| About the AOA
At the core of The American Orthopaedic Association (AOA) lie the solid and consistent ideals of its mission: “To identify, develop, engage and recognize leadership to further the art and science of orthopaedics”.
Founded in 1887, the AOA is the oldest and most distinguished orthopaedic association in the world. Membership in the AOA is achieved by those who have made a significant contribution to education, research, and the practice of orthopaedic surgery. In 2003, the Academic Orthopaedic Society, formerly the Association of Orthopaedic Chairmen, founded in 1971, was incorporated into the AOA. This positioned the AOA as the formal home and supporter of department chairs, program directors, fellowship directors and academic faculty, furthering the AOA’s commitment to academics. Currently, the AOA has over 1,400 members.
The AOA has been the parent of several major orthopaedic organizations (see Evolution).
In addition to the Annual Meeting, the AOA supports varied leadership and educational programs including AOA Leadership Fellowships, the AOA-OREF-Zimmer Resident Leadership Forum (RLF) and the Emerging Leadership Forum.
The AOA recognizes leadership excellence in orthopaedics with award programs including: the AOA-Zimmer Award for Distinguished Contribution to Orthopaedics, the AOA-Smith & Nephew Endoscopy Distinguished Clinician Educator Award and the Shands Awards.
The AOA also offers leadership development courses including a governance course titled Leadership in Voluntary Organizations. New in 2003, the AOA launched the AOA~Kellogg Leadership Series, an intense three-module series that teaches orthopaedists to think and act productively inside and outside the practice setting; the Series also discusses opportunities for leadership as it relates to business issues, community involvement, advisory appointments and governance affairs.
The AOA is the only orthopaedic organization that so strongly emphasizes a single theme of purpose: leadership in orthopaedics. The quality the AOA’s programs demonstrates that the organization is committed to nothing less than perfection in addressing this focus.
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