CORD Conferences

Program Education, Accreditation, and Leadership (PEAL) Forum Theme: Skills

The PEAL Forum is a 90-minute CME session designed specifically for new/aspiring residency and fellowship program directors, assistant program directors, residency and fellowship program coordinators, and anyone interested in orthopaedic surgery graduate medical education.

PEAL Forum Agenda (Download the PEAL Agenda)
Thursday, February 12, 2026
1:00pm – 1:05pm Opening Remarks for PEAL Forum – S. Trent Guthrie, MD, FAOA, CORD/Academics Committee Chair (Henry Ford Health/Henry Ford Hospital); Afshin Razi, FAOA, CORD Education Subcommittee Chair (Maimonides Medical Center); Paul Dougherty, MD, FAOA, PEAL Forum Program Chair (University of Florida College of Medicine Jacksonville)

1:05pm – 1:20pm Skills upon graduation-which ones are needed?

The CORD Conference is an 8-hour, comprehensive, CME activity which will explore all facets of programmatic assessment, including both didactic and interactive sessions.

CORD Conference Agenda (Download the CORD Conference Agenda)
Thursday, February 12 – Day One

2:30pm – 2:35pm  Opening Remarks for CORD Conference S. Trent Guthrie, MD, FAOA, (Henry Ford Health), CORD/Academics Committee Chair; J. Milo Sewards, MD, FAOA, (Temple University Hospital), 2026 CORD Conference Program Chair

2:35pm – 3:30pm Ann E. Van Heest CORD Lecture

3:30pm – 3:45pm Break – Visit exhibitors and enjoy drinks & snacks

3:45pm – 3:55pm Coordinator of the Year Award

4:00pm – 5:00pm Panel Discussion: Program Directors and Program Coordinators

5:00pm Adjourn/Cocktail Reception – Networking with drinks and light hors d’oeuvres

CORD Conference Agenda
Friday, February 13 – Day Two

7:00am Coffee & Conversations with a Breakfast Buffet

8:00am – 8:05am Opening Remarks

8:05am – 9:00am Updates

•   American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) – Steven L. Frick, MD, FAOA, Chair ABOS GME Committee
•   American Osteopathic Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (AOBOS) – M. Sean O’Brien, DO, AOBOS Chair
•   Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Review Committee – Scott E. Porter, MD, FAOA, Chair ACGME Review Committee
•   Association of Residency Coordinators in Orthopaedic Surgery (ARCOS) – Maia Knox, C-TAGME, ARCOS President
•   Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery (JBJS) – Aidan Smith, MS, JBJS Business Development Manager

9:00am – 10:00am SYMPOSIUM 1: An Adjustment in the Resident Roster

•   Contending with the Departure of a Resident
•   When Remediation Doesn’t Do the Trick
•   Integrating a Newcomer to the Program
•   Adjusting Schedules and Accommodating Maternity/Paternity/Sick Leave

10:00am – 10:20am Break – Visit exhibitors and enjoy drinks & snack

10:20am – 11:45am SYMPOSIUM 2: Contending with the Problem Child

•   Issues with Onboarding – PD and Coordinator
•   Lapses in Professionalism in Senior Residents
•   Bad Behavior in Faculty

11:45am – 12:45pm Lunch

12:45pm – 2:00pm SYMPOSIUM 3: We Improved Inclusive Excellence in our Program…Now What?  Moderator: Scott E. Porter, MD, FAOA, Prisma Health-Upstate/University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville

•   Supporting URiM Trainees
•   Quick to Judge? Dismissal of URiM Residents
•   Still Work to Do? – Navigating Inclusivity

2:00pm Adjourn

Registration for the 2026 Winter CORD Conference and PEAL Forum will open in early October 2025.

CME information will be provided shortly.

Summer CORD Conference Theme: Artificial Intelligence in Orthopaedic Education

The Summer CORD Conference is a 4.25-hour, comprehensive, CME activity which will explore aspects of artificial intelligence as it relates to orthopaedic education.

Summer CORD Conference Agenda (Download the Summer CORD Conference Agenda)
Wednesday, June 4, 2025, 9:00am CDT – 2:30pm CDT
9:00am Opening Remarks/Welcome – Nicole Schroeder, MD, FAOA, University of California, San Francisco; and Timothy S. Ackerman, DO, FAOA, UPMC Community Osteopathic,  2025 CORD Conference Program Co-Chairs

9:05am Michael A. Simon CORD Lecturer – The Future of AI in Medical Training – James Weinstein, DO, Senior Vice President, Microsoft Healthcare

9:55am Symposium I: Using AI to Enhance Medical Education, Clinical
Moderator: Joseph Rosenblatt, DO

