Thank you for expressing an interest in the foot and ankle fellowship.  It is operated under the auspices of a non-profit organization called The Foundation for Orthopaedic, Athletic and Reconstructive Research.  The fellowship begins on August 1 and ends on July 31 of the following year.

If you have never been to Houston, let me begin by describing a little about the city.  It is the fourth largest city in the United States and as such, has many social and cultural activities.  The Museum District is conveniently located near the Texas Medical Center and offers fine and contemporary arts, sculpture and natural science exhibits.  The area includes the city's major museums as well as art galleries, theaters, three universities, and a large public park.  Hermann Park contains the world famous Houston Zoo and an eighteen hole golf course.

Visitors to Houston who arrive by air may choose from one of the city's two commercial airports, George W. Bush International or William P. Hobby.  GWB International is the larger of the two and is approximately thirty to forty-five minutes from the Medical Center while Hobby is about twenty to thirty minutes away.  The Houston airport system is the thirteenth largest in the world and tenth largest in the United States.  The airports provide service to over one hundred U.S. cities and twenty-eight cities abroad.  Rental cars, limousines and taxicabs are readily available.

The temperature in Houston is considered temperate with winters being mild and averaging only three to four weeks of chilly weather between December and February.  Spring and autumn temperatures range from sixty to eighty degrees and the summer climate is hot and humid.  Fortunately, everything in Houston is air-conditioned!  Rain is frequent and often unpredictable so an umbrella is handy.

Houston is proud of both its professional and intercollegiate athletic programs.  Minute Maid Park is the home for the Houston Astros in the National Baseball League.  The two-time NBA Champions, the Houston Rockets, are the professional men’s basketball team and the Houston Comets are the professional women’s basketball team and are four time WNBA Champions.  Both teams play at the Toyota Center that is conveniently located in downtown Houston.  The Houston Aeros are the professional hockey team and the Hotshots are the professional soccer team.  The Houston Texans are the new NFL football team that plays in another new stadium, Reliant Park.  Rice University, Texas Southern University, and the University of Houston offer a full range of NCAA Division I athletics and showcase many world class athletes in both men's and women's sports.

Recreational opportunities abound with golf, tennis, cycling, and horseback riding available year-round.  The Gulf of Mexico and Galveston are forty-five minutes south of the Medical Center.  Numerous beaches and excellent fishing make this a popular tourist resort.  Fresh water lakes for skiing and fishing are also short drive away.

The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is now recognized as the world's largest medical complexes. The University of Texas and Baylor College of Medicine both provide medical schools and large research facilities within the TMC.  There are fourteen hospitals in the TMC:  eight offer full service and six provide specialized care.  M. D. Anderson Hospital is world-renowned for its advancements in the treatment of cancer.  The Methodist Hospital and the Texas Heart Institute house the cardiovascular teams of Doctors DeBakey and Cooley respectively.  The Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children, University Children's Hospital at Hermann and Texas Children's Hospital are outstanding pediatric facilities. Memorial Hermann Hospital operates one of the first Life Flight programs in the nation and serves as the primary teaching facility for the University of Texas – Houston Medical School.  Space in this letter does not permit me to give a more detailed picture of the TMC, but hopefully the opportunity it offers for medical education is already evident.

As previously mentioned, the foot and ankle fellowship is a part of the Foundation for Orthopaedic, Athletic and Reconstructive Research which is a non-profit corporation designed to fund educational and research opportunities in the field of orthopaedics.  There are three positions open each year for foot and ankle fellowship experience.  The fellowship offers a broad range of exposure in the field of foot and ankle surgery (adult reconstructive, pediatric, sports, trauma, diabetic feet and research).  The fellowship is under the direction of Thomas O. Clanton, M.D. and Leland A. Winston, M.D. and is set up into three 4-month rotations.  During the rotation with Drs. Clanton and McGarvey, the fellow is given exposure to sports, trauma, and lower extremity (including foot and ankle).  The rotation with Dr. John Marymont and Dr. Kevin Varner offers a wide variety of traumatic and post-traumatic reconstruction in addition to the common forefoot and hindfoot disorders.  The rotation with Dr. W. Grant Braly and Dr. Jay Oates at Texas Orthopaedic Hospital focuses on time spent in the operating room.  Because of the large number of educational opportunities available, there is some flexibility.  This allows the individual fellow to create an experience best suited to their future practice.  It also means that the fellowship is dynamic and subject to change when it is felt that the change will add to the training program.

The fellowship offers a wide range of clinical experience in the area of foot and ankle and lower extremity problems.  The weekly schedule includes clinical time in a private office setting, as well as a foot clinic connected with Memorial Hermann Hospital and with the V. A. Hospital, a sports injury clinic at Rice University and considerable time spent in the operating room.  While the predominant experience is adult reconstructive problems of the foot and ankle, there is ample opportunity for work in trauma and sports medicine as well as pediatrics. 

Time spent in surgery will include bunionectomies of various types; a full range of other forefoot procedures; fusions of the forefoot, midfoot and hindfoot; arthritis surgery; tendon transfers; decompression of nerve entrapments; fracture fixation; and reconstruction of post-traumatic deformities and arthritidies.  Other lower extremity surgical experience up to and including the knee is available to the individual fellow as interest and time constraints dictate, and there is further opportunity available in general orthopaedics.

The fellowship follows the general guidelines for foot and ankle fellowships provided by the Fellowship Committee of the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society.  The Foundation provides a salary of forty six thousand dollars a year as well as malpractice insurance, in addition to health and dental insurance for the fellow.  Housing is not provided, but is available nearby.  In addition to the daily clinic and surgical work, the fellow is responsible for occasional lectures.  The curriculum requires the completion of one research paper, which must be presented to the staff and submitted to a peer-reviewed journal within one year of the completion of the fellowship.

A Texas medical license is required prior to beginning the fellowship as well as a Drug Enforcement Agency number and a Texas Narcotics Commission number.  Assistance will be provided to obtain these.  In order to obtain a Texas medical license you must have passed one of the following licensing exams:  FLEX, SPEX, NBME, NBOME, USMLE, COMLEX, LMCC or a state board examination.  For more information about Texas medical licensure please consult the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners web site at www.tsbme.state.tx.us.  All graduates of foreign medical schools should visit this web site and pay particular attention to Chapter 163, especially 163.3.   Foreign students must also be able to obtain a free trade visa in order to participate in our program.

Enclosed you will find an application form.  Please complete this and return it along with a recent photograph, a copy of medical school transcripts and your curriculum vitae.  Three letters of recommendation must also be sent including one from your residency program director.  Please have the letters faxed to (713) 790-0505 before the hard copy is put in the mail.  Once your application is complete, the fellowship coordinator, Michele Byrne, will contact you if an interview is required.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact her at (713) 799-2429.  Thank you once again for your interest.

Best Regards,

Thomas O. Clanton, M. D.

Fellowship Co-Director