CORD Conferences

Winter CORD Conference Theme: Bridging the Gap: Preparing Tomorrow’s Residents Today

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this CORD Conference, attendees will be able to:

• Understand the basics of common program requirements and assessment
• Compare the values of competence and autonomy in residency education end-goals
• Explore solutions for unmatched residents
• Assess preparation for acting internships

AGENDA

DAY ONE – Thursday, February 18, 2027

1:00pm OPENING REMARKS – S. Trent Guthrie, MD, FAOA, Henry Ford Health, CORD/Academics Committee Chair;
Paul Dougherty, MD, FAOA, 2027 Winter CORD Conference Program Chair

1:05pm UPDATES

• Association of Residency Coordinators in Orthopaedic Surgery (ARCOS)
• Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery (JBJS)
• American Osteopathic Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (AOBOS)
• Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Review Committee
• American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS)
• Collaborative Orthopaedic Educational Research Group

1:45pm COORDINATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD – Christina Hardesty, MD, Case Western Reserve University/University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center; Chad Hanson, DO, Oklahoma State University

2:00pm Panel Discussion: Program Directors and Program Coordinators

This session will explore real-world scenarios and collaborative strategies used to navigate complex challenges in residency program management.

2:50pm BREAK

3:00pm SYMPOSIUM I: Knowledge in Practice – Common Program Requirements and ABOS Alignment

• Mandate or Benefit: How to engage residents and faculty in KSB completion
• Measuring Competence: Training faculty to evaluate performance and provide feedback
• Powerful Data: Can the KSB dashboard inform your CCC

4:00pm Q&A/ADJOURN

4:30pm COCKTAIL RECEPTION

DAY TWO – Friday, February 19, 2027

7:00am COFFEE & CONVERSATIONS

8:00am OPENING REMARKS

8:05am ANN E. VAN HEEST CORD LECTURE

9:00am SYMPOSIUM II: Competent or Autonomous? Defining the True Endpoint of Orthopaedic Residency – Moderator: Samir Mehta, MD, FAOA, University of Pennsylvania Health System

• Competency vs. Autonomy: What is the true endpoint of orthopaedic residency? – Samir Mehta, MD, FAOA, University of Pennsylvania Health System
• Why autonomy matters and whether KSBs can help us get there – Scott E. Porter, MD, FAOA; Steven L. Frick, MD, FAOA
• Why case minimums and KSBs are insufficient—and why the patient remains central – Jonathan D. Barlow, MD; Paul Tornetta III, MD, FAOA

10:00am BREAK

10:15am SYMPOSIUM III: Out of Limbo: Bridging the Gap for Unmatched Orthopaedic Applicants – Moderator: Melvyn A. Harrington, Jr., MD, FAOA, Baylor College of Medicine

• Lost in Limbo: The Unmatched Orthopedic Applicant Experience
• Rebuilding and Rebranding: Honest Feedback After Going Unmatched
• Out of Limbo: A Structured Solution for Reapplicants

11:15am LUNCH

12:30pm SYMPOSIUM IV: 5 Year Follow-Up on a Formal Orthopaedic Surgery “Boot Camp” Curriculum to Optimize Performance on Acting Internships – Moderator: Nicholas Anthony Alfonso, MD, FAOA, University of Colorado Denver; Presenters: Robert Rowe, John Schutz

• Curricular changes for senior medical students have a positive impact on student match data and preparedness for acting internships
• Structured courses to prepare rising MS4 students for acting internships and away rotations are increasing in popularity
• Discuss new “intern shadowing” course designed to better prepare rising interns for the realities of residency

1:30pm Q&A

2:00pm ADJOURN

Coming soon!

Coming soon!

CME information will be provided shortly.

