A Letter from Eric Johnson...
Greetings and best wishes for a prosperous 1998 from the AO Foundation North American Trustees and the AONA Steering Committee. It has been an eventful year for AO North America and one that hopefully will bring new and continued progress and success for 1998. We are attempting to improve and expand the programs that have been so successful under the directorship of past AONA President, Peter Trafton, M.D. These programs include the AONA Visiting Professorship, resident research grants, AONA surgeon preceptorships, development of AONA funded long-term trauma fellowships, continued support for the OTA research activities and many other activities that we have been involved with over the past year. AONA is a unique organization within the AO Foundation. We all owe a great debt of gratitude to the original founding members of AONA for creating this organization and obtaining the annual funding from the AO Foundation to allow us to continue to address the issues that are of great importance in North America, especially AO education and research.
 As noted in Dr. Johnson's letter, the AO North America Visiting Professor Preceptorship program has been extremely well received. Pictured above is Dr. Jaime Quintero from Colombia who, with the support of AO North America, visited Jesse Jupiter at Massachusetts General Hospital for several weeks last summer. |
There are many programs sponsored by AONA that have obvious benefit to AO education in North America. One of the more popular programs is the AONA Visiting Professorship. This program continues to expand to become one of the most successful activities that AONA has undertaken. Through application to AONA, grants are extended to the soliciting institutions to sponsor a visiting North American or international AO surgeon who will provide several days of intense instruction at the host institution, often culminating in a grand rounds presentation. The expenses of the visiting professor and a small honorarium are covered by the AONA grant. This program was started in September 1996 and has grown to include 38 professorships for the 1997 academic year. The Visiting Professor preceptorship has allowed hospitals throughout North America to host internationally respected surgeons to teach resident physicians and attending surgeons their specific expertise, and is truly one of the most successful programs initiated by AONA. Information on this and other AONA preceptorships are outlined in detail in this issue of AONA News.
This year at the Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA), AONA and the OTA initiated the annual John Border Memorial Lectureship in Trauma. This lectureship is co-sponsored by AONA and the OTA and will be presented yearly at the OTA annual fall meeting. The first recipient of this award was Professor Harald Tscherne of Hannover, Germany, and his presentation was truly a magnificent honor to the memory of John Border. John Border was directly responsible for changing the approach to trauma in North America and AONA is greatly honored to be a co-sponsor of this annual event.
Our Maxillofacial section was very active in 1997, with support of some significant research projects and numerous educational activities. This group began 1998 with an AO Maxillofacial Faculty Retreat in Tucson, Arizona, in January.
AONA is moving into the future of Internet transfer of information with the recent creation of the AONA web page. It is located at the following address: http://www.AONA.com. We envision several advances with this new web page and anticipate that a constant update in technology will increase the rapid dissemination of information in the future. Our web page is being designed to include an address and mailing location for all AONA members, electronic course registration, course information and, hopefully, continuous updating of surgical technique. The video and audio technologies currently being created for the Internet will lead to the potential for downloading of surgical technique through short video and audio clips that could potentially enhance resident and attending surgeons' knowledge of implant advancements. The potential for information transfer is limitless with the use of the Internet and AONA will explore this technology in the future.
The worldwide AO ASIF Foundation held its Annual Trustee Meeting in Phuket, Thailand, in October 1997. During this time, AONA attempted to tackle some of the major issues facing AO education and research in North America. One of the specific problems addressed by the AO North America Trustees was the issue of AONA faculty per diem and honoraria expenses, for commitment to AONA teaching activities. The changing health care environment in North America has begun to influence the degree that surgeons in North America practice medicine and can negatively influence our AONA faculty's ability to participate in continuing educational activities. The conclusion from this meeting was to find a way to help defer the associated costs that arise out of participation in an AO course in North America. The AONA Steering Committee therefore has decided to increase the daily per diem rates that are offered to AONA teaching faculty who give their time and expertise at North American AO courses. Teaching faculty will receive $175.00/day for the first 10 days of teaching at AONA courses. AONA faculty members who participate in more than ten course days per year will receive a graduated scale increase of per diem rates, culminating in a daily rate of $300.00/day for surgeons who teach more than 20 days per year. These rates apply equally to both laboratory instructors and lecturing faculty. AONA feels a great service has been performed in the past by the countless thousands of faculty days donated to AONA courses. We hope that this per diem increase will help to ease the difficulties associated with the time commitment and direct expense related to these courses and also offer a token of appreciation for our faculty's constant commitment to further AO education in North America.
I speak for all the AONA Trustees in thanking our membership for a most successful year in 1997. The efforts of the AO North American Education Committees resulted in 23 orthopaedic, 20 maxillofacial, 9 spine and 2 veterinary courses in 1997. Those of you who participated and gave your valuable time and expertise deserve our deepest gratitude. We want AO North America to be a dynamic organization and therefore wish to constantly solicit your valuable input. AONA pledges continuing commitment for a successful 1998. We encourage contact from the membership at large and ask that you send in ideas, suggestions, and applications for resident research grants and visiting professorships to the AONA Secretariat in Devon, Pa. The Steering Committee of AONA wishes you a most successful year and looks forward to the steadfast continued AO camaraderie we all enjoy at AONA educational courses in 1998.
Eric E. Johnson, M.D.