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Launceston Arthroplasty and Trauma Fellowship
Fellowship Overview - The Role & Team
The Launceston Arthroplasty and Trauma Fellowship is a 12-month post-FRACS fellowship based primarily at Launceston General Hospital (LGH), with additional clinical experience within the private hospital system in Launceston.
The Fellowship provides advanced clinical and operative training in primary and revision hip and knee arthroplasty, complex knee surgery (soft tissue and osteotomy) and orthopaedic trauma, together with opportunities in clinical research, teaching and professional development.
The Fellow will work within the LGH Orthopaedic Unit alongside nine Australian Orthopaedic Association-accredited orthopaedic surgeons. The consultant group has broad lower-limb, upper-limb and trauma expertise, providing exposure to a diverse range of elective and emergency orthopaedic practice.
Clinical and Operative Training
The Fellowship provides substantial operative exposure across both elective and trauma surgery.
Clinical experience will include:
- Primary hip and knee arthroplasty
- Complex and revision arthroplasty
- Knee reconstruction and complex knee pathology
- Orthopaedic trauma
- Periprosthetic fractures and complications of arthroplasty
- Periprosthetic joint infection
- Pre-operative assessment, surgical decision-making and postoperative management
- Outpatient assessment and longitudinal follow-up of elective and trauma patients
Education and Teaching
The Fellow will participate in the academic activities of the LGH Orthopaedic Department, including:
- Weekly orthopaedic radiology/X-ray and clinical meetings
- Case discussions and operative planning
- Teaching of orthopaedic trainees, junior medical staff and medical students
- Departmental educational activities
- Opportunities to participate in University of Tasmania undergraduate and postgraduate teaching
The Fellowship is intended not only to develop technical surgical expertise, but also clinical judgement, decision-making, leadership, teaching and the skills required for independent consultant practice.
Research
Clinical research is an important component of the Fellowship.
The Fellow will be encouraged to participate in existing research programs and to develop a research project aligned with their own clinical interests. The Launceston Orthopaedic unit has an active research program encompassing arthroplasty, trauma, periprosthetic joint infection, patient-reported outcomes, surgical technology and orthopaedic education.
Research opportunities are supported through collaboration with the University of Tasmania and the Clifford Craig Foundation, as well as participation in multicentre and registry-based research.
The expectation is that the Fellow will contribute meaningfully to at least one research project during the Fellowship, with the aim of presentation at a scientific meeting and, where appropriate, peer-reviewed publication.
Fellowship Objective
The overall objective of the Launceston Arthroplasty and Trauma Fellowship is to provide a broad but individually tailored transition from specialist orthopaedic training to independent consultant practice, with particular expertise in hip and knee arthroplasty, complex knee surgery and orthopaedic trauma.
By completion of the Fellowship, the Fellow should have developed increased operative independence, sound clinical judgement in complex elective and trauma cases, experience in teaching and research, and the skills required to establish and contribute to a high-quality contemporary orthopaedic practice.
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