AOA/CORD will host a virtual Fellowship Directors Forum that will explore the latest outcomes of Signaling in Orthopaedics, best practices in fellow selection, and trends for a new generation of learners. Open to residency and fellowship program directors and coordinators and all leaders in graduate medical education, the webinar offers opportunities to connect across all orthopaedic subspecialties, compare approaches, and discuss solutions to benefit the orthopaedic surgery field.
Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Time: 8:00pm – 9:00pm ET; Virtual
Title: Fellowship Selection and Signaling
Program Chair:
Phillip E. Blazar, MD, FAOA,
Brigham & Women’s Hospital,
Hand & Upper Extremity Fellowship Director
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this Fellowship Directors Forum Webinar, attendees will be able to:
- Define Signaling in the context of Orthopaedic fellowship selection and describe how it differs from traditional application processes
- Explain the rationale for signaling used by Orthopaedic fellowships and contrast them to other medical specialties using signaling
- Identify access and bias considerations with signaling
- Develop individual program strategies for incorporating signaling into their processes.
Webinar Agenda
8:00pm – 8:05pm Opening Remarks and Introductions
Philip E. Blazar, MD, FAOA, Fellowship Directors Forum Webinar Chair, Hand & Upper Extremity, Brigham & Women’s Hospital
8:05pm – 8:20pm How to Interpret Signals
William Hamilton, MD, Anderson Orthopaedic Clinic
- Experience in Adult Reconstruction: Why Signaling and First Year Impact
8:20pm – 8:35pm Balancing Merit, Fit and Equity in Fellow Selection
Rebecca Cerrato, MD, Mercy Medical Center
- Experience in Foot and Ankle: Why Signaling and First Year Impact
8:35pm – 8:50pm Redesigning Selection in an Era with Signaling, AI, and Gen Z Learners
Michael J. Weaver, MD, FAOA, (Trauma), Brigham & Women’s Hospital
8:50pm – 9:00pm Q&A
9:00pm Adjourn
Registration Fee:
$50 for CORD member affiliates;
$65 for non-CORD members
CME information will be provided shortly