ASES News - November 2023
Presidential Message from John (Jed) E. Kuhn, MD
As the USA and Canada celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends this fall, we are reminded how grateful we are to be physicians practicing in shoulder and elbow surgery.
The Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery recently accepted for publication a manuscript looking at job satisfaction of shoulder and elbow surgeons (Smith 2023). The authors surveyed members of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons and found 97% of us stated that we would pursue our fellowship training again, and 98% of us were satisfied with our specialty choice. The level of satisfaction with our careers exceeds nearly every specialty in medicine!
We are grateful to be able to provide exceptional care to our patients and routinely make their lives better. This is the direct result of great research and education that the ASES Foundation is designed to facilitate, and we need to thank those who have changed the shoulder and elbow world with their research and those who have taught us along the way. As we stop and reflect during this Holiday season, we should remember why we do what we do so well and pause to give thanks.
We all have had mentors who have guided us into this specialty, and we owe them a lot. I feel blessed to have been trained by Dr. Richard Hawkins, the late Dr. Ralph Blasier, and Dr. Lou Soslowsky who inspired me to have a career in shoulder and elbow surgery and served as mentors throughout my career. In the spirit of gratitude, I am making a plea to the membership: please donate to the ASES Foundation before the end of the year. If you donate in honor of your mentor, the ASES Foundation will let me know and I will send a personal letter to your mentor on your behalf expressing your gratitude! If you wish to donate, please follow this link: Donate.
Wishing you the Happiest of Holidays,
Jed Kuhn
Advocacy Spotlight - New!!!
Starting this month, the ASES Advocacy Committee will provide monthly updates in the “Advocacy Corner” of the Newsletter as part of our efforts to expand the awareness and understanding of advocacy activities among our membership. We hope you enjoy this first installment.
How we practice our specialty has rapidly changed – outside of the operating room as quickly as within the operating room. The recent Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) abrupt policy change of officially acknowledging outpatient total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) performed at ASC is a prime example. Some of us just a few years ago would routinely admit a patient for 3-5 days in the hospital following a TSA, but now we have a governmental green-light to send them home from a surgery center! The next few years will have similar dramatic changes on how, where, and when we provide care – and we must be ready for these changes. Will bundling be implemented soon? How soon will we be obliged to take on financial risk? Will we be held accountable for things out of our control? Will rising costs further influence access for our patients? There’s an old saying in policy work that “If we are not at the table, we are likely on the menu.” The ASES remains committed to monitoring and influencing policy decisions that impact our patients, our members, and our specialty, and the Advocacy Committee is the primary vehicle for achieving these goals. We encourage your feedback and engagement with our advocacy efforts in the months ahead, and we wish you all a Happy Holiday Season!
Brad Bushnell, MD, MBA and Claude Jarrett, MD – ASES Advocacy Committee
Apply Now for the 2024 Asian Exchange Fellowship Program
The three to four-week Asian exchange fellowship will begin in the fall of 2024. Applicants must be no more than 10 years out of their fellowship as of December 31, 2023, practicing in the United States or Canada, board-eligible, or certified orthopaedic surgeons with a special interest and experience in shoulder and elbow research and patient care.
The application deadline is November 30th, 2023.
Exchange Fellowship Application
2024 Traveling Fellows will receive the following benefits:
- Eligibility for an ASES Research Grant.
- All travel and hotel expenses will be covered and fellows will receive a small stipend after travel has been completed.
- After your traveling fellowship is complete, submit a testimonial to the ASES office which will be included on the ASES website as well as communicated through the monthly newsletter to members.
Please contact the ASES office at info@ases-assn.org or at (847) 698-1629 with any questions.
Young Scholars Memorial Fellowship Award
The Young Scholars Memorial Fellowship Award is a new international award to promote an enriching and supportive climate that shines a spotlight on brilliant young shoulder and elbow surgeons and encourages the pursuit of academic excellence and involvement. This award is to be given out annually to “young scholars,” defined as shoulder/elbow surgeons in their first (5) years of clinical practice or Shoulder & Elbow Fellows. This award was created to honor some of the young shoulder & elbow surgeons we have lost prematurely, including Doug Harryman, Alexandra “Sandy” Kirkley, Birgit Werner, Stefano Carbone, and Dominik Meyer.
