Fellowship
Spinal Cord Injury
The Spinal Cord Injury Fellowship at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is a one-year (12-month) ACGME-accredited program that admits one fellow per year
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The Spinal Cord Injury Fellowship is open to those who have completed an approved residency in a specialty relevant to spinal cord injury medicine, such as physical medicine and rehabilitation, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, family practice, internal medicine, neurological surgery, neurology, orthopedic surgery, pediatrics, plastic surgery, surgery or urology.
Successful completion of the fellowship program satisfies the eligibility requirement to take the Examination in Spinal Cord Injury Medicine to obtain Subspecialty Certification in Spinal Cord Injury Medicine.
Fellows will be exposed to the broad spectrum of clinical management of spinal cord injury, including acute trauma and acute rehabilitation and post-acute rehabilitation, provided at Penn State Health Rehabilitation Hospital and Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center training sites. Fellows will have the opportunity to take part in ongoing research studies or to develop their own projects.
Each fellow will have the opportunity to train with several outpatient physiatrists to learn spasticity management, including chemodeinnervation, baclofen pump refills and implantations. Fellows will have many opportunities to teach Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residents and medical students. Fellows will also be able to interact and train with the many disciplines that contribute to spinal cord injury care, including neurosurgery, orthopaedics, endocrinology, neuro-urology, pulmonology, plastic surgery, wound care, physical and occupational therapy, wheelchair clinic and driving rehabilitation.
Program Overview
At the end of training, the fellow should be proficient in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and management of traumatic spinal cord injury and nontraumatic myelopathies.
Penn State Health is also home to many spinal cord injury-focused community events, such as RecFest, in which hundreds of individuals with disability come together to learn about recreational activities. Other opportunities include spinal cord injury support groups, excursions for adaptive skiing and hunting, assisting those with disabilities in learning how to navigate airports and airplanes, and more.
Learn More about the Fellowship
The program will consist of one year with the following clinical rotations and continuity clinic:
Eight months inpatient spinal cord injury and outpatient continuity clinic and pediatric spinal cord injury/spina bifida
Two months spinal cord injury consult and outpatient continuity clinic and pediatric spinal cord injury/spina bifida
One month research
One month elective (including but not limited to electrodiagnoses, endocrine, neuro-urology, pulmonary, plastic surgery and wound care rotations)
All applicants must complete the SCI Fellowship Common Application and send it to program coordinator Michelle Osterlund at mosterlund@pennstatehealth.psu.edu.
All applicants must be graduates of an approved residency in a specialty relevant to spinal cord injury medicine, such as physical medicine and rehabilitation, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, family practice, internal medicine, neurological surgery, neurology, orthopedic surgery, pediatrics, plastic surgery, surgery or urology.
Contact and Leadership
Program Coordinator, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency, Brain Injury Fellowship and Spinal Cord Injury Fellowship, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Supporting Your Training
Fellow Honors and Recognitions
Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center accept ongoing nominations for the Exceptional Moments in Teaching award.
The award, given monthly by the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment, accepts nominations from College of Medicine students who are invited to submit narratives about faculty members, residents, fellows, nurses or any other educators who challenge them and provide an exceptional learning experience. .
Previous nominees from the Spinal Cord Injury Fellowship are listed here.
