Dr. Jelsma’s Office Philosophy: Personal Care
Dr. Jelsma feels that when a patient makes an appointment to see a doctor, they expect to see a person who graduated from an accredited medical school. However, with the advent of managed care, many medical practices now delegate patient care to physician extenders such as nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants. While these professionals play an important role in patient care, they are not a replacement for the physician. For example, what presents as shoulder pain from common tendinitis could be actually be caused by a more serious problem. Medical diagnosis and treatment is complicated, and we want our patients to receive the finest care possible. At this office, when a patient makes an appointment to see the doctor, they will meet Dr. Jelsma. He sees every patient personally.
Dr. Jelsma chose to be a sole practitioner because he believes it improves patient care. Seeing the same doctor every time helps to increase patient trust, improves understanding of the medical history, and reduces medical error. Having a deeper understanding of the patient helps make each treatment program unique to that individual.
Patients who elect to undergo surgery will know that Dr. Jelsma will do the entire procedure. In contrast, at teaching hospitals, senior doctors may only supervise cases, allowing residents learning surgery to do the procedures. Likewise, many surgeons often perform only the complicated parts of a surgery themselves, leaving wound closure or simpler procedures to the physician’s assistant. Dr. Jelsma does not like to take this risk. He feels his expertise doing the entire procedure gives his patients the best chance of a successful surgical outcome.
Recovering from surgery can be a difficult process. Patients may encounter unexpected problems and need help at night or after hours. Dr. Jelsma is always available to his patients through his office paging system. The only time a patient might speak to a different physician is if he is out of town.
Any patient who has a problem that Dr. Jelsma believes could be better treated by another specialist is referred to that office. For example, if a patient with hip arthritis fails to improve with nonsurgical treatment, the patient will be referred eventually to a surgeon specializing in hip replacements. We make referrals when appropriate. We want you to find the best quality medical care for your problem.
GET TO KNOW US
RICHARD DEJONGH JELSMA, M.D.
EDUCATION
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
New York, New York
1984-1988, Doctor of Medicine
Dartmouth College
Hanover, New Hampshire
1980-1984, Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude, phi beta kappa
Major: Chemistry, honors in major
Haseltine Award, given to the most outstanding undergraduate in chemistry and physics.
POST-GRADUATE TRAINING
Frank E. Stinchfield Fellow, Orthopaedic Research Laboratory, New York Orthopaedic Hospital
New York, New York
1988-1989
Internship, General Surgery, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center
New York, New York
1989-1990
Resident, Orthopaedic Surgery, The New York Orthopaedic Hospital at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center
New York, New York
1990-1994
Fellow, American Sports Medicine Institute, with Dr. James R. Andrews and Dr. William G. Clancy
Birmingham, Alabama
August 1994-August 1995
BOARD CERTIFICATION
Board Certified by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery. Passed Part 1 examination of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery in 1994. Percentile Rank of 91. Passed Part 2 July 11, 1997, Recertified June 2005.
Board Certified in Sports Medicine by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, November, 2008.
ABOS Certifications valid until December 31, 2027.
CLINICAL APPOINTMENT AND PRACTICE
Volunteer Clinical Instructor, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
Private Practice in Houston, Texas from August 1995 to April 2000
Private Practice in Sherman, Texas from April 2000 to Present time.
SOCIETIES AND MEMBERSHIPS
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery
Arthroscopy Association of North America, 2003
American Orthopaedic Society For Sports Medicine
Grayson County Medical Society
Texas Medical Association
Texas Orthopaedic Association
Diplomat, National Board of Medical Examiners, 1988
PRESENTATIONS AND POSTERS
- Quantitation of keratan sufate in human proteoglycans: Comparison of immunoassays, antibodies, and proteogycan structure. Jelsma RD, Seibel MJ, Saed-Nejad F, Caterson B, Ratcliffe A; Orthopaedic Research Society Meeting, New Orleans, LA, February 1990.
- Arthroscopic treatment of frozen shoulder. Jelsma RD, Bigliani LU, Nicholson GP, Pollock RG, Flatow EL; American Orthopaedic Association Residents’ Meeting, Ann Arbor MI, March 1992.
- Equilibrium and transient swelling pressures of human annulus fibrosus. Best BA, Zhu WB, Jelsma RD, Ratcliffe A, Guilak F, Weidenbaum M, Mow VC; Orthopaedic Research Society Meeting, New Orleans, LA, February 1990.
- Magnetic resonance imaging studies of water and proteoglycan content of the intervertebral disc. Weidenbaum M, Foster RJ, Best BA, Nickoloff EL, Ratcliffe A, Jelsma RD, Newhouse JH, Mow VC; Orthopaedic Research Society Meeting, New Orleans, LA, February 1990.
- The treatment of childhood and adolescent femur fractures with external fixation. Jelsma RD, Higgs GB, Roye DP, poster presentation, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 61st Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, February 1994.
- The treatment of childhood and adolescent femur fractures with external fixation. Higgs GB, Jelsma RD, Roye DP, podium presentation, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 61st Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, February 1994.