Two awards will be given annually and will provide the recipient $1500.00 USD to assist with their attendance at the ASES Annual Meeting. One award will be specifically targeted each year to enhance diversity in our specialty. This is an international award and is open to all nationalities.
Applications for this scholarship are due by Dec 15th. The application is available here.
Please complete an application to be considered for this award. For more information on this award, interested applicants may contact Steve Mlodoch (smlodoch@ases-assn.org), Dr. Vani Sabesan (sabes001@gmail.com), or Dr. Oke Anakwenze (oke.anakwenze@duke.edu)
This award aims to transform our academic community and integrate our future leaders into a place where everyone can thrive and succeed in an ever-changing global community of shoulder and elbow surgeons.
Dr. Abboud Requests Your Support During The Opening of ASES Foundation’s 2023 Year-End Appeal
Dear ASES Member:
I am reaching out to you as Chairman of The ASES Foundation as we open our foundation’s 2023 Year-End Appeal. My goal has been to help enable The ASES Foundation’s new mission,
“To develop and provide resources to advance shoulder and elbow care.”
Your giving supports critical foundation programs and research. If you have given in the past, please accept our most sincere thanks for your generosity in supporting our foundation programs including.
- Fellowship Education Grants (25+ Programs & 30+ Fellows)
- DEI Initiatives
- Exchange Fellowship Program
- Mentorship Programs
- National Shoulder and Elbow Week / Local Research Grants
- Multi-Centered Studies
- Trends in Shoulder Arthroplasty Report
- Candidate Research Grants
These programs are impactful, maybe even to you, your residents, or fellows, but they require annual financial support and collective giving from all ASES members. Here are two stories of the impact of The ASES Foundation’s funded Fellowship Exchange Program:
- “The ASES Exchange Fellowship was critical to my future success as a shoulder and elbow surgeon. Those early visits led to long-lasting friendships that have significantly impacted my life and career.” William N. Levine, MD
- “The ability to broaden your perspective and see that people think differently about shoulder and elbow problems, in different parts of the world, was really eye-opening to me.” Thomas (Quin) Throckmorton, MD
I know you support the ASES Foundation and the ASES society in many ways, and I hope you will consider donating and supporting our foundation’s year-end appeal. We would love to be able to boast a 100% participation by all our members. Any donation, $25, $100, $1,000, or more is greatly appreciated.
Whether you’ve already donated or have yet to donate, I hope you will consider supporting the ASES Foundation—the life-line to many ASES programs. You may make single donations or pledges either:
- Online at https://www.ases-assn.org/foundation/donate/
- Mail a check with this linked donation form: PDF or Word
- Considering a Major Gift or Planned Giving? Email Robert Harkey, Sr. Development Coordinator at rharkey@asesfdn.org
Donors are recognized on our website here.
Thank you again for your consideration, and we hope that we can count on your continued generosity going forward.
Sincerely,
Joseph A. Abboud, MD
Chairman, ASES Foundation
Learn more about your ASES Foundation here: www.ases-assn.org/foundation
ASES Shoulder and Elbow Course for Resident and Fellows
ASES 2023 SHOULDER AND ELBOW COURSE FOR RESIDENTS AND FELLOWS FACULTY
Thank you to all who attended the 2023 ASES Shoulder and Elbow Course for Residents and Fellows held earlier this month at the Orthopaedic Learning Center (OLC) in Rosemont, IL. Through hands-on labs and in-depth didactic sessions, participating Residents and Fellows engaged in Essentials of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery with content delivered by our top-notch faculty!
We look forward to seeing Residents and Fellows at the 2024 course next Fall!
The American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons gratefully acknowledge the following Innovation & Strategic Partners for their support of the
2023 Shoulder and Elbow Course for Residents and Fellows:
ASES/AOSSM Joint Specialty Day: Registration Open
Join us as ASES teams up with the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) to bring you a one-of-a-kind event. This unique two-for-one schedule highlights the best of both worlds in shoulder and elbow surgery and sports medicine.
