AO Trauma Fellowships

$Fellowship in orthopaedics discussing the AO methods of fracture treatment$

AO Trauma Fellowship—your next step

The AO Trauma Fellowship Program offers a unique educational experience to the most promising young surgeons in the entire field of orthopedic surgery. With this program, AO Trauma provides a gateway to our worldwide network and fosters cross-pollination and networking opportunities across our global community.

Fellows will have the opportunity to learn from leading AO Trauma experts in the carefully selected and renowned centers, covering the entire scope of orthopedic surgical procedures performed around the world. The duration of the AO Trauma fellowship program is from 6 to 12 weeks.

The list of our AO Trauma Fellowship Host Centers can be found here.

AO Trauma Fellowship applicants must be AO Trauma members. Learn more about AO Trauma membership here.

AO Trauma Visit-the-Expert Fellowship Program

The call for application for the 2026 AO Trauma program Visit-the-Expert program is now closed.

Selection criteria

We aim to identify the most promising young surgeons who dedicate the main part of their practice to orthopedic trauma care and support them in deepening their understanding of fracture care and further developing their skills.

Selection criteria for AO Trauma Fellows

AO Trauma Fellowships are in high demand, and we receive more applications each year than we can accommodate.

The goal of our fellowships is to identify surgeons who are dedicating the main part of their practice to orthopedic trauma care. We want to help these surgeons to deepen their understanding of fracture care and further develop their skills. In the end, we want each fellow to become a part of the worldwide AO Trauma community.

Selection criteria for AO Trauma Fellows

Previous participation in the AO Trauma Basic Principles and AO Trauma Advanced Principles courses
Orthopedic Trauma is the main part of practice
Active AO Trauma membership
Younger than 45 years old in the year of application
Employment by a teaching hospital is recommended

Who selects AO Trauma fellows?

Fellows are selected in several steps, involving the AO Trauma Councils and the AO Trauma Regional Boards in each region.

First, each application is reviewed and evaluated by members of the national council of the applicant’s country of employment.
Next, the application goes to the regional fellowship coordinator (RFC). In each of the five AO Trauma regions, the regional board has appointed one senior surgeon as the RFC. The RFC makes the final decision and places the fellows with host centers.
If a fellow goes to a different region for his or her fellowship, the RFC of the host region confirms that the placement is suitable.

Application process

The application requires the upload of supporting documentation. Please have these files ready for upload before you begin to fill in your application. (Accepted file formats are PDF, JPG, PNG, and GIF.)

Download example PDF to see what information will be required.

You will need the following documents:

Curriculum vitae (CV)
Copy of the AO Trauma Basic Principles and AO Trauma Advanced Principles course/activity certificate(s)
Copy of your medical school diploma
Copy of your passport
Submission of a photograph and/or evidence of vaccinations and your English language proficiency is optional.

Only complete applications will be considered. Make sure you have an active AO Trauma membership.

Stipends

During your fellowship, you will receive a small stipend fund to contribute to your accommodation and living costs.

Please note that the stipend is a contribution to the costs for travel, accommodation and meals and may not necessarily cover all the costs. AO Trauma is not able to arrange accommodation in the host country. Travel as well as insurance costs must be funded entirely by the fellow.

The AO Trauma Fellowship stipends are calculated using a benchmark of USD 550 for 1 week's fellowship in the United States. The stipends for all other countries are adjusted for the local price level. To calculate the adjustment, the price level ratio of purchasing power parity (PPP) conversion factor to market exchange rate provided by the World Bank is used. The World Bank data can be accessed here. The stipends are paid in Swiss francs equivalents.