Peter J. Stern, MD, FAOA is being recognized as an AOA Pillar of the Orthopaedic Profession for his leadership, mentoring, and lifelong contributions to orthopaedic surgery during his distinguished career. The champions for this effort on his behalf are Michael T. Archdeacon, MD, FAOA and Keith Kenter, MD, Hon ScD, FAOA.
Bio
Peter J. Stern, M.D graduated from Williams College and received his medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine. He completed his Orthopaedic residency at the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Program followed by a hand surgery fellowship in Louisville with Harold Kleinert and colleagues. He is the Hill Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Cincinnati and he served as Department Chairman from 1992-2013.
Dr. Stern Is a past President of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand, the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and the American Orthopaedic Association. He is a past Trustee of the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation, and a past Chairman of the Orthopaedic RRC. He is a former Deputy Editor of both the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery and the Journal of Hand Surgery. He also served on the JBJS Board of Trustees. He has received the AOA Distinguished Educator’s Award, the AOA Distinguished Contributions to Orthopaedics Award and the IFSSH Pioneer of Hand Surgery Award. From the ASSH he has received the A.L. Osterman Excellence in Education, Koch and Bruner Awards. He has received the University of Cincinnati Resident Appreciation on six occasions. In 2021 he received the Daniel Drake Medal from the U.C. College of Medicine for outstanding contributions to medical education, scholarship, and research. He has served as a visiting professor at over 80 institutions, has given 51 Endowed Lectureships and has over 190 peer review publications. He has educated 79 hand fellows and over 180 orthopaedic residents.
The AOA congratulates Dr. Stern on being recognized as an AOA Pillar of the Orthopaedic Profession and extends sincere gratitude for his constant support of the AOA programs and leadership initiatives.
Tributes
“Growing up in Cincinnati I was aware of Dr. Stern as a highly regarded hand surgeon. He had cared for my father-in-law long before I was an Orthopaedic resident, so I had already developed tremendous respect for him before I ever actually met him. Dr. Stern hired me as a new trauma surgeon in 2001, and he became an immediate mentor and friend. His door was literally always open for me to drop in and chat. Over the subsequent two decades Peter Stern continued to mentor, and “open doors” for me and my career. He led our practice as Department Chair for twenty-two years, and he always put the interest of our group and our residency program as the priority. He had the foresight to create a research and education endowment for our department to grow our academic mission. When I succeeded him as Department Chair in 2013, the department was on solid footing clinically, financially and academically. Peter Stern, M.D. is an AOA Pillar of the Orthopaedic Profession for more reasons than I can list; however, he is most noted nationally and internationally for his humility and kindness. Characteristics that transcend Orthopaedic Surgery, but characteristics that make him a great human.”
Michael T. Archdeacon, MD, FAOA
Dr. Stern’s Champion
“I began working for Dr. Peter Stern in 2002 at the University of Cincinnati and was hired to increase the scholarly activity for the sports medicine and shoulder division. I immediately appreciated his approach toward medical education, clinical care, professionalism, and self-integrity. These traits have always been consistent in all settings and with high quality and sincere humility. I have been blessed to learn and mature, both professionally and personally, from his mentorship teachings. This relationship has now developed into a permanent friendship. It is because of these reasons that he represents the definition of an AOA Pillar of the Orthopaedic Profession.”
Keith Kenter, MD, Hon ScD, FAOA
Dr. Stern’s Champion