Summer CORD Conference Theme: Shaping Tomorrow’s Orthopaedic Workforce

Download the Conference Agenda

Learning Objectives 

By the end of the 2026 Summer CORD Conference, attendees will be able to: 

• Explain readiness characteristics of future Orthopaedic applicants 
• Describe the impact of Orthopaedic academics on rural American care 
• Identify resiliency in Orthopaedic residents

AGENDA  

*Residents from the Resident Leadership Forum will join the CORD Conference 8:30am – 10:40am 

 8:30am OPENING REMARKS – J. Milo Sewards, MD, FAOA, Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA, 2026 CORD Conference Program Chair

8:35am MICHAEL A. SIMON CORD LECTURER – “It Takes a Village to Redesign Residencies”
Warren P. Newton, MD, MPH, President and CEO of the American Board of Family Medicine 

9:20am Q&A 

9:30am SYMPOSIUM I: Building Resilient Surgeons: Addressing Occupational Hazards to Shape Tomorrow’s Orthopaedic Workforce- Moderator: Lisa K. Cannada, MD, FAOA, University of North Carolina Hospitals

• Radiation Safety Education for Residents- Lisa K. Cannada, MD, FAOA
• Career Planning and Family Considerations for Residents-  Sara Van Nortwick, MD, FAOA, Medical University of South Carolina
• Ergonomic Training and Injury Prevention- Erin Stockwell, MD, Yale University School of Medicine 
• The Mental Health Emergency- Randy M. Cohn, MD, FAOA, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell

10:30am Q&A 

10:40am BREAK 

10:50am SYMPOSIUM II: Improving Orthopaedic Care in Rural America: The Role of Academic Programs- Moderator: James William Barber, MD, FAOA, Southeastern Orthopaedics

• Current status of orthopaedic care in rural America – James William Barber, MD, FAOA
• Perceived barriers to rural practice – Isaiah Roepe, MD, University of Kansas
• Opportunities to increase exposure to rural practice for residents – Laney McDougal, ACGME; Ann E. Van Heest, MD, FAOA, ACGME RRC Workgroup

11:45am Q&A 

12:00pm REPORTING FROM THE RLF/CORD COLLABORATION

12:30pm SPONSORED LUNCH AND LEARN PRESENTED BY PRECISIONOS
“Removing Uncertainty: Personalizing Objective Skills Assessment Through Smart, Virtual Competency Evaluation”
Dr. Danny Goel and Dr. Sandra Jarvis-Selinger

1:30pm OPEN PAPER PODIUM PRESENTATIONS

• Effect of a Sub-internship Preparation Course on Medical Student Preparedness of Sub-internship Rotations- Ellen Lutnick, MD, University at Buffalo
• Musculoskeletal Curriculum Duration in Medical Schools with an Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program- Erica Olfson, MS, Texas Hip and Knee Center
• Objective Productivity and Match Success: A PubMed Analysis of Research Output Among 2025 Orthopaedic Surgery Interns- Adrian Bozocea, Medical College of Georgia
• Inaccuracies in Orthopaedic Research Fellowship Applications: A Study on Authorship Misrepresentations- Natalia Cruz Ossa, MD, University of Miami Health System
• Utilization of Artificial Intelligence Within the Residency Selection Process- Alan T. Blank, MD, MS, Rush University
• Collaborative Orthopaedic Educational Research Group (COERG) Spotlight Study

2:00pm Q&A

2:10pm SYMPOSIUM III: Research, Readiness, and the Orthopaedic Applicant of the Future - Moderator: Charles S. Day, MD, MBA, FAOA, Henry Ford Health/Henry Ford Hospital Program

• What sets applicants apart in a competitive match landscape- Dawn LaPorte, MD, FAOA, Johns Hopkins University
• Role of research in training successful orthopaedic surgeons- Brent Ponce, MD, FAOA, Medical University of South Carolina
• Departmental strategy in the new match landscape- C. Benjamin Ma, MD, FAOA, University of California, San Francisco

3:10pm Q&A

3:20pm OPEN MIC DISCUSSION 

3:30pm  ADJOURN CORD CONFERENCE/COCKTAIL RECEPTION TO FOLLOW 

Registration is closed for the 2026 Summer CORD Conference at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

Hotel reservations are closed for the 2026 Summer CORD Conference, held at the Albuquerque Convention Center, The Clyde Hotel, Albuquerque, NM.

CME information will be provided shortly.