Dr. Lynch’s Orthopedic Background
Dr. Lynch was the Director of the Division of Sports Medicine & Shoulder Surgery within the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Naval Medical Center San Diego – a division comprised of fellowship-trained and board-certified orthopedic surgeons with subspecialty training in sports medicine and shoulder surgery who provided ethical, cost-effective, up-to-date care for the active duty members of the military, their dependents, and retirees.
A native of the Pacific Northwest, Dr. Lynch attended Harvard University graduating Magna Cum Laude with High Honors. At Harvard he played defensive back for Harvard’s Division I-AA football team and received numerous awards to include the John Harvard Scholar Award of Highest Academic Achievement, the Harvard College Scholar Award, and the Blumberg Creative Science Award. As part of his undergraduate education, Dr. Lynch was recognized as an Admiral Scholar and completed four years of course work in Naval Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology as part of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps program. He served as the M.I.T./Harvard/Tufts Consortium Midshipman Battalion Executive Officer in 1998 receiving the American Legion Award for Academic Excellence and the Navy League of the United States – Most Outstanding Midshipman Award.
Upon completion of his undergraduate study, Dr. Lynch continued his graduate education at Oregon Health & Sciences University in Portland, Oregon, under the Armed Forces Heath Professions Scholarship Program graduating Summa Cum Laude and first in his medical school class. He continued his postgraduate training in orthopedic surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, receiving numerous accolades and awards for his overall performance and research endeavors. Upon completion of residency training, Dr. Lynch remained in Seattle at the University of Washington receiving an academic appointment as an Acting Instructor within the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine while completing a fellowship in shoulder and elbow surgery with Frederick A. Matsen, III, MD, and Winston J. Warme, MD.
Dr. Lynch’s professional career has involved tours at Naval Hospital Bremerton in Bremerton, Washington, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, and Naval Medical Center San Diego in San Diego, California. Dr. Lynch previously served as the Orthopedic GME Coordinator for the Family Practice Residency Program at Naval Hospital Bremerton; and while in Germany he performed primary casualty reception for all orthopedic trauma related to Operation Enduring Freedom triaging patients from Afghanistan, Libya, and the Horn of Africa. His career as a military orthopedic surgeon afforded the opportunity to practice throughout various areas in our country as well as abroad.
Upon completing his military service, Dr. Lynch joined The Shoulder Clinic of Idaho in 2016 where his practice is devoted exclusively to treating problems of the shoulder and elbow. He has published numerous peer-reviewed scientific articles concerning the shoulder and elbow, has presented at regional and national meetings, and is an active reviewer for several peer-review journals dedicated to the practice of orthopedic surgery.
Dr. Lynch’s Military Experience
Division of Sports Medicine & Shoulder Surgery Naval Medical Center San Diego
As the former Director of the Division of Sports Medicine & Shoulder Surgery, Dr. Lynch focused his team’s attention on the care of active duty military personnel, their dependents, retired military and government members. His Division was comprised of fellowship-trained and board-certified orthopedic surgeons with subspecialty training in sports medicine and shoulder surgery, who performed the largest volume of complex surgical sports medicine and shoulder cases in the region. His team’s focus was to provide the best possible, most up-to-date, and timely care to patients and their families. Treating patients from all over the world; Dr, Lynch, and his Division, commonly coordinated care for patients traveling from remote stations in California, Nevada, Oregon & Washington, as well as overseas locations in Japan & Guam. In addition, his Division supported rapid access clinic locations at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, 32nd Street Naval Base, and the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado – the West Coast focal point for special and expeditionary warfare training and operations – specifically to facilitate timely care to the active fighting military force and to maintain readiness.
Dr. Lynch and his team had the privilege to assist with the education of 20+ orthopedic residents each year from the Navy’s ACGME-accredited orthopedic residency program at Naval Medical Center San Diego. In addition, they welcomed orthopedic residents from the University of California, San Diego, as well as visiting medical students from all over the continental United States as a routine part of their educational program. The Division placed an emphasis on orthopedic education and research as it related to sports medicine and shoulder surgery. All of the members of his team were leaders in their field, having published and presented at regional and national meetings.
The goals for his Division were to maintain the readiness of the active military fighting force; to provide the best and most timely care possible to patients; and to provide the most up-to-date and innovative educational service to the residents and medical students they had the privilege to teach. Dr. Lynch and his team worked diligently to remain at the forefront of care for sports related injuries, and his team took great pride in their ability to be the “Team Physicians” for the world’s most capable and formidable fighting force – the uniformed men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States.
Joseph R. Lynch, MD Reviews
