MCW APP Orthopaedic Fellowship Program
Who should consider an APP orthopaedic fellowship?
APPs interested in advancing their clinical skills to assess, diagnose and treat orthopedic patients.
New graduate APPs interested in pursuing a career in orthopedics and seeking a specialized, mentored learning opportunity.
Practicing APPs with limited or no prior orthopedic experience looking to expand or change their clinical practice and enhancing their career.
What are the benefits of an APP orthopaedic fellowship?
Hands-on learning and time to develop competency and confidence needed to thrive in a focused, yet multi-disciplinary environment.
Structured experiences targeted to new graduates or APPs transitioning to a new practice area.
Mentored learning in clinical rotations across multiple specialty rotations.
Provides the opportunity to develop a wide range of clinical and critical thinking skills and professional development with application across multiple orthopedic subspecialties.
Apply to the APP Orthopaedic Fellowship Program
Fall start date available; up to 1 fellow is selected annually. Practice locations include Froedtert Hospital, Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital, Froedtert West Bend Hospital, Children's Wisconsin, and various community clinic locations.
Learn more about application details, including information about interviews, salary, and benefits.
A Day in the Life of an APP Orthopaedic Fellow
Clinic Day
Fellows can expect a traditional 7-8 a.m. - 4-5 p.m., Monday-Friday schedule on clinic days. Clinic provides hands-on experience in outpatient orthopaedics, including new consultations, follow-ups, and post-operative visits. Fellows refine exam skills, clinical decision-making, and efficiency while gaining a clear view of the patient journey before and after surgery.
OR Day
APP Fellows can expect to spend 2-3 days a week in the OR on surgical rotations. APP Fellows work in conjunction with an APP preceptor to learn the skills required to provide day of surgery preop, intraop and postop care. This includes preop patient prep, positioning, first assisting skills, suturing, dressing application and postop orders. APP Fellows are integrated into the orthopedic care teams. Hours worked on an OR day are variable depending on case load. Most days will start between 6:30-7 a.m. and end by 5-6 p.m.; however, in occasional circumstances these hours may vary if cases go late or cases cancel.
Didactic Education/Program Days
APP Fellows have the opportunity to learn alongside the Ortho Residents in a series of weekly didactic education sessions. These sessions are offered in/person and/or virtually and attendance is required for completion of the fellowship.
Centralized fellowship program days are scheduled with all program fellows approximately once monthly dedicated to fellowship connection and professional development.
Additional Ortho Fellowship program meetings include rotation handoff meetings, quarterly check-in meetings and capstone project mentorship meetings.
How We Learn
The APP Orthopaedic Fellowship Program involves a diverse 12-month curriculum including both in-person and online learning within the subspecialties of Orthopaedics, as well as a sampling of our supportive services. Fellows will work collaboratively with our over 40 APPs, as well as our Orthopaedic residents and over 40 subspecialty board-certified Orthopaedic attendings. Practice Locations for clinical and surgical experiences as listed above.
Featured Voices
I chose to pursue the orthopaedic surgery APP fellowship at Froedtert & MCW because I wanted to gain focused orthopaedic experience in a protected learning environment within the inpatient, outpatient, and surgical settings. The program provided outstanding mentorship and invaluable hands-on experiences in a variety of orthopaedic specialties. I was able to “dip my toe” into a variety of orthopaedic arenas and really discovered where my interests lie within the specialty. I built connections and lifelong relationships along the way. The exposure to varied patient populations and unique, complex cases provided me with continuous learning opportunities that helped ease my transition into practice.
I chose the MCW Orthopaedic Surgery APP fellowship as a new graduate to help facilitate my transition into practice as an APP. I wanted to have a well-rounded knowledge base in orthopedics and the APP fellowship provided exactly that by giving me an opportunity to spend time in each subspecialty in orthopedics. I am grateful to have experienced the many unique learning opportunities, from lectures to complex surgical cases in the OR to uncommon diagnoses seen in clinic, that I would not have had had I not done the APP fellowship. The fellowship allowed me to build upon my clinical and surgical skills while learning from experienced and supportive mentors so that when I transitioned from an APP fellow to an APP position in orthopedic surgery at MCW, I was confident in my ability to provide quality orthopedic care.
Meet Our Team
Education for the MCW APP Orthopaedic Fellowship is guided by a leadership team of APPs, orthopaedic surgeons, and an education coordinator. Current and past fellows also strengthen the program by sharing their experience, enthusiasm, and commitment to learning.
Stephanie Ludtke, MPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA
Physician Assistant
Total Joint Reconstruction; APP Orthopaedic Fellowship Program Director
Erika J. Basse, PA-C, MPAS
Physician Assistant
Total Joint Reconstruction; APP Orthopaedic Fellowship Assistant Program Director
Adam Neal Wooldridge, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor
Musculoskeletal Oncology; APP Orthopaedic Fellowship Medical Director