A DOUBLEHEADER WITH SHOULDER AND ELBOW EXPERTS
AND SPORTS MEDICINE
Morning Sessions: Join ASES for lively debates, discussions, and case presentations covering an array of topics, including Proximal Humerus Fractures, Shoulder Arthroplasty and Elbow.
Late Morning/Afternoon Sessions: AOSSM and ASES unite to bring you combined lectures featuring cutting-edge research from both areas. Gain valuable insights into managing shoulder instability and rotator cuff injuries from the experts
Click the button below to be redirected to the AAOS Annual Meeting Website to register if you are planning to attend.
We hope to see you all in San Francisco!
We are thrilled to announce that the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons’ first Shoulder and Elbow self-assessment exam for Maintenance of Certification (MOC) is now available for purchase. The $60 exam is available for ASES Members and Non-Members.
The 100-question scored online examination helps fulfill the SAE requirements for the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) Maintenance of Certification (MOC). The examination has been curated by a team of expert shoulder and elbow surgeons, all of whom are ASES members. Each question is followed by a detailed explanation and supported by current references. Earn 10 SAE and CME credits with a passing score of 70% or higher (The exam can be retaken until a passing score is attained.)
For more information regarding the exam, please visit https://www.ases-assn.org/meetings/moc-maintenance-of-certification-exam/
ASES Foundation Store
Show your ASES pride and support the ASES Foundation:
- Top Brands
- Custom Embroideries
- 2 – 4 Weeks Delivery
Shop the ASESF Store here: https://asesf-store.com/
A Great Gift for Your Fellow or Resident!
Show your appreciation to your Fellows and Residents with a gift of E.A. Codman’s
“The Shoulder” book.
Get and Give–Net Proceeds are a Donation in Your Name to The ASES Foundation!
In celebration of Ernest Amory Codman’s 150th birthday (December 30, 2019), the ASES Foundation has published a reprint of his 1934 book “The Shoulder: Rupture of the Supraspinatus Tendon and Other Lesions In or About the Sub acromial Bursa”. This classic has been, is now, and will always be a must-read for those individuals who have any interest in the field of shoulder surgery. This edition includes the Foreword by Anthony DePalma, MD; a full index, for the first time, to all of the text (including his Autobiographic Preface and Epilogue); the dedication from ASES Foundation; and a prologue written for this edition by William Mallon, MD.
Note: $425 of the purchase price is recorded as a donation in your name to The ASES Foundation .
Download the ASES Mobile App Today!
The ASES mobile app is now available for download on Apple and Android devices! The app will provide you with another way to access ASES related content and news quickly and easily directly from your phone. Some of the current features include:
- Access all the content that is on the ASES website including the Members Only section in a mobile friendly format
- Pay membership dues
- View and track all upcoming ASES events
- Chat with other ASES members
- Easily view all our media content including the ASES Podcast, Fellows Core Curriculum Series and Virtual Journal Club
- Access to the Neer Circle Consensus Tool on Irreparable Rotator Cuff Tears
- And much more
To download the app you can search “ASES” in either the Apple or Google Play Store.
To log into the app so that you can access all the features you will need your email and member ID number.
Please contact ASES Staff at info@ases-assn.org if you have any questions.
JSES Reviewers Needed
ASES Members:
Recently we have been having more and more trouble with obtaining reviewers for JSES articles. We think that some of this is related to difficulties with emails getting through to the reviewers. This is because many universities, medical centers, and clinical practices have now made it more difficult to get outside emails into your systems.
Also, because many of you have been in the Elsevier / JSES system for several years, some of your emails may not be up-to-date. In the past, if that was the case, it was easy for me or our managing editor (Jill Shepherd) to go into the Editorial Manager (EM) and change the email. We can no longer do this because of European privacy regulations (GDPR), which have forced Elsevier to limit what we can do to the system.
So to help us out, we are asking you to do two (2) things, if possible:
- Please go into the EM website (https://www.editorialmanager.com/jses/default2.aspx) and be certain your email is fully up-to-date;
- and Please go into your own medical center, hospital, or practice systems and un-block or whitelist emails coming from Elsevier, specifically coming from em@editorialmanager.com.
