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Updated: Sep 27, 2025
Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty
Published on: July 5, 2011
Leadership Trends in Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Fellowship Directors: A Cross-sectional Study
Aman Chopra1, Melissa A Wright, Christopher S Klifto
1From the Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC (Mr. Chopra); the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, (Dr. Wright, Dr. Murthi), MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, Baltimore, MD (Dr. Wright, and Dr. Murthi); and the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery (Dr. Klifto, Dr. Anakwenze), Duke University, Durham, NC (Dr. Klifto, and Dr. Anakwenze).
Introduction:
We aimed to describe the demographic and professional backgrounds of current shoulder and elbow fellowship directors.
Methods:
The American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) 2021 to 2022 Fellowship Directory was reviewed to identify the 31 ASES-recognized US fellowship programs. Demographic and other data were obtained through an electronic survey and publicly available online resources from February 28, 2021, to March 5, 2021.
Results:
Of the 31 fellowship directors, 97% (30) identified as male and 74% (23) as White, the mean age was 53 ± 7 years, and the mean Scopus h-index was 24.2 ± 13. Almost all (95%) held ASES committee leadership appointments in at least one committee. The mean time from completion of most recent fellowship to fellowship director appointment was 7.3 ± 6 years. About two-thirds of fellowship directors trained at one of five fellowship programs: Columbia University (n = 7), California Pacific Orthopaedics (n = 4), Washington University in St. Louis (n = 3), Mayo Clinic (n = 3), and Hospital for Special Surgery (n = 2).
Discussion:
ASES fellowship directors share similar demographic and professional characteristics with high levels of research productivity and involvement in orthopaedic societies. There is a lack of diversity in shoulder and elbow fellowship directors, highlighting a need for priority consideration of this disparity by leaders in the field.
