Letter from the President: AAOS Opportunity

Dear Minnesota Orthopaedic Society Members,

From the President’s laptop and the Board of the MOS I would like to wish each and every one of you a very merry Holiday and a safe and productive New Year. We are fortunate this month to have a guest writer for the Presidents column, Past President of the MOS, Dr. Julie Switzer. A MOS position on the Board of Councilors of the AAOS has opened up and Dr. Switzer has been generous enough to write you about an issue of importance to the MOS and our Minnesota Orthopaedic Community. Please read and enjoy her brief on the position. I would encourage you to apply!

All the best,
Paul Huddleston, M.D.
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The Board of Councilors (BOC) is a body of representatives that both supports and represents the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), the Minnesota Orthopaedic Society (MOS) and the concerns of orthopaedists nationwide.  The BOC and the Board of Specialty Societies (BOS) effectively serve as the legislative branch of the Academy, as the AAOS Board serves as the executive branch.  The role of a Councilor, who is appointed by the MOS, is primarily that of advocacy, education, and communication.  There are three annual meetings that the Councilor must attend: the National Orthopaedic Leadership Council (NOLC) Meeting, the AAOS Annual Meeting in spring and the fall Meeting. 

The following Visions and Charges are described in the AAOS Board of Councilors Description of Responsibilities:

Vision Statement
A Councilors study group, at the meeting of June 10, 1973, delineated the following four Board of Councilors goals:

1. To establish and maintain communication with the Board of Directors of the AAOS and with orthopaedic surgeons.
2. To be a representative, deliberative body in matters of concern to all orthopaedic surgeons.
3. To be an effective and authoritative policy-making body in matters of concern to orthopaedic surgery.
4. To evaluate periodically the goals, objectives, structure and accomplishments of the Board of Councilors.

Charges

1. Conduct the business of the Board of Councilors as described in Article XIV, Paragraphs 14.2 and 14.3 of the AAOS bylaws, entitled "Purposes of the Board of Councilors" and "Duties of the Board of Councilors", respectively.
2. Review the Bylaws annually (Article XIV) pertaining to the Board of Councilors and, where indicated, make recommendations for change to the Board of Directors.
3. Develop a means of communication with BOC constituents on the local level.  (Each Councilor should convey concerns and needs to the entire BOC with appropriate recommendations for AAOS action.)
4. Study orthopaedic activities and needs in each state, especially in the fields of continuing education and socioeconomic affairs.  Use the results of these studies to recommend action to other AAOS leadership bodies.

The following is a link to the BOC section of the AAOS website that further describes opportunities and responsibilities of Councilors: http://www3.aaos.org/member/bdcounc/overview.cfm

Dr. Mike Yaszemski is one of Minnesota’s two Councilors.  Dr. Dan Rotenberg, was the other Minnesota Councilor for many years.  Dan recently moved to California and has stepped down from his position as a Minnesota BOC Representative.  His vacancy has become your opportunity!  Please consider applying for this position by emailing an indication of your interest to Melissa Palank at office@mnorthopaedic.org.  We will choose a new Councilor in the early part of 2012 and hope that he or she will be able to attend his or her first BOC meeting at the February 8, 2012 AAOS Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA.