In our program, sports medicine fellows acquire general orthopedic and medical knowledge in addition to learning to apply osteopathic principles in the evaluation and treatment of athletic patients. Simultaneously, working with athletic trainers, orthopedic surgeons and other providers to create a holistic, comprehensive, and team approach to the management of the patient. An evidence-based approach is used to benefit the athlete patient and promote wellness and provide a supportive rehabilitative environment. Our fellows also have the opportunity to participate in a variety of clinical and biomedical research programs during their fellowship year and acquire clinical skills in the use of musculoskeletal ultrasound through participation in our designated curriculum.
Our program includes four positions at VCOM-Virginia and two positions at VCOM-Auburn. This allows us to train residents in two of the NCAA’s Power Five athletic conferences. We offer all fellows extraordinary training opportunities through this collaboration, including caring for elite Division-1 athletes at Virginia Tech, Auburn and Radford Universities and local high schools associated with our programs.
The sports medicine fellowship at VCOM will provide the educational experiences necessary for the sub-specialty fellow to achieve the cognitive knowledge, psychomotor skills, interpersonal skills, professional attitudes, and practical experience required of physicians specialized in the care of athletes. The clinical faculty will provide didactic learning and clinical opportunities as integral parts of the required curriculum for this program. The educational and clinical opportunities will be designed to allow the fellow to assume progressive responsibility for patient care. Fellows will be mentored and assisted in developing and completing their respective research projects over the course of the fellowship year.
Virginia Campus Sports Medicine Fellowship brochure (PDF)
Dr. Rogers was recently interviewed by The DO magazine for his Pro tips for nailing your residency interviews and audition rotations:
Communicate as much and as early as possible about travel for interviews
“If the clinic’s closed for whatever reason or your preceptor isn’t working, that’s a good opportunity to get away and do some interviews. But communicating up front is the main thing. What the preceptors hate is somebody not talking to them about it and then bringing it up at the last minute that they’ll be gone.” —Mark Rogers, DO, program director for the primary care sports medicine fellowship at VCOM at Virginia Tech
Focus on face time
Dr. Rogers: “If you can’t audition at a site, you really want to look at, you might be able to do a rotation in another specialty, and while you’re there reach out to the program director and say, ‘I couldn’t get an audition with you, but I’m here with another program. Do you guys have didactics or rounds? I’m really interested in your program, and I’d like to come over and visit.’
“With a little extra work and coordinating with who you’re rotating with, that can be a good opportunity to spend some time with residents, fellows and certainly the program directors.”
Never underestimate the power of connections
Dr. Rogers: “Going to national meetings is a good opportunity to meet program directors and fellows. When an application comes across my desk from someone I met at a meeting, that interaction helps me remember them.
“Facilitating those relationships as a student when you are looking down the road at residency or fellowship programs is important, because those program directors have that memory of you, and that relationship is a little better than it would be if it was just on paper.”
