Sports Medicine Fellowship

Information current as of 8/26/2026

Position Identification: Fellow 

Position Summary: The University of Washington Department of Rehabilitation Medicine offers a one year AGME-accredited fellowship in Sports Medicine.  

General Overview of the Fellow Role 

A Sports Medicine fellow’s responsibilities include patient care responsibilities within the scope of their clinical privileges commensurate with level of training and other responsibilities required of all members of the medical staff. Under the supervision of attendings, general responsibilities of the Sports Medicine fellow may include: 

• Initial and ongoing assessment of patients’ medical, physical and psychosocial status 
• Performing history and physical examination 
• Developing assessment and treatment plan 
• Performing rounds 
• Recording documentation, including progress notes, admission notes, procedure notes and discharge summaries 
• Ordering tests, examinations, medications and therapies 
• Arranging for discharge, referral and after care. 
• Providing patient education and counseling about health status, test results, disease processes and transition of care planning 
• Performing procedures 
• Assisting in surgery 
• Teaching and evaluating junior learners, such as medical students 

UW GME Expectations for Professional Behavior 

• All Sports Medicine fellows must comply with the UW Medicine Policy on Professional Conduct and the UW Medicine Compliance Code of Conduct 
• ACGME Competencies in Professionalism, including fitness for duty (See ACGME Common Program Requirements) 
• All Sports Medicine fellows must comply with GME Policies, including the Resident and Fellow Position Appointment Agreement (RFPA) 

Essential Functions 

Essential functions are the fundamental job duties of the position that cannot be eliminated or substantially modified without changing the nature of the position. 

A job function may be considered essential for the following reasons: 

• The reason the position exists is to perform that function 
• Sports Medicine fellow educational requirements and patient care responsibilities 
• A limited number of available Sports Medicine fellows can perform that function 
• Varies by program, rotation, year, risk pools, etc. 
• The function may be highly specialized so that the trainee in the position is hired for their expertise or ability to perform the particular function 
• Cannot easily hire more trainees, especially of a specific R level 
• The percentage of time spent on a function does not determine whether or not it is essential. 

Essential functions for GME fellows must include consideration of: 

• ACGME program requirements 
• Specialty board requirements 
• UW program requirements 
• Unique to each UW training program and must consider: 
• Complexity of rotations/service requirements 
• Size of program 
• Structure and depth of risk pools 
• Please refer to the program’s Clinical Coverage Policy 
• Inclusive of the hospital system requirements: 
• Rotations dependent on Sports Medicine fellows’ service for patient care 
• Coverage options available  

A Sports Medicine fellow must perform the position’s essential job functions with or without an approved reasonable accommodation. Reasonable accommodation means modifying or adjusting practices, procedures, policies, job duties, or the work or application environment so that a qualified individual with a disability can still perform a position’s essential functions. Approved reasonable accommodations are determined via an interactive process involving the Sports Medicine fellow, DSO/HR/GME and the program. 

Essential functions ensure the safe and smooth delivery of education and patient care and are identified in alignment with program aims to facilitate trainee readiness for independent practice across an appropriate range of clinical settings for that specialty. Transparent documentation of a program’s essential functions is also an important resource for applicants evaluating the training program during recruitment. 

Essential Program Administrative Functions 

Onboarding  

The Sports Medicine fellow must: 

• comply with all program and institutional tasks required for credentialing and onboarding by the requested deadlines 
• Other functions/details specific to the program: 
• Meet with program director or associate program director to review fellowship calendar, sports coverage schedule, curriculum structure 

Program Tasks and Documentation 

The Sports Medicine fellow must: 

• participate in all requests for schedule preferences, requests for absence or schedule changes of requests for clinical coverage on the requested timelines or deadlines. 
• complete in a timely manner all evaluations requested for medical students, peer Sports Medicine fellows, faculty or other members of the team 
• complete MedHub clinical and educational hour logs 
• complete case or procedure logs 
• complete the annual ACGME Sports Medicine fellow Survey 
• complete the program’s annual confidential internal survey 
• complete required examination preparation and/or testing requirements, to include USMLE or COMLEX Step 3, in-training examinations and program-specific guidelines for national board certification 
• attendance at all required program meetings, including semiannual meetings, mentorship meetings, program retreats, etc. 
• Other functions/details specific to the program, including specifics on timeliness: 
• Register and complete AMSSM ITE Pre-Test and Ultrasound Pre-Test 

Essential Program Core Educational Functions 

Didactics 

The Sports Medicine fellow must: 

• Comply with all standards for attendance at didactics or other core educational activities 
• Adhere to the preferred mode of attendance (in-person, virtual, hybrid) 
• Other functions/details specific to the program: 
• Prepare and deliver presentations for core multidiscipinary Sports Fellowship didactics 

Scholarship 

The Sports Medicine fellow must: 

• Comply with all program or specialty requirements for research or scholarship, quality improvement, national or regional conference presentation, publication or scholarly writing or teaching and presentations internal to the program (e.g. journal club, didactics, case conference, M&M, etc.) 
• Other functions/details specific to the program: 
• Prepare and deliver presentations for monthly Journal clubs 
• Prepare and deliver presentation for Sports Medicine Grand Rounds 
• Prepare and deliver presentation for Department MSK Grand Rounds 
• Prepare and deliver presentations for Sports Medicine fellow Clinical MSK Course Didactics 

Essential Patient Care Functions 

Presence and preparedness 

The Sports Medicine fellow must: 

• present to work as physically, mentally and emotionally fit for duty 
• arrive at the patient care setting on schedule 
• arrive at work in attire appropriate for the professional and safe delivery of patient care 
• meet expectations for chart review or pre-rounding 
• satisfy expectations that precede sign-out and/or departure from the clinical setting, including an appropriate handoff and follow up on all patient assessments/data/studies that will alter care in the near term. 

