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Message from the President

The arc of progress in orthopedic surgery is long and filled with challenges. Yet, the role of the advocate and change-maker is to remain positive and inspire evolution of behaviors and attitudes through discourse and compassion.

I want to take a moment to congratulate Dr. Mary O'Connor on her upcoming diversity award from AAHKS. Dr. O'Connor is a pillar of diversity in orthopedics. She's a trailblazer, and her work in modeling leadership and advocacy is exemplary. Many orthopedic surgeons have reached their current positions due to Dr. O'Connor's efforts. I am one of those individuals.

As a young foreign medical student doing a sub-internship, Dr. O'Connor devoted an hour from her hectic schedule to mentor me. She inspired me, assuring me that it wasn’t impossible to match into orthopedic surgery and shared anecdotes of other international graduates who had successfully matched into the field. She also delineated the expectations for a sub-intern in orthopedics, offering an insight into orthopedic culture. Her words and belief in me bore fruit when I matched at Yale, propelling me to professional success and coming out, for which I am eternally grateful.

The journey towards fostering diversity is intricate. Those advocating for the inclusion of one group might exclude another. Understanding Trans health is a complex endeavor. Science continues to unravel the intricacies of our bodies and their transformations. However, what stands unquestionable is the inherent humanity of Trans individuals, their unalienable right to exist, be revered, and the freedom to define their bodies, pronouns, and destinies without fear of discrimination or persecution.

Dr. O'Connor might not recollect our interaction, but I remember it distinctly. It's often the case where our seniors leave a profound impact on us, even if we might not make a lasting impression on them. As we mature, it becomes our duty to reach out, introduce them to fresh perspectives, share our acquired knowledge, and kindle the flame within them to persist in their growth and evolution.

I salute Dr. O'Connor and express my heartfelt gratitude for her relentless efforts. I fervently hope she continues to enrich all facets of diversity, both old and new.

Best,

Q Hammouri

President, Pride Ortho

Message from the Vice President

I am grateful and proud of our community. We participated in the Medical Student Orthopaedic Society DEIA symposium this weekend, and this gave me such an uplift. We were able to highlight our organization, where we have come from, and all the offerings we have for medical students. I am grateful for the opportunity to showcase all that our organization is doing. We were among organizations with a proven track record of improving DEI in orthopaedics. The inclusion of Pride Ortho was a milestone for us! It is evident that we have no idea what the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community is in orthopaedics currently, but we want to know and make improvements from that baseline. 

The future of our presence in orthopaedics involves our students and residents. I am so proud of you and your courage to be your true selves. This is something I didn’t have the courage to do. One of the many reasons why we created Pride Ortho was to show you that you could be your true selves and we would have your back. I hope that you continue to show your courage, no matter what happens in orthopaedics. We have accomplished so much in the past 1.5 years, but so much work is yet to be done. Keep fighting the good fight! 

In courage,

Jaime Bellamy

Vice President, Pride Ortho

Shout out to Dr. Dave atkin m.d. for his incredible generosity and Mr. Edward Mailhot for his unbelievable  talent and all the hard-work that went into creating this video Pride Ortho Promo VIdeo

Forums

If you are a 4th year medical student, consider using the forum to share your away rotation experiences with other Pride Ortho members. 

Feedback on Away 

Rotation, Residency & 

Fellowship Experiences:

Attendance: 

Pride Ortho Socials 

& Ortho Conferences:

Check out Our Forums to serve as safe spaces for members to share conference attendance & program experiences      Reminders This forum is to serve as a safe space for residency and fellowship applicants to discuss interview, away rotation, and alumni experiences at specific programs.
This forum is to serve as a safe space where members can share their attendance at future pride ortho socials and/or orthopaedic conferences.

DR. Qusai Hammouri awarded top Lgbtq+ physician distinctionEach year, Castle Connolly Top Doctors recognizes 7% of all physicians nationally that embody dedication, compassion, excellence, and service to LGBTQ+ patient populations. Castle Connolly with over 30 years of experience researching nominees selects members nominated by their peers for their national leadership, contribution and impact in their respective field, visibility and representation, and service in ensuring quality healthcare for all patients.

PrideOrtho's own President and founding member, Dr. Q was nominated by peers and selected as a 2023 Top LGBTQ+ Physician, an honor awarded to one of only 64 other physicians nationally. They empower patients and provide exceptional and quality care while simultaneously crafting a supportive environment through the PrideOrtho organization. We are incredibly proud of their hard work and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion within the field of orthopedics.

