Foot and Ankle Fellowship

The Foot and Ankle Fellowship is a one-year program designed to prepare an orthopaedic surgeon for a career in orthopaedic foot and ankle surgery in either a full-time academic setting or private practice. Clinical training is provided in all aspects of foot and ankle surgery, with particular emphasis on lower extremity (knee, ankle, and foot) sports medicine injuries, Achilles tears and disorders, bunions and toe deformities, ankle and knee articular cartilage injuries, post-traumatic foot and ankle deformities, foot and ankle arthritis, diabetic foot disorders, and foot orthotic evaluation and management. Fellows will develop autonomy in the operating room, gain advanced foot and ankle arthroscopy, and have a fellow’s clinic during each rotation. Foot and ankle fellows, along with the chief resident of the service, are responsible for all aspects of patient care. Three junior residents also rotate on the service. Rotating schedules provide ample exposure in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

In addition to the academic clinical setting at the UC Davis Health Medical Center, the fellow will spend six months at the Reno Orthopaedic Clinic. In a private practice setting, the Reno Orthopaedic Clinic will educate the fellows on all aspects of business regarding orthopaedic trauma care. Upon completion of the fellowship, applicants should be prepared to enter the practice of the fellowship applicants should be prepared to enter the practice of orthopaedic trauma with the management skills required to establish and sustain an orthopaedic trauma system. The fellowship will provide a unique graduate medical education experience for a fully-trained Orthopaedic Surgeon interested in advancing their Foot and Ankle Orthopaedics expertise. During the six-month rotation at the UC Davis Health Medical Center, the fellow will spend 2.5 days per week in the clinic, two days in the OR, and .5 days will be dedicated to research under the supervision of the foot and ankle faculty and research staff. Under the supervision of the research faculty, the fellow is encouraged to utilize the research laboratories and clinical database for clinical studies.

The fellow will have one-on-one exposure to the Orthopaedic Surgery Foot and Ankle faculty and, as the year progresses, be expected to take on supervisory responsibilities of the residents in the clinical and operative setting. In addition, the fellow will participate in a combined clinic and teaching sessions held bimonthly at the UC Davis Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.

There are monthly morbidity and mortality care projects in which the fellow will be required to participate each month. During their time at the Reno Orthopaedic Clinic, the fellows will continue participating in these monthly projects. Quarterly, there is a complex foot clinic to discuss complex cases, and one per rotation, fellows attend a cadaver lab with Eric Giza, M.D.

This fellowship program provides a comprehensive curriculum with in-depth exposure to the clinical management of orthopaedic foot and ankle patients and ample opportunity to perform basic science and clinical research. Fellows will participate in the preoperative, inoperative, and postoperative management of patients in both academic and private practice settings. The fellow will rotate between the UC Davis Health Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and the Reno Orthopaedic Clinic (Reno, Nevada) for six months at each location. Both locations will address the education objectives of the fellowship and the personal objectives of the fellows.

The fellowship begins Aug. 1 and ends July 31. Learn more about the compensation and benefits here. All interested individuals should apply through the SF Match Program at www.sfmatch.org.

Foot and Ankle Fellowship interview dates for the 2027-2028 academic year are TBD.

For more information, please contact Delia Luna at dbluna@ucdavis.edu.