Wound Care & Tissue Repair Fellowship

Overview

The section of wound healing and tissue repair in the vascular surgery division, is an active member of the department of surgery. The section offers a one-year, non-ACGME, clinical fellowship available for residents who have completed residency programs and are board eligible in Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, or General Surgery. The program, the first of its kind in the USA, started in July of 2008 and has been accepting one fellow a year since that time.

Fellows rotate through various clinical services during twelve months of training while maintaining continuity of care outpatient wound clinics. During the rotations, fellows will manage many patients with a variety of wound care related problems. The fellow gains critical insight into the pivotal role that each member of the multidisciplinary team brings to the wound program. The fellow will gain firsthand experience in the operating room, clinical wards, and outpatient clinical settings.

In addition to this specialty experience, there are continuity of care clinics that the wound care fellow runs as the primary physician in charge. This real-world practice setting allows the fellow to gain experience in the workup, case management, and follow-up care that is required when running a hospital-based wound program.

The program is funded through the department of Surgery. The Graduate Medical Education Department of the University provides logistical support as well as fringe benefits and medical malpractice insurance. Through a collaboration with the American College of Wound Healing and Tissue Repair (ACWHTR a non-profit organization founded by two faculty members and the president of the Angiogenesis Foundation), the programs work towards trying to achieve formal specialty status for the field of wound care.