Undergraduate:           Amherst College, Amherst Massachusetts

Medical School:          University of Michigan Medical School

Residency:                  University of Michigan Health System

Fellowship:                  University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

Board
Certification: Family Medicine, Sports Medicine

Dr. Scott Paluska joined OAK Orthopedics in 2003 to serve as the medical director of the Champaign-Urbana office. After completing a degree in neuroscience at Amherst College in Amherst, MA, he received a medical degree with honors from the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, MI. He finished a residency in Family Medicine at the University of Michigan and a fellowship in faculty development at the Michigan Faculty Development Institute. He subsequently pursued a sports medicine fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pittsburgh, PA. Next, he served on the faculty of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill while seeing patients through his private practice in Cary, NC. He then took a position in Seattle as a faculty member at the University of Washington before moving to Champaign-Urbana for his current practice with OAK Orthopedics.

He is currently a clinical associate professor in the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois and directs the History, Physical Examination and Diagnosis course for the second year medical students. He enjoys the process of introducing the medical students to clinical medicine and helping them understand the importance of listening to patients in order to obtain accurate, thorough histories. His humorous, engaging teaching style promotes active participation from his students. One of his other medical school responsibilities is to direct the white coat ceremony in which the students receive their white coats at the beginning of the clinical rotations. This event recognizes the students’ achievements and emphasizes the humanism essential to compassionate medical care. He also serves on several medical school committees and acts as a faculty advisor for the students. He chairs the Continuing Medical Education (CME) Committee at Provena Covenant Medical Center in Urbana.

Dr Paluska holds specialty certifications in Family Medicine and Sports Medicine and has been elected a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). This highly respected international organization is composed of over 20,000 sports medicine clinicians, educators and researchers dedicated to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of sports-related injuries and the advancement of exercise science. He is active in the ACSM nationally on committees and regularly presents at their annual meetings around the country. Dr Paluska’s medical coverage has included several high schools and the University of Washington Division I athletes. He has also served as a team physician for the Carolina Cobras in the Arena Football League and the Carolina Hurricanes in the National Hockey League.

Dr. Paluska has received several academic awards and has published many articles on musculoskeletal and sports medicine topics in peer-reviewed national and international journals. He serves as a reviewer for several journals and has edited and written several book chapters on sports medicine issues. He continues to promote an evidence-based practice model that utilizes the most recent literature and data to guide his medical decision making.