AANA, Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society address diversity in orthopedics in joint event
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The Arthroscopy Association of North America and the Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society held a joint event to address important and timely topics related to the long-standing gender disparity in orthopedics, according to a press release.
Held during Specialty Day at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting, the session on diversity included talks on implicit bias and imposter syndrome, as well as a panel discussion on moving the needle in diversity and orthopedics, according to release. The release also noted the event program included a talk recognizing the achievements of Freddie H. Fu, MD, DSc(Hon), DPs(Hon), an orthopedic visionary, diversity advocate and founding member of the International Orthopaedic Diversity Alliance, who died in September of 2021.
“The vision for 2022 Specialty Day was unlike any educational event that’s been organized in years past,” Mark H. Getelman, MD, president of AANA, said in the release. “Improving diversity and inclusion within our society has been a cornerstone of my presidential year, and this particular program made a giant step toward just that. Recognizing our colleague Dr. Fu, who fiercely advocated for diversity within orthopedics and revolutionized how we care for all our patients, was special and a natural and fitting addition.”
In addition to joint-specific sessions on shoulder, knee and hip, the release noted talks within those sessions incorporated several takeaways on the care of female athletes, supporting the diverse and inclusive theme of the program. The program also featured Martha Murray, MD, FAAOS, an orthopedic surgeon-in-chief at Boston Children’s Hospital and professor of orthopedic surgery at Harvard Medical School, who presented the annual innovations lecture. In addition, the program garnered national attention as a feature for #SpeakUpOrtho, an initiative to increase awareness surrounding gender bias, inequities and harassment within orthopedic surgery.
“Our goal from the onset of creating this program was to highlight the glaring discrepancies and how we as an orthopedic community can address those discrepancies head on,” Brian R. Waterman, MD, program co-chair, said in the release. “The addition of an entire session devoted to diversity and recognizing the invaluable contributions of our female colleagues was just a start.”
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