Thank you so much for your assistance in this matter. If you need any assistance, please contact Jill Shepherd at jsesedit@gmail.com.
Bill Mallon, MD
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery (JSES)
Past-President, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES)
ASES Podcast - New Episodes
ASES European Traveling Fellowship: Van Riet and Verborgt
In this episode of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Podcast, host Dr. Peter Chalmers and guest host Dr. Jon Barlow interview Drs. Van Riet and Verborgt.
In this episode of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Podcast, hosts Dr. Rachel Frank and Peter Chalmers conduct a roundtable interview with Drs. Lawrence Higgins and John “JP” Warner on augmented and virtual reality and their potential future role in shoulder surgery.
ASES Grant Opportunities
Each year, the society issues a call for proposals encouraging new investigators to apply for seed and start-up funding for promising shoulder and elbow research projects. Grants of up to $20,000, for work to be performed over 12-24 months, are considered. Only orthopaedic surgeons acting as principal investigators are eligible to apply. All applications are reviewed and graded by the ASES Research Committee.
In an effort to provide research assistance to Candidate members, the ASES will offer an annual grant of $10,000 to the most deserving applicant. This grant was started thanks to the generosity of 4 donors. Dr. Felix Savoie, Dr. Anthony Romeo, Dr. Matthew Ramsey, and Dr. William Levine.
The ASES PJI Grant is designed to provide supplementary funds, or funding for pilot studies which will lead to larger foundation or government grants. The focus can be on any aspect of scientific study that affects the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of shoulder prosthetic joint infection. A grant of up to $10,000, for work to be performed over 12-24 months, will be considered. Only orthopaedic surgeons acting as principal investigators are eligible to apply.
Applications for all 3 grants are due by February 22, 2024. Completed applications should be emailed to ASES at info@ases-assn.org.
Mark Your Calendars
We are pleased to announce our upcoming ASES educational offerings! Complete details will follow in the new year, but in the interim, please add these important dates to your calendar:
ASES/AOSSM Joint Specialty Day
February 16th, 2024
Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco, CA
ASES Fellows’ Day at SDSI
June 14, 2024
Hilton San Diego, San Diego, CA – Call for Abstracts coming in early 2024
ASES 2024 Annual Meeting
October 17-19, 2024
San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter, San Antonio, TX – Call for Abstracts coming in early 2024
ASES 2025 Annual Meeting
October 16-18, 2025
Gaylord Pacific Resort, San Diego, CA
ICSES 2026: Vancouver
September 22-25, 2026
Vancouver, BC
ASES 2027 Annual Meeting
October 13-16, 2027
Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, National Harbor, MD (DC Metro)
OREF News
$2 Million Research Award Announced
OREF, MTEC, DOD Select Recipients of $2 Million Research Award Collaboration.
The Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF), in collaboration with the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC) and the Department of Defense’s (DOD) U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command’s (USAMRDC) Military Operational Medicine Research Program (MOMRP), announced selection for recipients of the OREF/MTEC Request for Project Proposals entitled, “MTEC-23-02-MSKI, Solutions to Accelerate Return-to-Readiness following Musculoskeletal Injuries.”
The program provides $2 million in research and development funding. Thanks to the generosity of The Aircast Foundation, OREF is contributing $100,000 toward the awards. Read the full press release on the OREF website.
ABOS MOC Modifications
The Board of Directors of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS), after careful consideration and in keeping with its mission and vision, has modified the ABOS Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Program. The changes will be effective beginning January 1, 2024, and are meant to provide an ABOS MOC Program that is meaningful and valuable to ABOS Diplomates. The modifications will help to advance the ABOS’ mission to ensure the safe, ethical, and effective practice of orthopaedic surgery for the benefit of our patients and the public. In addition, these changes meet new Standards for Continuing Certification from the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS).
To learn what is changing—and what is not—go to https://www.abos.org/moc-modificiations/.
Shoulder and Elbow Career Opportunities
Advertise on the ASES Website
Space is available on the ASES Career Opportunities pages to advertise open Shoulder and Elbow positions. If you are interested you can download an application on our website.
