Dr. Tashfeen Ahmad (Pakistan), 2014 AAOS International Scholarship recipient

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

Dr. Nguyen Nguyen Thai Bao, 2014 scholarship recipient of the AAOS-Viet Nam Orthopaedic Association Visiting Scholar and Professional Development Program in Adult Reconstruction

It has been my great honor to have the chance to visit Mayo Clinic as a scholarship recipient of the 2014 AAOS-VOA Visiting Scholar and Professional Development Program in Adult Reconstruction. It was a very precious lifetime opportunity to widen my view of orthopedics, to witness the medical practice at one of the best state-of-the-art hospitals in the world.

 

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Professor Miguel Cabanela for all his kind support and guidance during my time at Mayo Clinic as well as his encouragements to me in the last three AAOS-VOA courses in Vietnam.

I spent my two weeks at Mayo Clinic with Dr. Matthew Abdel and Dr. Michael Taunton, and I am so grateful for the hospitality and their enthusiastic guidance to help me benefit the most from the program. I had a chance to see the remarkable work of Dr. Abdel and Dr. Taunton and their teams in both clinic and surgery. I learned a lot from the surgical techniques to treatment strategies, to OR organization, to communication with patient’s families, patient education and patient preparation. I also had a chance to listen to surgeons’ presentations on early Tuesday mornings and to discussions after the surgeries, as well as to study at the gross anatomy labs on Mondays. Dr. Abdel and Dr. Taunton also taught me a lot during case discussions with their residents and me.

 

The Mayo Clinic visit has changed me a lot, both from the point of view of practicing orthopedics surgery and in future career direction. I wish I could have a chance to participate in other AAOS courses and meetings.

Thank you!

Nguyen Nguyen T. Bao, MD