Advanced Practice Provider Fellowship Program

 

The WashU Medicine Orthopedics Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Fellowship is a one-year, competency-based postgraduate training program designed for recent physician assistant and nurse practitioner graduates who want to build a strong foundation in orthopedic care.

Fellows gain broad exposure across orthopedic subspecialties while developing clinical decision-making, procedural skills and professional judgment. Training emphasizes graduated responsibility and increasing autonomy based on demonstrated competency.

As part of a nationally recognized academic orthopedic department, fellows train alongside experienced APPs, orthopedic surgeons, residents and fellows, including physicians who care for St. Louis professional sports teams.

Program director

Kymberly Gomez, PA-C
APP Fellowship Director

Program highlights

• Program length: One year
• Fellows: Two fellows annually, with anticipated staggered start dates
• Clinical experience: Approximately 20-25 patient encounters per clinical day
• Faculty mentorship: Two to three faculty mentors within each subspecialty
• APP mentorship: Longitudinal mentorship from the APP Fellowship Director, with additional APP mentors during subspecialty rotations
• Clinical settings: Outpatient orthopedic practices, Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital, the Orthopedic Center and Barnes-Jewish Hospital
• Conferences: Participation in Tuesday afternoon orthopedic resident conferences and divisional educational conferences

Curriculum

The fellowship provides broad exposure to orthopedic care through rotations across the department. Fellows will rotate through:

• Orthopedic Injury Clinic
• Pediatric Orthopedics
• Hand
• Foot and Ankle
• Shoulder and Elbow
• Sports Medicine
• Adult Reconstruction
• Spine and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
• Inpatient Orthopedics
• Orthopedic Oncology

The fellowship is structured as a supervised postgraduate educational experience. Fellows progress through increasing levels of autonomy based on demonstrated competency and gain experience across the breadth of orthopedic practice.

Clinical experience

The fellowship is designed to develop the knowledge, clinical skills and judgment necessary to practice as an orthopedic APP. Educational goals include:

• Developing strong musculoskeletal history-taking and physical examination skills
• Accurately interpreting orthopedic imaging
• Recognizing when physician consultation or additional clinical support is needed
• Understanding when advanced imaging is appropriate and selecting modalities that balance clinical value and cost
• Developing knowledge of perioperative and nonoperative management of orthopedic conditions
• Gaining exposure to operative workflows and surgical anatomy, including assisting in surgical cases
• Developing professional judgment, communication skills and systems-based practice
• Working within an academic orthopedic practice alongside orthopedic surgery residents and fellows

Mentorship

The APP Fellowship Director provides longitudinal mentorship and program oversight throughout the fellowship.

Fellows meet with the program director at least monthly during the first six months and every other month during months seven through 12. Additional meetings are scheduled as needed to support educational progress, clinical development and professional goals.

Fellows also have opportunities to work with faculty and APP mentors throughout their subspecialty rotations.

Career development

In addition to preparing fellows for independent orthopedic APP practice, the fellowship is intended to help identify outstanding APPs who demonstrate excellence in clinical care and may be candidates for future opportunities within WashU Medicine Orthopedics.

Eligibility

Applicants must:

• Graduate from a certified physician assistant or nurse practitioner program
• Pass the applicable board certification examination
• Be licensed to practice in the state of Missouri

Application process

Applications are accepted on an open-enrollment basis with no established application deadline. 

Interviews are anticipated in:

• July for fall fellowship positions
• December for spring fellowship positions

The current fellowship begins in March, with plans to add a second fellowship start date in the fall.

Salary and benefits

• Salary: $70,000
• Benefits: Full WashU employee benefits
• Vacation: Consistent with full-time WashU employee benefits
• Educational conferences: Fellows participate in educational conferences offered through WashU Medicine Orthopedics