Administrative 

The Sports Medicine fellow must: 

• complete patient health record documentation on the schedule prescribed by the program or medical center. (Examples include but are not limited to progress notes/visit summaries, discharge summaries, operative or procedure notes, perioperative records)  
• comply with expectations for EHR inbox management, including timely responses to messages from patients, medical staff and tracking and patient follow up of expected results 

Patient Care Communication 

The Sports Medicine fellow must: 

• respond in a timely manner to pages, phone calls and Epic Secure Chat 
• remain within the program-prescribed geographic range while on call or eligible for coverage 
• Other functions/details specific to the program, including specifics on timeliness: 
• Inform attending physicians of patient care issues when assistance is necessary 

Patient Care Volumes 

The Sports Medicine fellow must: 

• work toward (with supervision) or meet benchmarks for patient care volumes in all clinical settings 
• appropriately request and utilize supervision 
• work toward or ultimately meet procedure certification standards 
• Other functions/details specific to the program: 
• Gradually progress in patient volumes in fellow’s dedicated continuity clinic 

Consultation 

The Sports Medicine fellow must: 

• appropriately respond to, triage, and staff consultations in a timely manner 
• document findings and recommendations in a timely manner 
• communicate with the requesting service directly (e.g. in-person, phone) in advance of and following the assessment 
• ensure that consultations are staffed and finalized with a faculty member in a timely manner 

Essential Shift and Schedule Functions 

Settings 

• complete assigned shifts in settings deemed essential by the program, such as inpatient units, NICU, PICU, emergency department, and outpatient specialty and primary care clinics 
• complete assigned away rotations deemed essential by the program 
• Other functions/details specific to the program: 
• Complete all required sports medicine coverage events 

Shift length and timing 

The Sports Medicine fellow must: 

• complete shifts of all lengths deemed essential by the program, which may include daytime, swing,  
• nights, weekends, and holidays  
• Shifts must not exceed ACGME limits of up to 28 hours per shift, and up to 80 hours per week averaged over a 4 week period 
• where appropriate, comply with designated break lengths (to meet personal needs and not impact patient care) 

Call Responsibilities 

The Sports Medicine fellow must: 

• complete assigned shifts of overnight call, as deemed essential by the program  
• complete assigned shifts of home call, as deemed essential by the program 
• remain within the prescribed geographic range while on call or eligible for coverage 

Essential Cognitive Functions 

Analyze, synthesize, and apply knowledge from clinical experience, readings, and didactic learning to support clinical decision-making.  

Functions/details specific to the program: 

Sports Medicine Fellow must be able to function using the ACGME Sports Medicine Milestones as guidelines. The Goal is to work toward at least Level 4 by graduation. For example: 

• Synthesizes and applies knowledge of pathophysiology, evaluation, and diagnostic testing to management of complex sports medicine-related musculoskeletal injuries 
• Synthesizes and applies knowledge of return-to-play guidelines for complex musculoskeletal conditions in sports medicine 

Essential Communication Functions  

(including verbal and written) 

Collaborate effectively with members of the healthcare team across roles and settings to support coordinated, high-quality care.  

Functions/details specific to the program: 

Sports Medicine Fellow must be able to function using the ACGME Sports Medicine Milestones as guidelines. The Goal is to work toward at least Level 4 by graduation. For example: 

• Demonstrates efficiency in documenting patient encounters and updating record.  
• Manages the volume and extent of written and verbal communication required for independent practice 
• Initiates difficult conversations with appropriate stakeholders to improve the system.  

Essential physical functions 

(including senses, stances and mobility, manipulation and technical skills) 

Functions/details specific to the program: 

Sports Medicine Fellow must be able to: 

• Perform comprehensive musculoskeletal and concussion physical exam assessments 
• Perform ultrasound guided diagnostic and interventional procedures including joint, bursa, tendon and ligament injections. 
• Perform fluoroscopically guided lumbar spine and peripheral joint procedures 

Statement Of Nondiscrimination 

The University of Washington prohibits discrimination, harassment and sexual misconduct in any education program or activity that it operates. Individuals may report concerns, make complaints, or direct inquiries to the Civil Rights Compliance Office. View the Statement of Nondiscrimination. 

Key Principles for ADA-Compliant Language: 

• Focus on results, not methods 
• Essential function is a completed task, not how that task is completed 

This document reflects requirements, established practices, policies, procedures, and resources as of the date of publication; however, parts of this document may be updated from time to time in accordance with changes in the law and applicable requirements, established practices, policies, procedures, and resources. Continued participation by a Sport Medicine fellow in the program will demonstrate agreement by the Sports Medicine fellow to adhere to the updates.