Academic Orthopaedic Consortium symposium to focus on future of academic orthopedics
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The Academic Orthopaedic Consortium Business & Leadership Symposium will gather the clinical and administrative leadership across university-based musculoskeletal enterprises to share best practices across the business and leadership of academic missions.
This year’s symposium, which is being held from Oct. 12-14 in Chicago, will draw 180 chairs, vice chairs and chief administrative officers from 75 universities. Distinguished lecturers will include thought leaders in academic orthopedics.
Top challenges
The Academic Orthopaedic Consortium (AOC) symposium agenda was constructed around the top challenges as identified through recent personal interviews with 60 chairs and chief administrative officers, Michael R. Gagnon, MBA, founder and CEO of AOC Connect, told Healio.
“Attendees will engage via intense discussion around topics, such as the challenges of managing within a health system, funds flow negotiation and faculty compensation plans that help to recruit and retain top tier faculty,” Gagnon said.
Other topics will include surviving the current labor crisis and establishing musculoskeletal institute models to scale clinical enterprise across markets.
“This is the top meeting in the academic orthopedic space and should be required for orthopedic chairs and their leadership teams. Every time the AOC meets, there’s tremendous energy because everybody has the same problems regardless of where you are. What’s truly special is how open our members are about sharing what works and what doesn’t work and engaging informally off podium about all of this. This is our special sauce," L. Scott Levin, MD, chair of the department of orthopaedic surgery, University of Pennsylvania and chief medical officer for AOC Connect, told Healio.
Collective wisdom
Levin said one of the meeting’s main value propositions is how the AOC Symposium brings attendees together to discuss their experiences across academic missions and to leverage collective wisdom. This provides attendees with an opportunity to take a deeper dive into the issues that matter most to them and to learn more about potential solutions that can be taken back to their institutions to improve leadership performance.
“Every other meeting is either focused on one of those things or another, but here we can get all of them in the same room,” Farshid Guilak, PhD, chief scientific and innovation officer, Orthopaedic Consortium (AOC) and Mildred B. Simon professor, department of orthopedic surgery at Washington University, told Healio.
For orthopedic researchers, financing and supporting orthopedic research with dwindling funds is one of the most important topics of discussion, Guilak said.
“A lot of people leave academia and they go run a research lab, and they haven’t been trained in all these other aspects of research. That is where we’re trying to fill in gaps with the AOC,” Guilak told Healio.
Guilak said speakers at the symposium will present on the best practices associated with the business of orthopedic research, grant writing, philanthropy, seeking alternative sources of support and collaboration, and the financial management of research labs.
Best practices
The AOC was established in 2005 and has 5,400 members, which includes 4,700 orthopedic surgeons and 700 executives across 170 university-based orthopedic departments and 60 health systems and private practices.
Gagnon said the AOC does not charge for membership nor for its benchmark reports that are distributed open access.
“This is part of the strategic decision to lower barriers to participation and to leverage the wisdom of the collective to optimize not only the individuals who are part of the membership but also the performance of the musculoskeletal enterprises the leaders are responsible for managing,” Gagnon said.
Open dialogue
Richard Capra, executive advisor, department of orthopaedic surgery, University of California San Francisco, and president of AOC, said that the AOC’s digital platform has become a critical resource for its members who can connect with each other year-round in real-time for gut checks, sharing and professional connection across peer groups and beyond.
“Often times as leaders we can become focused on our own program and our institution. What you know is what the institution has known, and the values they’ve known. We have inherited the culture and what they’ve done in the past. It’s so important to see beyond this and that is what the AOC does for its members when we gather and connect throughout the year,” Capra told Healio. “By coming together and sharing new ideas and best practices, programs can gain new insights that can drive valuable change and a higher level of patient care.”
The digital platform connects members in a private ecosystem that is used by many chairs and chief administrative officers, Capra said.
“We are in this together and to the extent that we are connected to each other and addressing common challenges together, we advance much more efficiently and effectively. By eliminating cost for participation and encouraging sharing, this shifts the curve outward for academic orthopedic leaders and their enterprises nationally,” Capra said.
The AOC symposium also allows for deep and open dialogue on the problems that all orthopedic surgeons and departments encounter, according to Levin.
“This kind of shared information is good for orthopedics. It’s good for the specialty of orthopedics. It’s a process whereby attending this, you optimize your effectiveness in your day job,” Levin said.
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Academic Orthopaedic Consortium Business & Leadership Symposium; Oct. 12-14, 2023; Chicago. https://myaocconnect.com/annual-symposium/
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