Dr. Joyce A. Tarbet, MD

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Get to know Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Joyce A. Tarbet, who serves patients in Minnesota.

An established orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Tarbet is affiliated with Allina Health, offering her services at New Ulm Medical Center Clinic & Allina Health Springfield Clinic in Minnesota. Her professional interests include rotator cuff repair, shoulder and knee arthroplasty, arthroscopy and sports medicine, shoulder and knee ligament reconstruction, as well as trauma and fracture care. 

Dr. Tarbet strives to help patients return to their desired level of activity whether an elite athlete trying to return to their previous level of competition, or an elderly patient wishing to return to gardening or maintain their independence. 

Her practice philosophy demonstrates providing respectful and compassionate care, as well as treating patients like family members and friends as “we are all neighbors and community members”. She has learned from her patients the positive impact orthopedic care can provide, as she will always remember a patient thanking her for “giving her her life back”.

Growing up in Montreal, Canada as an avid athlete, Dr. Tarbet loved and played many sports, so sports medicine and orthopedic surgery were an easy choice. She graduated with her medical degree from, after which she went on to perform her internship in general surgery and her residency in orthopedic surgery at McGill University. She then furthered her training with a fellowship in arthroscopy and sports medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

With nearly three decades of experience, she is board-certified in orthopedic surgery by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. It is a regulatory college which acts as a national, nonprofit organization established in 1929 by a special Act of Parliament to oversee the medical education of specialists in Canada.

In addition to being a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Dr. Tarbet is a member of the American College of Sports Medicine, a physician member of the American Board of Quality Assurance, and a licensed member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.

Orthopedic surgery is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and non-surgical means to treat musculoskeletal trauma, spine diseases, sports injuries, degenerative diseases, infections, tumors, and congenital disorders.

When asked what she is most proud of, Dr. Tarbet answered: “the privilege of being a member of the United States Soccer Federation and the honor of becoming the Head Team Physician for the United States Women’s National Soccer Team”.

A few of her personal achievements include: Team Physician US Women’s Soccer; Team Physician Chicago Fire, MLS; 2 Division I Schools; FIFA Women’s World Cup, Medical Director, 1999; and FIFA Men’s World Cup, Doping Control ,1994.

Her personal interests include boating, playing golf, traveling, as well as dogs and photography. If she weren’t a doctor, she would probably have been a lawyer. 

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