Dr. Semin Becirbegovic:
I received AAOS scholarship for 2013 and I am proud for it. Let me share some of my impressions from scholarship visit.
I realized that this was extremely competitive program with so many applicants from the region. Being selected as one of recipients of AAOS scholarship award means that committee members recognized my current activities, education and things presented in the essay. This really boosts my confidence.
Reception and meeting with Academy staff was great opportunity for me to present the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and to present myself. The meeting was so present and at this point I already felt like a member of one big and strong family which cares about me. AAOS building is so interesting because the visitor is able to make a tour and to explore some fact about founders of modern orthopedic surgery. Only then you realize that you are in fact a part of ongoing process of development of this discipline. Here, you realize how important you profession is and how big your responsibilities are. It is always good to start with history as Isaac Newton said:”…if I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants…”.
There is only one word to describe shoulder course at Orthopedic Learning Center: “Awesome”. So many interesting lectures, so many topics covered and yet high quality of covered content. The course organization was “Swiss accurate”. Course president introduced me at the beginning to auditorium. I was also given an opportunity to present Bosnian orthopedic society. Because of that so many people greeted me during the course. We shared some thoughts about not only a the topics of the course, but also about resemblance and differences of organization of orthopedic surgery in our countries. I was a special guest at faculty dinner. It is not usual so hangout with faculty in such casual atmosphere but that is one of the thing that come along with scholarship.
Most important part of my scholarship visit was a week in Dr Stetson and Dr Powell practice in Burbank, CA. It was interesting for me to see very well organized private practice which is sub specialized in sports orthopedics. This is very much different experience from everything else in my carrier. So far I was trained in big hospital throughout Europe. It was interesting to observe management of patients, electronic data capture systems, preoperative exams and observing surgeries at Surgical Center. Everything there is devoted to efficacy. Basically, I was truly interested in the things learned at OLC course in shoulder surgery. There are few things which could be implemented after this visit. That being said, Dr Stetson proposed to organize a mutual, AAOS and Bosnian society, course in Sarajevo, with topics on sports medicine. This would be major impact of my visit and receipt of AAOS scholarship. It will enable to orthopedic surgeons, which are not as lucky as I am, to attend comprehensive course led by AAOS faculty. The mission of “spreading word” will get true meaning with this event (in near future hopefully).
My hosts were exceptional. Beside, clinical work they managed my free time so good that I was able to try some of Californian “must try” cousine, visited Warner Brothers studio, visited Hollywood, attended Dodgers-Yankee baseball game. Thank you Dr Stetson and Dr Powell. Thank you Scott DiCesare .
There are two things which I will try to implement in my practice: patient education and efficacy. Dr Stetson and Dr Powell have work tremendously in educating their patient. Their webpage is very well organized, fool of precious information provided in layman’s language. Doctors generously spend their time explaining details, but really details, of the respective conditions, treatments strategies, pros cons etc. One of the first things that you observe when you come to S-P office is a bunch of interns. They are young, intelligent, ambitious, future colleagues who decided to spend one year in the practice in order to gain experience working with renowned surgeons before moving to medical school. They shadow the attending physicians and really boost efficacy of office work. It seems like win-win situation to me. Another thing which is exceptional in the office is electronic data records. However, it was too complicated for my modest orthopedic brain to understand how it works (in such short stay ate least).
Only downside of the scholarship visit is that is short. Other than that, this was amazing experience. It feels like opening of one new door in my carrier. Hopefully, this is mutual experience. I am sure that there are so many things to share in the future between AAOS, my hosts and me. This is one important wind in my sail and I will do my best to make build upon this scholarship. Hopefully, I will be able to do something good for Academy and for my mentors in the future as well. After all, we are members of one big family which cares.