DR. BELLAMY & DR. Schultzel INDUCTED INTO THE AOAEvery year, the AOA, American Orthopedic Association, carefully selects a pool of candidates for membership. Members of the AOA are known to be leaders in healthcare that exemplify qualities of leadership, scholarship, professionalism, and advocacy amongst other things. 

PrideOrtho proudly had two board of directors Dr. Jaime Bellamy and Dr. Mark Schultzel become inaugural members for the class of 2022. We are proud of their contributions to medicine, orthopaedics, and the efforts they've made to make the world of ortho a better place. 

Achievements

Achievements

Purchase Here!  Online Store

                    Jenna Jones

                 Indiana University 

Prideortho scholarships Gary and Linda Friedlaender -Julie Samora Away Rotation Scholarship Recipients

Chris Paiz

University of New Mexico

NYU Langone Away Rotation Scholarship Recipient

Taylor Bradley

University of Kentucky

          Aurelio Alberto Muzaurieta

            University of Michigan  

              Sophia Mavrommatis

             University of Minnesota  

                Jennifer Sheasly

            University of Washington  

Jesse Dugan

Harvard Medical School

              John Garcia-Muñoz

              Quinnipiac University

Paige Miller

Texas Christian University

David Roye Columbia Away Rotation Scholarship Recipient

Nick Tully

Wake Forest

Jenna Gunn

University of Toledo

                  Desiree “Dez” Ojo

             University of the Incarnate Word  

Matthew Johnson

University of Florida

Events Recap WATCH HERE

Transgender Rights: Legal Landscape and How Doctors Can Be an Ally

We kicked off our annual Pride webinar series with an enlightening conversation on how providers can be allies to our transgendered community. We hosted Shannon Minter, the Legal Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, for an informative discussion on transgender rights and the importance of physician allyship. The webinar discission was moderated by Lauren Gray and Ayesha Rahman and inspired great conversation surrounding transgender care and increased support for all orthopedic patients. Thank you to our hosts, moderators, and attendees for joining such an important conversation.

Queerying the surgeon: stories of being lgbtq+ in ortho

We continued our June webinar series with a thought provoking webinar on what it is like to be LGBTQ+ in the field of orthopaedics. This webinar was led by our very own president, Dr. Q Hammouri and was filled with stories of experiences and advice from three extraordinary panelists: Dr. Deborah Fabian, Dr. Shasta Henderson, and Dr. Carla Bridges. It was an inspiring event where they shared triumps, how they navigated challenges, and shed light on the importance of diversity.

 LGBTQ+ ALLYSHIP AND TRANSCARE FOR ORTHO SURGEONS WEBINAR

We concluded the June webinar series by hosting a discussion with Alicia Jacobson on LGBTQ+ ally ship and trans care for ortho surgeons. We were ecstatic for such a great turn out and are grateful for Alicia's wisdom on the unique healthcare needs of the transgender community. The webinar was filled with good conversation, valuable information, and solidified our organizations commitment to providing compassionate care to all patient populations.

Stryker HQ  Pride month visit 2023

PrideOrtho was invited to visit Styker headquarters in Mahwah, New Jersey to celebrate Pride Month! Members  Q Hammouri, Jaime Bellamy, David Fralinger, Mark Schultzel, Julie Samora, and Carla Bridges shared their experiences, shed light on the importance of LGBTQ+ representation, and engaged in conversations about the future of orthopedic healthcare.

Prideortho at Canadian Orthopaedic association 2023

PrideOrtho members Jaime Bellamy and Ashley Rogerson attended the 2023 COA meeting in Calgary, Canada!

Events Recap

Events Recap

Coming out before residency webinar

Thank you for joining us for this incredibly empowering event where four very brave members of Pride Ortho shared their journeys of coming out before residency. Many of us gained valuable insights and highlighted the supportive community that Pride Ortho fosters.

intersectionality webinar

Join us in November for a presentation and discussion on intersectionality with moderators Dr. Shasta Henderson and Dr. Carla Bridges and a very special guest speaker. 

Date and time TBD.

