7 half days/week); this is primarily with Dr. Ryan O’Connor, Dr. Mathew Saffarian, and Dr. Nathan Condie.
  • EMG (2 half days); this is primarily with Dr. Michael Andary.
  • Inpatient rehabilitation/SAR/consults (1-2 half days/week).
  • Call is limited to six – eight weekends (extra pay) for the year. There is usually extra call available for extra pay as a moonlighting opportunity.
• The first year is a non-accredited fellowship in interventional spine/pain and EMG. It will give the fellow enough credentials to sit for the American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine (ABEM) boards.
• This allows financial stability of the fellowship and allows the fellow to bring home a better salary.
• The second year is an ACGME and AOA accredited Sports Medicine fellowship associated with Family Practice at Sparrow Hospital. This year includes all the requirements of the ACGME/AOA fellowship with at least 6 half days per week in Sports Medicine. The other 4 half days per week will include PM&R clinics and limited inpatient responsibilities (less than one half day per week). You will also need to follow national duty hour rules in this year.
• To be eligible for the ACGME/AOA Sports Medicine fellowship, (which is the second year of post residency training) the applicant must:
  1. Be ACGME and/or AOA Board Eligible in PM&R.
  2. Obtain approval for attending privileges at MSU, Sparrow hospital and McLaren Hospital of Greater Lansing.
  3. Pass the MSU EMG practical test which is required to be functional in the MSU EMG lab.
  4. Pass the practical spine injection evaluation.
  5. Complete one year of PM&R attending training through MSU PM&R.

PLEASE NOTE:

--It will almost always require a year of fellowship training with the MSU PM&R faculty to complete letters C and D above..

--This ACGME/AOA fellowship will be offered through the ERAS/NRMP Match

--It will be very difficult for an applicant other than one who has completed the 1^st year of this two-year fellowship to be eligible for the MSU-ACGME Sports Medicine fellowship.

• We will offer only one physiatry position for the ACGME fellowship under Jill Moschelli MD. We may offer a second position depending on multiple factors. The fellowship has Osteopathic Recognition under Nathan Fitton, DO. 
• Salaries are competitive with opportunity to moonlight and make significantly more depending on the amount of extra work.
• After two years of work, the fellow/attending will be ACGME board eligible in sports medicine, EMG (American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine) and competent in lumbar, thoracic, and cervical spinal procedures that are taught following the Spine Intervention Society Guidelines.
• Fellows will get exposure to these fluoroscopically guided procedures: Cervical Interlaminar Epidural Injections, Lumbar Transforaminal, Interlaminar, and Caudal injections; cervical transformational epidural steroid injections, Selective Nerve Root injections; Cervical Facet/Medial Branch Injections; Thoracic Facet/Medial Branch Injections; Lumbar Facet/Medial Branch Injections; Cervical and Thoracic Radiofrequency Neurotomy; Lumbar Radiofrequency Neurotomy; Neuromodulation/Spinal Cord Stimulation Implantation Trials; Sacroiliac Joint Injections; Sacrococcygeal / Ganglion Impar Injections; stellate ganglion injections; Piriformis muscle injections; Lumbar Sympathetic Chain Ganglion injections; Genicular Nerve Block and Radiofrequency Neurolysis.
• These Ultrasound guided Peripheral Joint and peri-tendonous injections (shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee ankle and foot) including viscosupplementation and regenerative medicine (PrP and possibly BMAC) injections; Peripheral Nerve blockade/injections (median, lateral femoral cutaneous, suprascapular, quadrangular space, greater occipital, intercostal, supraorbital, etc.);
• These EMG guided Botulinum Toxin Injections (spasticity, Cervical Dystonia, Chronic Migraine Headache, compartment syndrome); and Myofascial Trigger Point Injections
• Plasma rich protein (PRP) and possibly Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate stem cell injections
• Tenex (percutaneous tenotomy)

We are very interested in your application. Feel free to apply by email for the first year of the two year fellowship.

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION

Please submit applications to Dr. Saffarian (saffaria@msu.edu) and Dr. Andary (andary@msu.edu) by June 1st of the preceeding year.