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Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship (Hershey, Pa.)

Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship (Hershey, Pa.)

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The Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pa., is a one-year, ACGME-accredited program that admits one fellow per year.

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Program Details

Faculty members, from left, Cayce Onks, DO; Caitlyn Haines, MD; Matthew Silvis, MD; Jayson Loeffert, DO; Jessica Butts, MD; Shawn Phillips, MD; Michael Haines, MD; Stephanie Carey, MD; Samantha Willer, DO pose for a photo in front of a Nittany Lion statue in a courtyard

From left are sports medicine faculty members Cayce Onks, DO; Caitlyn Haines, MD; Matthew Silvis, MD; Jayson Loeffert, DO; Jessica Butts, MD; Shawn Phillips, MD; Michael Haines, MD; Stephanie Carey, MD; and Samantha Willer, DO.

Penn State’s Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship offers an intense year in sports medicine to prepare for a clinical or academic career, covering the full spectrum of sports medicine, occupational medicine, cardiac rehabilitation and fitness.

The program is co-sponsored by the Departments of Family and Community Medicine and Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation.

Responsibilities include teaching; research; and care of preadolescent, high school, college, professional and recreational athletes.

The fellowship provides comprehensive clinical and academic training in primary care sports medicine. Fellowship graduates will be fully prepared and eligible to successfully complete the examination for the Certificate of Added Qualification in Sports Medicine (CAQ) offered by the American Board of Family Medicine.

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To Apply Expand answer

The Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship participates with the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) and follows all application, interviewing and match list deadlines specified by the NRMP.

Requirements

  • Completed application (via ERAS)
  • Three original letters of support from physicians who have supervised the applicant in a clinical setting (via ERAS); one letter of support must be from a sports medicine physician

Application Requirements

This fellowship position is open to board-eligible or board-certified candidates in Family and Community Medicine and is fully accredited by the ACGME.

All applicants must have completed or must be in the process of completing an ACGME-accredited family medicine residency and must be certified by the American Board of Family Medicine or scheduled to take the board certification prior to the start of their fellowship. Interested applicants should have a significant commitment to an academic career in primary care sports medicine.

The fellow will be appointed at the appropriate postgraduate level consistent with previous experience and training and will receive a stipend and benefits consistent with the level of appointment.

Faculty Expand answer
Current Fellows Expand answer
Past Fellows Expand answer
About Penn State Health Expand answer

A screenshot shows the 2020 virtual tour of Penn State Health and Penn State College of Medicine.

Virtual Tour

A recently developed virtual tour showcases locations across Penn State Health and Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pa.

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Penn State Health

Penn State Health is a multi-hospital health system serving patients and communities across 29 counties of Pennsylvania. Its mission is to improve health through patient care, research, education and community outreach.

In December 2017, the system partnered with Highmark Health to facilitate creation of a value-based, community care network in the region. The shared goal of Highmark and Penn State Health is to ensure patients in the community are within:

  • 10 minutes of a Penn State Health primary care provider
  • 20 minutes of Penn State Health specialty care
  • 30 minutes of a Penn State Health acute care facility

Learn more about Penn State Health

Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine campus is seen in an aerial photo on a sunny day.

Penn State Health Children’s Hospital (left), Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center (center) and Penn State Cancer Institute (right)

Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

500 University Dr., Hershey, Pa., 17033 (Derry Township, Dauphin County)

  • The health system’s 647-bed flagship teaching and research hospital
  • The only medical facility in Pennsylvania accredited as both an adult and a pediatric Level I (highest-level) trauma center
  • Dedicated surgical, neuroscience, cardiovascular, trauma and medical intensive care units
  • Accredited Life Lion critical-care transport providing more than 1,100 helicopter and approximately 750 ground ambulance transports per year
  • More than 1,300 faculty members and more than 650 residents and fellows
  • Approximately 29,000 admissions, 73,000 emergency department visits, 1.1 million outpatient visits and 33,000 surgical procedures annually
  • Designated as a Magnet hospital since 2007

Learn more about Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Penn State Health Children’s Hospital

600 University Dr., Hershey, Pa. 17033 (Derry Township, Dauphin County)

  • An eight-story, 263,000-square-foot-facility built in 2013 and expanded in 2020
  • 146 licensed pediatric beds, 18 acute care beds and a 56-bed neonatal intensive care unit
  • Level IV (highest-level) neonatal intensive care unit
  • Level I quaternary (highest-level) pediatric intensive care unit
  • Level I (highest-level) pediatric trauma center designation
  • Intermediate care unit
  • Dedicated pediatric operating rooms
  • More than 150,000 pediatric outpatient visits and approximately 5,000 pediatric patient discharges annually

Learn more about Penn State Health Children’s Hospital

About Hershey: Benefits, Stipends and More Expand answer

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A new guide to the Hershey, Pa., area showcases the highlights of life in central Pennsylvania.

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More About Hershey

Interested in learning more about living and working in Hershey, Pa.? See details here:

Wellness Initiatives Expand answer

Wellness, including emotional, spiritual, social and physical health, is a crucial component to training and to becoming a professional, compassionate and resilient physician. Self-care is a skill which must be continually practiced and reinforced. Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health are committed to addressing wellness among residents and fellows, with multiple resources readily available.

Institutional resources

Graduate medical education resources

Diversity Expand answer

Institutional Resources

Penn State Health and Penn State College of Medicine celebrate, embrace and support the diversity of all patients, faculty, staff, students and trainees.

Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

In keeping with this, Penn State Health has an active Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with various programs, networks and resource groups, including:

  • Talks and lectures on diversity, equity and inclusion through the Inclusion Academy
  • Regular events on topics such as eradicating racism and creating a culture of inclusiveness
  • Many Business Employee Resource Groups (BERGs), including:
    • Disability Business Employee Resource Group
    • Interfaith Business Employee Resource Group
    • LGBTQ+ Business Employee Resource Group
    • Military and Veterans Business Employee Resource Group
    • Multicultural Business Employee Resource Group
    • NextGen Business Employee Resource Group

Learn more about the Penn State Health Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Learn more about the College of Medicine’s Office for Diversity, Equity and Belonging

Office for Culturally Responsive Health Care Education

The vision at Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health is to equip learners with the knowledge, skills and attitudes they will need to provide culturally excellent health care and research for an increasingly diverse U.S. population. The Office for Culturally Responsive Health Care Education was formed to help meet that goal.

Learn more about the Office for Culturally Responsive Health Care Education

Office for a Respectful Learning Environment

In addition, the institution does not tolerate discrimination, biases, microaggression, harassment or learner mistreatment of any kind, and any concerns are immediately addressed by the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment.

Learn more about the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment

Network of Under-represented Residents and Fellows
The Network of Under-represented Residents and Fellows (NURF) is a group of diverse residents and fellows representing all specialties. NURF’s goal is to promote cultural diversity in the residency programs through community involvement, mentorship with diverse faculty, professional networking and support for the recruitment of diverse medical students into the residency programs.

NURF is sponsored by the Penn State College of Medicine Graduate Medical Education Office and the Penn State Health Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Learn more information about NURF

Contact Us Expand answer

Mailing Address

Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Department of Family and Community Medicine
Mail Code EC089
500 University Dr.
Hershey, PA 17033

General Contact Information

Phone: 717-531-0003, ext. 289165

Email: asmith46@pennstatehealth.psu.edu

Fax: 717-531-0498

Curriculum Details

Clinical Experiences Expand answer

Sports Medicine Clinical Experiences

Alumni Spotlight
“What I loved about Penn State… was and is the collaborative environment among both the Primary Care Sports Medicine and Sports Orthopedic Physicians. As a fellow this environment allowed me the freedom to challenge myself while learning from an incredible and diverse group of mentors.”
Shawn Phillips, MD, MSPT, 2014-2015
  • Sports medicine – Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center – Sports Medicine clinic (primary care sports medicine faculty clinic two half-days per week, fellow clinic one half-day per week, orthopaedic sports medicine clinic one half-day per week)
  • Athletic Training Clinic (two sessions per week)
  • Hershey Bears hockey club (seasonal)
  • Harrisburg Senators baseball (seasonal)
  • Penn State Harrisburg (NCAA Division III)
  • Lebanon Valley College (NCAA Division III)
  • High school team physician responsibilities at one of several contracted high schools (Annville-Cleona High School, Central Dauphin, Central Dauphin East, Elizabethtown High School, Hershey High School, Lampeter Strasburg, Lebanon High School, Mechanicsburg High School, Middletown High School, Milton Hershey School, Northern Lebanon High School)
  • Hershey Entertainment and Resort Co. (seasonal; modern dancers and other performing artists)
  • Pediatric sports medicine and fracture care (one half-day per week, two months)
  • Penn State concussion clinic (one half-day per week, two months)
  • Penn State physical therapy services (two half-days per month)
  • Penn State cardiac rehabilitation (one half-day per month)
  • Musculoskeletal radiology training (two half-days per month)
  • Additional specialty rotations with experienced faculty (one half-day per week for six months split between hand clinic, shoulder/elbow clinic, trauma clinic and foot/ankle clinic)
  • Elective opportunities in areas of special interest

Family and Community Medicine Clinical Experiences

  • Continuity in family medicine clinic (one half-day per week)
  • Family medicine resident precepting (one half-day per month)
Other Sports Medicine Experiences Expand answer

Sports Medicine Experiences

  • Adaptive Sports
  • Dance medicine at Hershey Entertainment and Resort Co.
  • Joint experiences with the Penn State Health primary care sports medicine fellow in State College, Pa.
  • Musculoskeletal anatomy course
  • Procedural experiences in musculoskeletal ultrasound, running gait analysis, cardiac stress testing, and osteopathic manipulation
  • Wilderness medicine experiences and curricula
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
“The large volume of faculty allow for diverse learning opportunities and experience with different work styles. The robust sports medicine program provides many different experiences and makes for a well-rounded fellowship year.”
Jayson Loeffert, DO, 2015-2016

Medical Coverage of Annual Special Events

  • Mass competition events: Marine Corps Marathon
  • District 3 championship events, including cross country, wrestling and track and field
  • Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) state championship events including cross country, wrestling and track and field.
  • First Frontier Rodeo
  • Hershey Youth Soccer Cup (Memorial Day Challenge, Summer Classic and The Hershey Cup tournaments)
  • Special Olympics
Research Expand answer

Research in the Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship includes the following:

  • Weekly small-group didactic sessions with sports medicine faculty
  • Sports medicine conference series in both primary care sports medicine and orthopaedic sports medicine

Currently, there are multiple core and current faculty who are principle investigators or co-investigators in National Institutes of Health or Department of Defense funded research.

Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is a leader in medical education and research. The fellow will have access to Penn State University’s vast educational and research resources. Fellows will be expected to be involved in a research project during their fellowship year and encouraged to present at a regional or national sports medicine meeting. A scholarly project of some type such as a clinical review, case report, quality improvement project, or original research is encouraged. The fellow will be provided with one half-day per week to pursue scholarly work.

The fellow will be provided with a membership to the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) and will be given support to attend both the AMSSM Annual Meeting and the Fellows Research and Leadership Conference during his/her fellowship year.

Assigned teaching opportunities will take place with residents, medical students, community physicians and students of allied health professions.

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Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.