Welcome from the Chair

Paul J. Dougherty, M.D.
Paul J. Dougherty, M.D. Chair

Welcome to the department of orthopaedic surgery and rehabilitation at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville.

Patient Care

The department provides patient care services at UF Health Jacksonville, UF Health North and at outpatient practices in Jacksonville. Our faculty offer an array of specialties, such as orthopaedic trauma, sports medicine, general orthopaedics, and hand and upper extremity surgery. At UF Health North, our sports medicine physicians offer platelet-rich plasma injections as a regenerative treatment option. These injections use a patient’s own platelets to stimulate and accelerate the healing process.

The department’s foot and ankle division encompasses the disciplines of forefoot surgery, rearfoot reconstruction and limb salvage. The Vertical Foot Alignment System, or VFAS, is now in use at UF Health Emerson Medical Plaza, where personnel provide high-quality orthotic devices to ease pain and improve biomechanical function during ambulation. VFAS allows for orthotics to be manufactured and dispensed during a single office visit. This is a tremendous benefit, given that typical orthotic preparation is lab-based and can take several weeks or months.

Education

The department offers a thriving ACGME-accredited orthopaedic surgery residency training program. The dynamic, five-year program features a host of hands-on clinical rotations, including plastic surgery and vascular surgery in the first year, and pediatric orthopaedics, adult reconstruction and foot and ankle in subsequent years. All of the program’s 2019 graduates passed the first part of their American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons certifying examinations.

Through our hospital affiliate, UF Health Jacksonville, the foot and ankle division offers a three-year podiatry residency program. The program has won the Florida Podiatric Medical Association’s Science and Management Symposium residency competition each of the past three years. This year, all of the program’s graduates passed their initial American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery examinations.

Research

In fulfillment of UF Health’s mission, research is taking center stage, with new clinical trials on the horizon. Trials will include exploring ways to bring innovative care to patients, particularly in wound healing and orthopaedic trauma. The internal orthopaedic research office consists of a coordinator, physician liaisons and the department chair, who all aim to support the growth of research activities within the department.

Faculty and staff in the UF department of orthopaedic surgery and rehabilitation in Jacksonville are highly motivated and excited about what lies ahead. We will always strive for excellence in the realms of patient care, education and research.

Paul J. Dougherty, M.D.
Chair, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation; Program Director, Orthopaedic Surgery Residency
University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville