Rotations & Team Coverage

One of the highlights of our program is the ability to train in Sports Medicine care of two major professional sports teams. Fellows will receive in-depth training of the Buffalo Bills and the Buffalo Sabres. They will also experience being the head team orthopedist for a local college under the direction of  our faculty.

You can expect to build skills in:

• Participating in NFL training camp coverage.
• Performing orthopedic physical examinations on all incoming players, and at the NFL combine.
• Coordinated care with Buffalo Bills, athletic trainers, and physical therapists.
• Reviewing diagnostic and imaging studies.
• Assisting in sideline evaluation of players, and return to play decision-making.
• Evaluating players post-game and next-day athletic training room sessions with team physicians.

Each fellow will spend time on the Buffalo Bills rotation. Fellows will attend preseason and regular season home games and be present with the team physicians on the sidelines. They will be present for evaluation of in-game injuries and return to play decision-making.

Following the games, the Fellows will evaluate players for game injuries. They will accompany the team physicians in the training room the day following the game to evaluate player injuries and imaging studies.

During the four days of the Annual NFL Combine exams, fellows will travel to Indianapolis with a Buffalo Bills medical staff to expand your experience with:

• Performing physical examinations.
• Reviewing associate diagnostic studies.
• Interacting with experts in the field of orthopedic sports medicine.
• Assigning Orthopaedic “grades” to over 300 draft eligible college football players.

You can expect to build skills in:

• Participation in preseason physical examinations.
• Participate in in-game evaluation of injuries.
• Coordinated care with the Buffalo Sabres athletic training staff, physical therapists, and strength & conditioning teams.
• Evaluating players postgame with the team physicians.
• Performing end-of-season physicals.

Each fellow will be involved with team coverage of the Buffalo Sabres. Fellows will be present for all the home games gaining significant experience covering an NHL team.

Each fellow will have their own Division III college experience as the head team orthopedist under the supervision of the sports faculty. This experience will consist of covering home football games and working with the college athletic training staff to diagnose and manage injuries.

You can expect to build skills in:

• Running your own weekly training room evaluating athletes.
• Developing skills to interact with athletes and athletic training staff.
• Determining indications for obtaining imaging and interpreting the results.
• Developing return-to-play decision-making skills.

Faculty members also care for Division I colleges including the University at Buffalo and Niagara University. Fellows can participate voluntarily covering Division I football, basketball, ice hockey, and other collegiate sports with faculty team physicians.