Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society starts off AAOS strong

ByRachel M. Frank, MD

By Rachel M. Frank, MD

On the first day of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting, the Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society started off with a phenomenal program for its annual meeting. Guest speakers from fields outside of orthopedic surgery captured the crowd, and the audience participation was incredible.

The first guest speaker was Londa Schiebinger, PhD, MA, BA. She is the John L. Hinds Professor of History of Science in Department of History at Stanford University and director of the EU/US Gendered Innovations in Science, Medicine and Engineering and Environment Project. Her talk entitled “Sex in Research” began with a discussion of several sources of gender bias throughout current medical research, and the potential for gender and sex bias leading to social harm and increased health care costs.

Rachel M. Frank

Dr. Schiebinger discussed the differences between gender and sex, with gender defined as a “socio-cultural process” and sex defined as a “biologic quality.” She then presented captivating examples of the research her group has performed to further analyze the interactions of sex, gender and other variables as they relate to science, medicine, engineering and the environment. In one of her case examples, Dr. Schiebinger discussed the concept of “overemphasizing sex differences as a problem” by “de-gendering the knee.” She discussed how in the 1990s, orthopedic manufacturer’s began to market “gender-specific” total knee arthroplasty components directly to women without sound evidence of clinical advantages in the female patient population. Instead of focusing solely on gender as a variable in choosing a knee implant, Dr. Schiebinger emphasized the fact that understanding how gender interacts with other variables (e.g., height, weight and ethnicity) is a gendered innovation, which ultimately raises awareness of sex/gender differences and helps ensure both research quality and patient safety.

The second speaker, Lois P. Frankel, PhD, bestselling author, executive coach and internationally recognized expert in the field of leadership development for women, turned the discussion in a different direction. She focused her presentation on gender differences in the workplace. Utilizing key strategies from her experiences as an executive coach working with Fortune 500 companies, she provided several tips to help audience members evolve into courageous and confident leaders in the workplace. Included were reminders to set measurable goals while holding others accountable, and that “what you measure is what you get” emphasizing the importance of have metrics to monitor successes and failures. She highlighted some measured accomplishments of the Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society (RJOS) during the past year, all under the excellent leadership of Amy Ladd, MD, professor of orthopaedic surgery and chief of the Robert A. Chase Hand and Upper Limb Center at Stanford University. Every attendee of the meeting received a copy of Dr. Frankel’s New York Times Best Seller “Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office.” Following an informative Q&A session with both speakers, the meeting concluded with a dinner and social event, which allowed for networking and further discussion.

With a friendly, collaborative and relaxed atmosphere, the meeting was thoroughly enjoyable and I am grateful I had the opportunity to meet some of the incredible women leading the way in what is currently a male-dominated field. The RJOS continues its AAOS endeavors tomorrow, with both Business and Leadership meetings, as well as with a hands-on sawbones workshop for medical students in collaboration with the Perry Initiative.

Rachel M. Frank, MD, is a third-year resident at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

Disclosure: Frank has no relevant financial disclosures.