- Arthroscopic treatment of frozen shoulder. Duralde XA, Jelsma RD, Biglianai, LU, Flatow EF, Pollock RG, Arthroscopy Association of North America Meeting, 1993.
- The treatment of childhood and adolescent femur fractures with external fixation. Higgs GB, Jelsma RD, Roye DP; European Pediatric Orthopaedic Society, Portugal, April 1994.
- “Throwing injuries to the Elbow”. Presented at Baylor Orthopaedic Surgery Grand Rounds on February 5th, 1997.
ABSTRACTS AND PUBLICATIONS
- Arthroscopic treatment of frozen shoulder. Bigliani LU, Nicholson GP, Jelsma RD, Pollok RG, Flatow EL; Orthopaedic Transactions, Volume 16, #2, p. 331.
- Quantitation of keratan sulfate in human proteoglycans: Comparison of immunoassays, antibodies, and proteogycan structure. Jelsma RD, Seibel MJ, Saed-Nejad F, Caterson B, Ratcliffe A; Trans Orthop Res Soc 15: 332, 1990.
- Equilibrium and transient swelling pressures of human annulus fibrosus. Best BA, Zhu WB, Jelsma RD, Ratcliffe A, Guilak F, Weidenbaum M, Mow VC; Trans Orthop Res Soc 15: 597, 1990.
- Quantitation of keratan sufate in human proteoglycans: Comparison of immunoassays, antibodies and proteogycan structure. Jelsma RD, Seibel MJ, Seibel MJ, Saed-Nejad F, Caterson B, Ratcliffe A; Methods in Research of Cartilaginous Tissues. Pp 173-177, 1990.
- Antigenic properties of keratan sulfate: influence of antigen structure, monoclonal antibodies and antibody valency. Seibel MJ, Jelsma RD, Saed-Nejad F, Caterson B, Ratcliffe A; Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 296; pp. 410-418, 1992.
- Magnetic Resonance imaging studies of water and proteoglycan content of the intervertebral disc. Weidenbuam M, Foster RJ, Best BA, Nickoloff EL, Ratcliffe A, Jelsma RD, Newhouse JH, Mow VC; Trans Orthop Res Soc 15:38, 1990.
- The treatment of childhood and adolescent femur fractures with external fixation. Higgs GB, Jelsma RD, Roye DP; Orthopaedic Transactions, 1994.
- Open surgical techniques for injuries to the elbow in throwers. Andrews JR, Jelsma RD, Joyce ME, Timmerman LA; Operative Techniques in Sports Medicine, 4: 108-113, 1996.
- “Throwing injuries to the elbow”, Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy Review. Joyce M, Jelsma RD, Andrews JR, 3: 224-236, 1995.
OUR OFFICE STAFF
Our focus on personal care extends from Dr. Jelsma’s interaction with every patient down to our dedicated staff. It starts with the first phone call a patient makes to the office. Our phones are answered by our staff during office hours without tedious navigation of phone trees. We want our patients to know they will be cared for by people from the beginning.
Our staff has little turnover. Two employees have worked here since 2001 when Dr. Jelsma opened his office in Sherman. The rest of the staff has worked with Dr. Jelsma for at least four years. Our stability in our staffing helps us to get to know you better.
Our office does its best to give accurate appointment times. We value your time and do our best to keep our office on schedule.
Medical care is also expensive. We try to assist you in understanding your insurance plan coverage, and getting reimbursement from insurers. We also strive to make our services affordable to our cash paying patients. Please call our office if you need help in these matters.
Friendliness is also a key commitment of our office. We know you would prefer to not have a medical issue so we want the experience to be as pleasant as possible. If you have a question about your insurance coverage, treatment plan, or rehabilitation needs, please ask. We are here to help!
Office Manager
Andrea has worked at Dr. Jelsma’s office since opening in 2001 and is Dr. Jelsma’s office manager.
Andrea works in the front office while seeing patients. She also verifies the insurances, figures surgery costs, and goes over the cost of surgery beforehand with patients. She is also in charge of payroll as well as daily operations.
Athletic Trainer and Physician’s Assistant
Billy started working at Dr. Jelsma’s office in January of 2011.
Billy works as the director of the Sports Medicine Program to help provide care to injured athletes at over 20 local high schools and colleges. He also works in the operating room with Dr. Jelsma in his capacity as a physician’s assistant.
Medical Assistant and Athletic Trainer
Ricky started working with Dr. Jelsma in 2014.
He works on the Sports Medicine Program to help provide care to injured athletes at over 20 local high schools and colleges. He schedules all of Dr. Jelsma’s surgeries.
X-Ray Technician
Melissa started at the office in June of 2011.
She takes all the X-Rays at the office and schedules all medical imaging tests that need to be done outside the office. Melissa is also the assistant office manager.
Office Assistant
Laura started with Dr. Jelsma in 2020.
Laura is the lead patient coordinator. She is the first person you encounter on entering the office. She checks patients in, schedules appointments, answers phones and is in charge of all medical records requests.