Fellowship

DSSP Interventional Spine and Musculoskeletal Medicine Fellowship

Thank you for your interest in the DSSP fellowship. We are a NASS Recognized Interventional Spine and Musculoskeletal Medicine Fellowship. Our twelve-month PM&R based program strives to provide comprehensive interventional spine, sports, and musculoskeletal education in a private practice setting that stresses ethical and evidence-based medicine. We have eight board-certified PM&R physicians who practice out of five offices in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Peoria, and Gilbert, which include fluoroscopic procedure suites and on-site physical therapy.

Program Description

We select two to four fellows each year who start their training in July with flexibility of the start date pending the approval of the Fellowship Director. Each fellow works directly under the supervision of a DSSP physician. A typical week consists of a blend of both outpatient clinic including patient evaluations, electrodiagnostic studies, ultrasound guided injections and PRP as well as fluoroscopic spine and joint procedures. The fellow also presents 1-2 articles at our monthly journal club which includes physical therapists and medical professionals from the community, and delivers a monthly lecture to the practice on a Spine or Musculoskeletal Medicine topic.

Requirements

Requirements for application to the DSSP fellowship include the following:

• Completion of an ACGME-accredited residency program in PM&R
• ABPMR board-certified or eligible
• NASS application (click here for form)
• SAE scores (2nd year)
• Personal Statement
• Curriculum Vitae
• Three letters of recommendation

Starting January 22nd, applications should be submitted directly to NASS at https://www.spine.org/education/ismm. In addition, it is encouraged that the applicant also directly email Kathryn Meloy, DSSP Practice Administrator, at kmeloy@dsspaz.com to inform the practice of the individual’s desire to apply to Desert Spine and Sports Physicians. Once application materials are received, we will review the materials on a rolling basis and contact selected residents for an interview. The interviews will be conducted between March 12th and July 12, 2024. We encourage in-person interviews which will take place over one day with time spent with physicians and fellows in the clinic and procedure suite in two of the three offices. Rank lists are then open from July 1-20, 2024. Our fellowship will abide by the Match Day of July 24, 2024.

Education

• Outpatient clinic
  • Acute and chronic spine and musculoskeletal diagnoses
  • Comprehensive neuromusculoskeletal evaluation
  • Ordering and diagnostic image interpretation of plain films, MRI and CT
• Fluoroscopically-guided spine and joint procedures
  • Cervical, thoracic, and lumbar epidural injections (interlaminar, transforaminal, caudal)
  • Cervical, thoracic, and lumbar selective nerve root injections
  • Cervical, thoracic, and lumbar facet and medial branch block injections
  • Cervical, thoracic, and lumbar radiofrequency ablation
  • Sacroiliac joint injections
  • Intra-articular hip and shoulder injections
  • Coccygeal joint injections and pars blocks
  • Sympathetic blocks
  • Kyphoplasty
  • Spinal cord stimulation trials
• Electrodiagnostic studies
• Musculoskeletal ultrasound guided peripheral Injections
• Platelet Rich Plasma joint and soft tissue injections
• Joint, tendon, bursa and trigger point injections
• Prolotherapy
• Coding and billing
• Business skills and Practice Management
• We also encourage/support fellows to participate in academy meetings, procedural workshops and other educational meetings throughout the year.

Current & Past Fellows

2023-2024

• Alan Stupnitsky MD (Medical School – Chicago Medical School, Residency – Washington University in St Louis)

2022-2023

• Andrew Minkley MD (Medical School – Medical College of Wisconsin, Residency – University of Washington, Current Employment – Desert Spine and Sports Physicians)
• Kyle Wentz DO ( Medical School – Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, Residency – University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Current Employment – The Center for Wellness and Pain Care of Las Vegas, Nevada)

2021-2022

• Brent Page MD (Medical School – University of Arizona College of Medicine, Residency – University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Current Employment – Desert Spine and Sports Physicians)
• William Lian MD ( Medical School – University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Residency – University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Current Employment – West Texas Pain Institute, Texas)

2020-2021

• Julie Hastings MD (Medical School – Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Residency – University of Colorado, Current Employment – Spine and Nerve Diagnostic Center, California)
• Ehab Yasin DO ( Medical School – Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, Residency – Rush University Medical Center, Current Employment – Midwest Orthopedics at Rush, Illinois)

2019-2020

• Tasso Papagiannopolous MD (Medical School – Rush University Medical Center, Residency – Rush University Medical Center, Current Employment – Northwestern Medicine Regional Medical Group, Illinois)
• Puneet Ralhan DO (Medical School – Midwestern University, Residency – SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Current Employment – Desert Spine and Sports Physicians)

2018 – 2019

• Rishi Vora DO (Medical School – Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine – Midwestern University, Residency – MedStar Georgetown University Hospital / National Rehabilitation Hospital, Current Employment – Pacific Sports and Spine, Oregon)
• Nasser Ayyad DO (Medical School – University of North Texas Health Science Center – Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, Residency – University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center – University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Texas, Current Employment – Weill Cornell Medicine, New York)

2017 – 2018

• Sheena Bhuva MD (Medical School – Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, Residency – Baylor University Medical Center, Current Employment – Texas Back Institute, Texas)

2016 – 2017

• Nicole Burns DO (Medical School – Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Residency – OSU Wexner Medical Center, Current Employment – Physique Medical Center, Pennsylvania)

2014 – 2015

• Arthur Hatch DO (Medical School – University of Nevada, Residency – University of Arkansas, Current Employment – Desert Spine and Sports Physicians)
• Pooja Mundrati DO (Medical School – University of Medicine & Dentistry of NJ School of Osteopathic Medicine, Residency – University of Medicine & Dentistry of NJ/Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, Current Employment – Summit Orthopedics, Minnesota)

2013 – 2014

• Tima Le DO (Medical School – AT Still University Kirksville, Residency – University of Michigan, Current Employment – Desert Spine and Sports Physicians)

2012 – 2013

• Bren Blackham DO (Medical School – University of Utah School of Medicine, Residency – University of Colorado, Current Employment – Neurosciences Institute Intermountain Health Care, Utah)

2011 – 2012

• Harvinder Deogun MD (Medical School – University of Nebraska Medical Center, Residency – Kansas University Medical Center, Current Employment – Honor Health Spine Group Arizona)