Rolling admission · Istanbul · Delivered in English
Follow how an orthopaedic department assesses the painful or unstable shoulder, chooses between rehabilitation and surgery, and plans recovery — with elbow cases followed only where the calendar allows.
What you see depends on the department's clinical calendar during your placement; the list below describes the department's usual scope, not a guaranteed programme.
Many patients with shoulder pain improve without an operation, so the clinic decision carries much of the weight. Degenerative rotator cuff tears in older patients are commonly managed initially with physiotherapy, injection and activity modification, whereas an acute traumatic tear in an active patient may be repaired early, before the tendon retracts and the muscle deteriorates. MRI or ultrasound defines tear size, retraction and fatty infiltration, which bear on whether a repair is likely to heal. Observers see how the team balances these findings against pain, function, age and occupation before surgery is offered.
Instability is decided on different grounds. After a traumatic dislocation, young age, contact or overhead sport and recurrent episodes increase the risk of further instability, and the amount of glenoid and humeral head bone loss — usually assessed on CT — influences whether an arthroscopic soft-tissue repair is likely to hold or a bone-block procedure is preferred. Multidirectional instability without a structural lesion is usually managed with specialised physiotherapy. These are discussions an observer can follow in clinic and at case review, whether or not a particular operation falls within the placement dates.
Elbow surgery is a smaller and less predictable part of upper-limb practice. Fractures around the elbow present through the trauma pathway, while elective elbow work — arthroscopy, distal biceps repair, release of a stiff elbow or replacement — is observed only where the department schedules it during your dates, confirmed after review. Shoulder and elbow cases bring together orthopaedic surgeons, anaesthetists (regional anaesthesia is widely used in shoulder surgery), theatre staff and the rehabilitation team, who plan the staged protocol that follows a repair.
Unlike the department-wide orthopaedics and traumatology page, this page is limited to the shoulder and elbow: cuff and instability decisions, arthroscopic lists and upper-limb rehabilitation. Knee arthroscopy and sports knee injuries belong to the knee arthroscopy and sports surgery focus, and hand, wrist and peripheral nerve surgery to the hand and peripheral nerve surgery focus.
Students in their clinical years and graduate physicians aiming at orthopaedics, sports or musculoskeletal medicine who want to watch the painful or unstable shoulder being assessed, imaged and steered towards rehabilitation or theatre.
Orthopaedic surgeons with a specialist qualification and an upper-limb practice who name the shoulder and elbow as their interest; the 12–24-month attachment is to the orthopaedics department, whose lists determine how much elbow work is seen.
Both routes are strictly observational: observers attend theatre and clinic without patient contact, do not scrub or assist, and are not assessed on any procedure.
| Clinical Observership | Clinical Fellowship | |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | 1, 2 or 4 weeks (extension possible on request) | 12 to 24 months, agreed with the host department |
| Who it is for | Medical students in clinical years and graduate physicians from outside Turkey | Recognised specialists and family physicians seeking advanced exposure beyond standard specialty training |
| Format | Full-time, strictly observational — outpatient clinics, operating theatre, ward rounds, case discussions | Extended observational attachment to one department: daily practice, service structure and specific techniques |
| Certificate | Certificate of attendance issued by the host hospital and signed by its Medical Director | Certificate on completion issued under the accreditation of the affiliated university school of medicine |
| Start | Rotations typically begin on a Monday; dates are agreed individually | Start date planned around the date you request and the department's capacity |
One online application for both routes. State Shoulder & Elbow Surgery as your focus in your objectives; ATDERA reviews the file and prepares it for the Orthopaedics department, then replies with next steps, typically within two working days.
Already started? The application page picks up where you left off.
ATDERA Global Limited (Companies House No. 17173428, registered in England and Wales) coordinates this programme for a university teaching hospital in Istanbul. ATDERA is not a hospital and does not provide clinical care; admission decisions and certificates are the host hospital's.
One online application covers both routes and all twenty-one specialties — details, programme choice and documents in five short steps. ATDERA reviews the file and replies with next steps, typically within two working days.
