Roy Sanders OTA Traveling Fellowship

Apply Now To Be a host site

Deadline to apply is November 30, 2025

Goal:

Create an immersive leadership experience for early-career trauma surgeons who have completed an OTA fellowship. 

1. Short-term goals include broadening understanding and improved networking for the fellows with deeper connection via a senior mentor.  Knowledge distribution by discussion with various centers about fixation strategies and local trauma care and how it varies across the country.
2. Medium-term goals include educational highlight at OTA meeting with presentation by fellows for general audience, as well as improving volunteerism for OTA with committee appointment for OTA traveling fellows guaranteed after completion of fellowship. 
3. Long-term goals include fostering leadership within the OTA and within the orthopaedic trauma community.

Traveling Fellowship Trauma Center Sites:

1. Each center will have an appointed trauma faculty who acts as the coordinator of the fellowship tour as above.
2. This faculty will act as the point person to coordinate the educational/social program for the fellows. This includes observership status in terms of operating room/clinical access, connectivity with hospital credentialing as needed, and the formal educational program plan for the center. 
3. Sites will be divided into East, Midwest, and West tours to allow for improved economy of travel. These will rotate every other year (i.e., East 2022, Midwest 2024, West 2026, etc.).
4. Tours will be in April-May for accessibility, and in general will proceed from south to north across the region to allow for more temperate climates early in the tour. These include: Alaska, Alberta, Arizona, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Saskatchewan, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
5. Travel, accommodations, food, and planned activities will be paid for on behalf of the fellows through a combination of OTA, visiting site, and donor funding. 
6. Host sites will provide specific leadership experiences for traveling fellows that will be planned in advance.  Host sites will have an appointed trauma faculty as fellowship coordinator for that site.  Examples of experiences could include:​​​​​​a. 

• Discussion of building a trauma program with a department chair
• Discussion of hiring/building a trauma division with a division chief
• Discussion of creating a trauma system with a chair or trauma chief of general surgery
• Discussion of financial side of trauma systems with CFO or business manager
• Focus for knowledge distribution: bringing in local trauma people for discussion, complex cases about certain fracture types, etc.
• Operating room or clinical observation opportunities
• Traveling fellows may be given an opportunity for presentations (didactic or case presentations)
• Quality improvement programs unique to the institution
• Research programs unique to the institution

Online Center Application Process:

The submission deadline is November 30. Centers will be notified of acceptance as site by December 31. Center applications will include:

1. Letter from orthopaedic trauma faculty coordinator in support of center and time commitment, as well as ability to accommodate access and credentialing.
2. Letter should include unique aspects of their center that would make them a place for fellows to visit
3. Letter should also include a formal 2-3 day educational program plan with a general timeline for the fellows’ visit.

The OTA extends sincere gratitude to Roy Sanders, MD for his ongoing leadership and his generous endowment of the Roy Sanders OTA Traveling Fellowship. The program will enrich the lives of the selected fellows and help build the next generation of OTA leaders.