Upcoming Events 

Join Us for the 1st Pride Ortho Annual Meeting at AAOS 2024

NEW Programs endorsed by LGBTQ+ resident AND Program Director/Chairperson Congrats to the University of Chicago, who joined our growing list of dually endorsed programs! Resources

University of Chicago

LGBTQ+ Inclusive Residency Programs Duke University                      Harvard Combined Orthopedic Surgery ResidencySUNY Upstate                         New York University/Hospital for Joint DiseaseNYP/Columbia Medical Center                                   University of Michigan

University of Minnesota                                           University of Toronto

University of Washington                         Washington University in St. Louis

Yale New Haven Hospital

Want to get on the List? Submit letters from a current resident/fellow as well as the program director/chairperson stating their support of the LGBTQ+ community.

Email letters to membership@prideorthopaedics.org

Programs endorsed by program director/chairperson Atrium Link Musculoskeletal Institute
Brown UniversityGeorge Washington

Michigan State

Ohio State University

University of California, Los Angeles

NEW Program Endorsements! Congrats as they join our growing list of LGBTQ+ resident endorsed programs Resources Medical College of WisconsinSan Antonio Military Medical CenterTufts Medical CenterUniversity of Illinois ChicagoUniversity of Chicago

University of Southern California

Yale New Haven Hospital Oregon Health and Sciences University

University of Arizona

University of British Columbia

University of California, Davis

Wake Forest Atrium Health

LGBTQ+ Inclusive Residency Programs

Duke University Orthopaedic Residency Kendall Bradley, MD

Assistant Professor in Sports and Former Duke Resident

I completed my residency training at Duke, and was out to my co-residents Day 1 of my training. While nervous about being publicly out in a program that prides itself on tradition, I experienced universal support from my co-residents. Two of my co-residents were my Men of Honor at my wedding, and gave a speech about how when his 4 year old daughter thinks about love and marriage, she doesn't see same sex couples as any different.  Duke Residency family recruited for Kendall Bradley's proposal! Residency Spotlight

We are committed to building an inclusive environment to support people from diverse backgrounds in our department, health care, education, research, our university, and the larger community. We work proactively to provide mentorship, promote a safe space, and a sense of belonging members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ+) community in our department and beyond.

Benjamin Alman, MD

Professor and Chair

Check out DUKE  here: 

                     DUKE

Programs endorsed by LGBTQ+ fellow Resources LGBTQ+ Inclusive Fellowship Programs

New York University/Hospital for Joint Diseases - Hand and Upper Extremity

Indiana Hand to Shoulder Center

Yale Hand Fellowship

Columbia PresbyterianDupont Nemours Pediatric Orthopedic FellowshipPhoenix Children's HospitalShriner's Hospital for Children - PortlandShriner's Hospital for Children - Northern California UCSF Sport Medicine and Shoulder Fellowship Carolinas Medical Center

Resources Research LGBTQ+ Patient Support Links Different programs and websites offer resources on how to help support and treat LGBTQ+ patients.Check out Pride Ortho's curated list here. Find publications focused on LGBTQ+ issues and experiences here.

       Member spotlight

Dr. Jennifer Green is an Australian hand surgeon.  She trained at Newcastle University for medical school.  She describes this as a progressive, inclusive institution with people of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds attending, including those from the indigenous population of Australia.  She completed her residency in Sydney at various hospitals through the Australian orthopedic program which is a national program that is state-based.   She had experience in training at rural hospitals.  Interestingly, prior to embarking on her orthopedic surgery residency, she spent a year in New Zealand as a pre-trainee.  There is a large Pacific Islander, Maori population in New Zealand, and this contributed to her interest in diversity.  Following residency, Dr. Green spent a year in fellowship at the Indiana Hand Centre and then six months in Paris, France.

She became involved with IODA (International Orthopedic Diversity Alliance) which was established around the same time as PrideOrtho was coming into existence.  PrideOrtho is based in North America, but it does have a world-wide following.  Dr. Green realized that the more diverse an organization is, the more it tends to attract top talent.  Diversity is not only about race, gender but can include disability and socioeconomic factors.

Dr. Green has noted that for male LGBTQ medical students, orthopedic surgery is still at the bottom of the choice list for residency.  There is a need to do something to encourage them to consider orthopedic surgery.  Patients are better off if their doctors are able to be representative of their community.   Dr. Green has found that female surgeons are perceived as being more inclusive, yet orthopedics is still largely a “boys’ club” that is not inclusive of gay men.

Her work with IODA stems from other efforts to promote diversity.  As chair of the Orthopedic Women’s Link, which is part of the Australian Orthopedic. Association, she realized that there are pockets of amazing work in Europe and elsewhere.  An interesting fact that Dr. Green brought up was that Malaysia, the Philippines have had more females as heads of the national orthopedic associations than the United States, Canada, and Australia which have had one each.  She describes diversity as making our orthopedic community better.  She states that we are here to serve our community.

