Most people spend much of their upbringing wondering and thinking about what they want to do for the rest of their lives. For some, it clicks; there’s a moment of clarity when the answer becomes very clear.
For Dr. Jordan Miller, chief resident in the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV Department of Orthopaedics and a member of the school’s charter class, the answer came to him in his senior year of high school.
A Las Vegas native, Miller attended Green Valley High School, where he participated in several sports: he was an all-state football player and played varsity baseball and track. During his senior year, Miller went through some injuries related to these sports, such as separating his shoulder during football, breaking his thumb while playing baseball, and tearing his hamstring while running in track. Throughout all of these injuries, an orthopaedic surgeon was guiding Miller every step of the way. These times were pivotal in his life, serving as an introduction to a career in orthopaedics.
This interest in medicine stayed with Miller through his time at Brigham Young University, where he continued to play football.
“I had a lot of friends, especially in college, who got hurt on the field – a lot of teammates. I became very interested in their injury, their treatment, and their rehab protocols, and I wanted to learn about it,” Miller says. “With that background, I just was drawn to it, and it resonated with me.”
After college, Miller went on to be accepted into the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine and became a member of its charter class. Wanting to “elevate orthopaedic care” in Las Vegas, he became a resident in the school’s orthopaedic surgery residency program.
“We’re a very busy ortho trauma center, and we get a lot of hands-on experience with complex surgeries in that regard,” Miller says. “Our program is rapidly growing. We are expanding in every discipline of orthopaedics, so I’ve seen a huge growth in the sports market since I’ve been here.”
Equipped with the skills and the experiences he has obtained from the residency program, Miller is set to begin his fellowship in orthopaedic sports medicine at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.
“I’m very happy with my training, very pleased with it. I’m going to one of the best fellowships in the world, [and] I’m going to train under some of the world leaders in sports medicine,” he says. “I’m going down to Cedars, where the team physicians for the Dodgers, the Angels, the Rams, the Ducks, the Galaxy are – every major pro team in LA. I’m excited for the opportunity and look forward to working with those athletes. My training in residency has given me confidence and enabled me to go and do that.”
As for what he hopes to do in the future, Miller is aiming to return to Las Vegas and treat the people here.
“I would love to take care of collegiate and professional athletes, especially here in Las Vegas as this is my home, and we have this unbelievable explosion of professional teams. I’d love to play any role in that,” he says. “And then, just to take care of the everyday man of Las Vegas, I want to do right by them and do the right surgeries with the right indications, and the right rehabilitation protocols. I want people to be able to move and have function. I want to do what’s right for them and help them pursue their hobbies and be happy.”
