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What is the Traveling Fellowship Program?
The traveling fellowship program is an annual scientific and cultural
exchange among orthopaedic sports medicine physicians in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America.
Three
fellows are selected to visit foreign sports medicine centers for four
weeks, and are accompanied by a "Godparent", a well-known senior
orthopaedic sports medicine specialist selected by the President of the
national sports medicine organization sending the fellows.
Fellows from North America annually alternate traveling to Europe, Asia-Pacific,or Latin America. In alternate years,
fellows from those regions travel
to North America.
Fellows will:
- participate in scientific symposia with host physicians
- view research facilities and surgical procedures
- attend a national sports medicine meeting in the region they are visiting
- participate in social and cultural activities.
Benefits of the Traveling Fellowship Program
- foster an exchange of scientific information, stimulate research, and
develop friendships among physicians who practice sports medicine in North America, Europe, Latin America and Pacific Rim countries
- serve as a bridge that may be used to forge the future of sports medicine
worldwide
- provide a stimulus for leadership by recognizing young physicians who have
made a significant contribution to sports medicine
- social and cultural activities with the local sports medicine community
forge personal and professional relationships that last a lifetime
History of the Traveling Fellowship Program
The traveling fellowship idea was originally conceived by John Feagin and
Werner Mueller over a drink at the Walliser Kane in Basel, Switzerland.
This discussion lead to the the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports
Medicine (AOSSM) and the European Society of Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy
(ESSKA) formally beginning a traveling fellowship program for sports medicine
orthopaedic surgeons in Europe, the United States and Canada modeled after the
ABC fellowship in 1985.
Inspired by the success of the European/North
American exchanges in sports medicine, George Snook and Bernie
Cahill proposed an Asian/United States Traveling Fellowship program in 1987. The idea was well received throughout
the Australasian countries of the Western Pacific and formalized with the Sports
Medicine Section of the Western Pacific Orthopaedic Association (now the Asia-Pacific Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, APOSSM).
In 2004, the Sociedad LatinoAmericana de Artroscopia, Rodilla, y Traumatologia Deportiva (SLARD), headed by Eduardo Zamudio, MD of Chile, and
AOSSM leadership began talks about an exchange between the two organizations, the first of which took place in 2005.
Since its inception, the Traveling
Fellowship has given nearly 200 international sports medicine orthopaedists the
chance to form new alliances and expand their horizons. Many former traveling fellows now constitute the leadership of AOSSM, ESSKA, APOSSM, and SLARD.
Many former
traveling fellows now constitute the leadership of ESSKA, AOSSM and APOA (Asia Pacific Orthopaedic Association).
If you have any additional
questions, please contact Debbie Turkowski in the
society office.
The Traveling Fellowship is generously funded by DJO
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