              Dr. jennifer Green

       Member spotlight

While she has not witnessed directly any incidents against the LGBTQ community, her patients have told her about incidents.  Through her conversations with colleagues and reading, she has been informed of negative behaviors against the LGBTQ community.  She advises that we must be good allies, acknowledge when incidents occur and state that they are not acceptable.  We should not just stand by.

She feels that we need to bring more diverse people into orthopedics.  This means that more diversity is needed in orthopedic leadership.   There is evidence that having diverse voices in committees, in leadership positions will bring people into orthopedics.  It is important to reach out, and PrideOrtho has been organizing various programs, sponsoring students to attend orthopedic educational activities.  IODA is also trying to encourage medical students to enter orthopedics and for them to feel safe in this specialty.  As the founder of IODA, Dr. Green knows that if we can be connected, we are a very powerful force for networking opportunities and creating meaningful impact.  IODA now has 1200 members and continues to grow.

As a hand surgeon, she continues to thrive in restoring function to people who have been limited by pain, stiffness and lack of strength.  It is very satisfying to see people happy doing things that they could not do prior to her surgical interventions such as participating in life, going back to their livelihoods.

Thank you, Dr. Green, for your tireless work in diversifying orthopedics and being a strong ally.

FUN FACT#1:

She was originally going to be a pediatric specialist but then discovered hand surgery.

FUN FACT #2:

She was mistaken for a native French speaker while doing her fellowship in Paris.  (PrideOrtho interviewer speaks French fluently but with a Canadian accent, and upon visiting Paris, in each of her 3 visits, the native French people responded to her in English, thus looking down on her attempts to speak their language.  They were able to identify a Canadian accent. So kudos to Dr. Green for speaking like a true French native, albeit with an accent from Le Midi or the South of France).

              Dr. jennifer Green

APPLY HERE

On March 10, 2022 over 75+ individuals gathered on Zoom to celebrate the launch of something that

would change orthopaedics forever, the Pride Ortho website! The passion to initiate change was prevalent and for a few hours people from all walks of life and medicine gathered with one common goal: to cultivate diversity within orthopaedics and celebrate the start of something greater than themselves.

Website Blog PostsCalendar of EventsResources on Diversity, Equity and InclusionMember Resources:Member DirectoryScholarship OpportunitiesForums

We are building our 5-year strategic plan and are seeking ideas from the community. Please fill out the jot form at the link below or email us any thoughts you may have. 

EMAIL US HERE!

Have an idea?

Share your ideas with us at the link below

Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Research Committee

Aliya Feroe - Vice-Chair 

Rachel Seymour 

Morgan Turnow 

Kyla Petrie 

Emma Payne 

Cameron Levins 

Josh Choe

Mentorship Committee

Leah Gitajn - Vice-Chair

Matt Bauer

Kyla Petrie

Cameron Levins

Brianna Fram

Rina Jain

Ezra Goodrich

Alexander Koo

Susan Odum

Lisa K. Cannada

Mark Schultzel

Ayesha M. Rahman

Membership Committee

nick Tully

Chris paiz

Ezra goodrich

Johnathan dallman

Committee Members

Communications Committee

Matt Bauer

Brianna Fram

Rina Jain

Taylor Bradley

Christopher Nguyen

Education Committee

Marie Gdalevitch

Sara Ballatori

Taylor Bradley

Tyler Williamson

Alicia Jacobson

Rachel Turner

Alex Keuroghlian

Social Media Task Force

Christopher Nguyen

Caellagh Catley

Dylan Parsons

Join a Committee!

DONATEHERE Thank You Donors

Dr. David P. Roye Jr., M.D.

dr. Joseph zuckerman m.d.

Dr. Qusai Hammouri m.d.

Dr. Julie Samora M.D.

Dr. Lesley Anderson

Spencer Adler

Dr. Kristen L. Carroll, M.D. 

Ariel Shagory

Dr. Susan M. Odum Ph.D.

Aidin Eslampour

Chad Krueger

Justin Mitchell

Tejas Patel

Mariana Sánchez de Ovando

Duane Towns

DONATEHERE Thank You Donors

Matt bauer Brianna Fram Christopher Nguyen

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Newsletter Team

Rina Jain "we are all pride ortho" Taylor Bradley Carla Bridges