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The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program has been selected, on behalf of Chief Resident Scott Mabry, M.D., to receive a 2020-2021 Robert Bucholz Journal Club Grant from the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS) Resident Education Fund.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Office Service Specialist III Brandy Embry will now serve support the Residency Program as assistant to Education Administrator Shay Chambless.

Congratulations to Clay Spitler, M.D., and Associate Professor Ashish Shah, M.D., who are assuming new leadership roles in the department. Effective Nov. 1, Spitler will become the director of clinical research and Shah will transition to the role of director of international education.

In the UAB MedCast Podcast "Biologic Injection Therapies" Amit Momaya, M.D., discusses the latest research and clinical implications for biologic injection therapies in sports medicine.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery faculty as well as a research fellow were recently featured in the journal of Orthopaedics & Traumatology: Surgery & Research for their article: “Outcomes of surgical fixation of greater tuberosity fractures: A systematic review.”

Several faculty and residents were featured as authors of the leading and the second article of the September 2020 issue of the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma (JOT).

UAB's Brandon Rocque, M.D., Erin Ransom, M.D., and Drew Davis, M.D., discuss the Multi-disciplinary brachial plexus/peripheral nerve program at UAB Medicine. This UAB-COA team approach offers the best care for children with brachial plexus and peripheral nerve disorders. They discuss their approach and how it can benefit patients.

The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery is pleased to welcome Kevin A. Williams, M.D., as an assistant professor of pediatric orthopaedic surgery. His clinical interest is general pediatric orthopaedic surgery with an emphasis in pediatric sports medicine.

UAB Orthopaedic Surgery staff member Jennifer Swift has recently been promoted to interim clinical manager. Swift has been at UAB since January 2020 and was originally hired as the Clinical Call Center Lead.

UAB Department of Orthopaedic Surgery resident and faculty research was recently featured in the Journal of Surgical Education and the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

UAB Department of Surgery PGY2 resident Andrew McGee, M.D., was awarded the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham (BBBS) 2020 Big of the Year.

UAB Department of Orthopaedic Surgery faculty Michael Johnson, M.D. (left), and Sameer Naranje, M.D., MRCS (right), have been promoted to associate professors. Additionally, Johnson was granted tenure with UAB.

UAB Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Assistant Professor and Section Chief of Sports Medicine Amit Momaya, M.D., was selected to participate in an National Institutes of Health(NIH)-funded study for the Bridge-Enhanced® ACL Repair (BEAR®) Implant as a medical monitor.

UAB Department of Orthopaedic Surgery has been selected as a study site for the Major Extremity Trauma and Rehabilitation Consortium (METRC)  investigation “A Prospective Study of Early Mechanical Stabilization and Bleeding in Disruption of the Pelvic Ring” (EMS-BIND),  sponsored by the Department of Defense Peer-Reviewed Orthopaedic Research Program.

This month, the UAB Department of Orthopaedic Surgery welcomed musculoskeletal oncologist Lisa Kafchinski, M.D., as an assistant professor.

UAB Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Professor Brent Ponce, M.D., won first place for his poster: “Gender Inequality: Is There a Bias in Industry Compensations?” in the category Critical Issues at the of the virtual 2020 American Orthopaedic Association (AOA) Annual Leadership Meeting.

This is the second year in a row that a faculty member from the department has won this category. There were 12 poster categories overall and several hundred submissions. Other poster categories included foot and ankle, spine, shoulder and elbow, sports medicine and more.

This year, the meeting was conducted entirely virtually, including the poster presentation section. The AOA partnered with iPosters to host a platform for the e-posters. Poster presenters were able to log in and create an e-poster that could be reviewed by all attendees and members of the AOA.

The purpose of Ponce's study was to compare payments in the CMS Open Payment Database according to gender in a 10% random sample of all physicians providers from 2014-2017. A total of 3,624,604 industry payment transactions for a total compensation of $2,121,953,115 was identified over the 4 year period for 66,388 physicians (68% male/32% female). Median annual compensation for male physicians was $170 compared to $111 for female physicians (p<0.001). The proportion of males receiving more than $1,000,000 in compensation was twice that of females (0.8% Vs. 0.4%; p<0.001). The median annual compensation for royalties/licensing was $20,226 for males and $717 for females (p=0.005). Compensation gender differences were greater for surgeons (men 2.2 times higher than women) than for non-surgeons (men 1.4 times higher than women). The findings from the CMS OPD information identified that gender inequality in physician compensation from pharmaceutical and medical device companies exists. The data provides a snapshot of the medical profession’s relationship with industry and can be used as a reference point to monitor changes over time.

Although poster winners were announced, the 2020 AOA meeting will continue over the course of the next few weeks. The conference is ACGME accredited and will serve as a continuing medical education opportunity for physicians, who will advance their knowledge of orthopaedic surgery and science and learn new practices that can be implemented to improve patient care.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Associate Professor Clay Spitler, M.D., was selected to co-chair an American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Clinical Practice Guideline Committee on trans-tibial amputations.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery PGY-3 resident Yvonne Conway, M.D., was named the 2020 UAB Emergency Medicine (EM) Resident Consultant of the year at the UAB Department of Emergency Medicine resident graduation.

Conway was selected for this award in recognition of her commitment and assistance to the physicians and patients in the UAB Department of Emergency Medicine and was honored for her contributions to the department during the virtual graduation for EM residents, alongside this year’s outgoing EM residents and annual departmental award winners.

Managing a high-volume, tertiary care emergency department involves the expertise of many specialists, so the core UAB value of collaboration is always welcome. Award recipients demonstrate the ability to thrive in a collaborative environment that is inherently fast-paced and stressful while also showing dedication to patients and commitment to resident education.

“We would like to recognize you for your hard work, your unwavering professionalism, and your collegiality. Your commitment to our patients, our medical center, and our community is greatly appreciated,” said Department of Emergency Medicine Residency Program Director Charles Khoury, M.D., MSHA of the award recipients.

Used with permission from Children's of Alabama

In the 2020-2021 Best Children’s Hospitals survey, U.S. News & World Report (USNWR) ranked Pediatric Orthopedics at Children’s Hospital of Alabama at UAB 47th in the nation.

This year, the annual Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Resident Research Day looked a bit different, but the mission of supporting the research efforts of residents remains the same.