To be selected for
the AAOS international fellowship award among 90 applicants is a great honor
for me, it provided for an exhilarating experience. The Orthopaedic Learning
Center at Rosemont, IL provided excellent opportunity for hands-on skills
development in trauma exposures to which I was unaccustomed in my practice. The
lectures were delivered by experts who were up-to-date with latest evidence,
and have improved my diagnostic and decision making skills in line with current
best practices. In particular, I was impressed by the course directors Dr. O’
Toole and Dr. Ostrum, and found very useful to my practice the talks and
discussions by Dr. Clifford B. Jones, Dr. Liporace, Dr. Tornetta III and Dr.
Siegel, among others. The program was highly relevant to my practice,
meticulously well planned, and flawlessly conducted.
The subsequent clinical
attachment at New England Baptist Hospital, Boston, MA exposed me to experts
with vast experience of subspecialty surgery, which broadened my knowledge and
enriched it with new concepts. In particular, I remember the total knees by Dr.
Mattingly, shoulders by Dr. Jawa, hips by Dr. Van Flandern and arthroscopies by
Dr. Ross. Coming to my area of interest (Foot and Ankle), I got a thrilling
experience of working with Dr. Slovenkai and Dr. Leavitt. With my background
from Pakistan and some experience at UK, we had lucid discussions about the
differences in management approaches between three different continents.
Overall, all doctors and staff were extremely courteous, and offered genuine
help and guidance.
I highly recommend this program to orthopaedic
surgeons from other countries, and hope that this valuable initiative of the
Academy continues and flourishes in the future