Adult reconstruction fellowship guide

Compare the whole arthroplasty pathway

Ask how fellows participate in assessment, planning, supervised surgery, inpatient care and longer-term follow-up. A programme that advertises complex operations should also explain how trainees learn the decisions around them. Clarify whether clinic attendance follows the same patients you see in theatre and how complications are discussed. These are curriculum questions, not recommendations for treating individual patients.

Break revision exposure into meaningful categories

Request a description of the revision mix instead of one aggregate figure. Questions might cover infection-related work, bone loss, instability, periprosthetic fracture and re-revision surgery. Establish whether those cases sit within the fellowship's actual rotations and which parts of care the fellow joins. Avoid treating a host's specialist service as proof that every fellow receives a defined volume.

Understand recognition without turning it into a ranking

AAHKS publishes a recognition framework and programme list for adult reconstruction education. Use its current materials to check the named programme and the meaning of its status. Recognition describes an educational framework; it does not decide your individual eligibility or establish that one recognised programme is better for your goals than another. Do not substitute a department's reputation for a programme-specific status check.

Ask how autonomy and feedback develop

Discuss the fellow's starting responsibilities, supervision arrangements and progression through the year. Ask what evidence determines readiness for more responsibility and how the programme addresses a gap in exposure. A useful answer should explain assessment and access to feedback rather than promise independence. International applicants should confirm whether the proposed role differs from that of other appointed fellows.

Evaluate research as a deliverable

If you want registry work, clinical outcomes research or laboratory exposure, identify a realistic project and supervisor. Ask about approvals, data access, statistical support, protected time and responsibilities after the fellowship ends. Distinguish existing projects you can join from projects you would have to start. Publication is an uncertain outcome, so an advertisement should not be read as a guarantee of authorship or acceptance.

Make an offer comparison before accepting

Keep the intended intake, application or match route, salary year, benefits, call responsibilities and leave terms together. Confirm registration, work authorisation, indemnity and credentialing with the relevant parties. A salary amount without its payment period and applicable appointment level is incomplete evidence. Request the written terms for unresolved conditions before relying on the offer for relocation.

• Primary and revision curriculum matched to your training gap
• Operative role and assessment process
• Clinics, call, complications and continuity of care
• Research supervision and feasible outputs
• Documented appointment, funding and required approvals