UAMS, UA Athletics Partner for States First Sports Medicine Fellowship

The state’s first sports medicine fellowship for family physicians will start this summer at the Fayetteville campus of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

The fellowship has been developed in partnership with the University of Arkansas athletics department, according to a UAMS news release.

“Establishing this fellowship in northwest Arkansas supports the UAMS mission of health improvement for our state by addressing specific health needs of the region with the help of strategic clinical partnerships in a way that translates to better care for patients across the state,” Robert Gullett, M.D., an orthopaedic surgeon who is the assistant vice chancellor and director of the UAMS Northwest campus, said in the release.

Sports medicine fellows will gain clinical experience seeing patients at UAMS-affiliated clinics as well as working with UA student-athletes while under supervision of UAMS faculty and clinical partners, including Advanced Orthopaedic Specialists, the official sports medicine provider for the Arkansas Razorbacks.

“Our sports medicine fellows will receive invaluable training, unmatched anywhere in the state thanks to our partners in this venture, Advanced Orthopaedic Specialists and the University of Arkansas athletics department,” Gullett said.

UAMS received accreditation for the fellowship in October 2014 from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Completing the fellowship will enable a physician to sit for the sports medicine subspecialty board exam conducted by the American Board of Family Medicine.

Kyle Arthur, M.D., was selected as the first fellow in the program and will begin the one-year program in July after completing his family medicine residency at the Fayetteville campus of UAMS. In the future, UAMS will host two fellows annually.

The fellowship provides physicians a year of experience focusing on the evaluation, management and treatment of a wide range of injuries and illnesses related to athletes and active lifestyles.

The fellowship includes instruction on non-operative options related to musculoskeletal injuries along with the complexities of medical issues pertaining to athletes ranging from cardiac care to asthma to concussion.

Gullett said one reason he felt strongly about starting the fellowship program was his own positive experience serving as the team doctor at Pine Bluff High School for about 25 years. 

“Helping young athletes and their coaches enabled me to be closely connected to the community,” he said. “This describes my vision for our fellows.”