• AI in Orthopaedic Research: Opportunities and Considerations – Charles S. Day, MD, FAOA, Henry Ford Health/Henry Ford Hospital Program
• Using Machine Learning to Enhance Resident Education – TBD
• Integration of AI into Work Flow for Optimizing Learners and Practitioners Output – Amiethab A. Aiyer, MD, FAOA, Johns Hopkins University
• Using AI for non-ACGME skills – Charles S. Day, MD, FAOA, Henry Ford Health/Henry Ford Hospital Program

11:05am Symposium II: Practical AI Applications in Surgical Training
Moderator: Dawn LaPorte, MD, FAOA

• Orthopaedic Surgery Educators and AI: Opportunities and Challenges – Stephen A. Kennedy, MD, FAOA, University of Washington
• AI and AR Assisted Preoperative Planning in Surgical Training – Abhiram R. Bhashyam, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital/Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School
• Enhancing active learning and supporting educators with easily-available AI-driven learning platforms – Saqib Rehman, MD, FAOA, Temple University Hospital

12:00pm CORD Lunch & Learn hosted by AthenaScore
Session Topic: Enhancing Efficiency in the Residency Selection Process with Augmented Intelligence

1:00pm Reporting from the RLF/CORD Collaboration – Melvyn A. Harrington, Jr., MD, FAOA, Baylor College of Medicine

1:10pm Symposium III: Challenges and Ethical Considerations in AI Implementation
Moderator: Nikki Schroeder, MD, FAOA; Speaker: Dr. Simon Longstaff, AO FCPA FRSN FARPI, Executive Director, The Ethics Centre

1:40pm Open Paper Podium Presentations
Moderator: Timothy S. Ackerman, DO, FAOA

• Female Medical Students’ Exposure and Perceptions of the Field of Orthopaedics – Annemarie Leonard, MD, University of Nebraska Medical Center
• Effect of Socioeconomic Disadvantage on Patient-reported Physical Outcomes after Orthopaedic Trauma – Haley Puckett, MD, TRIA Orthopaedic Center/Regions Hospital
• Representation Matters: A Higher Percentage of Women Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty is Associated with an Increased Number of Women Residents – Kassidy Webber, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Assessing the Fracture: A Cross-Sectional Evaluation of Musculoskeletal Education and Orthopaedic Surgery Exposure in US Allopathic Medical Schools – Winston Scambler, Burnett TCU School of Medicine
• From Likes to Rankings: How Social Media Can Predict Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Doximity Rank – Wyatt Southall, University of Kentucky College of Medicine

2:10pm American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) UPDATE – Steven L. Frick, MD, FAOA, Chair ABOS GME Committee

2:25pm Adjourn CORD Conference

2:30pm Begin Fellowship Directors Forum

Fellowship Directors Forum Theme: Management of the Struggling Fellow

The Fellowship Directors Forum is a 90-minute session designed to bring together both Residency and Fellowship Directors across all subspecialties. For background information download the Fellowship Directors Forum flyer.

Fellowship Directors Forum Agenda (Download the Fellowship Directors Forum Agenda)
Wednesday, June 4, 2025, 2:30pm CDT- 4:00pm CDT
2:30pm Opening Remarks – Felicity Fishman, MD, FAOA, (Hand and Upper Extremity), Loyola University Medical Center, Fellowship Directors Forum Program Chair

2:35pm How to Set a Fellow Up for Success – Can Residency Programs Better Prepare Learners for Fellowship? – Adrienne R. Socci, MD, FAOA, (Residency Program Director), Yale-New Haven Medical Center

2:45pm How to Set a Fellow Up For Success – Can Fellowship Programs Pre-prepare a Fellow? – Meghan N. Imrie, MD, FAOA, (Pediatric Orthopaedics), Stanford University

2:55pm Recognizing a Struggling Fellow – Signs and Symptoms – Philip E. Blazar, MD, FAOA, (Hand and Upper Extremity), Brigham & Women’s Hospital

3:15pm How to Build a Remediation Plan When You Only Have One Year – Surgical Remediation – Roman M. Natoli, MD, PhD, (Trauma), Indiana University School of Medicine

3:25pm How to Build a Remediation Plan When You Only Have One Year – Knowledge Base and Professionalism – Odion Binitie, MD, FAOA (Orthopaedic Oncology), Moffitt Cancer Center

3:35pm Navigating Potential Graduation Delays – How Do You Handle a Fellow Who Isn’t Ready for Graduation? – Daniel Guss, MD, FAOA, (Foot and Ankle), Massachusetts General Brigham

4:00pm Adjourn/CORD-FDF Networking Reception

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the North American Spine Society and the American Orthopaedic Association. The North American Spine Society is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The North American Spine Society designates the 2025 Summer CORD Conference live activity for a maximum of 4.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM.

CME certificates will be accessible upon completion of the activity’s participant evaluation forum.