Please join me in congratulating our colleague Steven Z. George, PT, PhD, FAPTA, on his appointment as editor-in-chief of the American Physical Therapy Association’s (APTA) flagship publication, the Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal (PTJ).

• Reminder: Keep an open mind when dealing with conflicts. Considering each side and coming together will make us stronger as we work together on our future.
   
• A DHIP faculty meeting will be held this afternoon (10/23) to discuss possible compensation model changes.
   
• Welcome new faculty member Kathryn O’Connor to our foot and ankle division. She will be located at NCOC and looks forward to working with trainees.

October is National Physical Therapy Month – a time to celebrate, acknowledge, and commend the exceptional clinical efforts and research provided by our providers. This includes work from Physical Therapists, Physical Therapy Assistants (PTAs), and those who teach the next generation of Physical Therapists.

The practice of physical therapy dates back to Hippocrates, who advocated using massage, hydrotherapy, and manual therapy techniques to treat his patients.

September is dedicated to many important days of recognition, and I want to share two with you.

• A federal rule requires that ByteDance applications (e.g., TikTok) not be used on a device used for federal contract work.
   
• COVID data: Levels in the wastewater show high cases in North Carolina, but hospitalizations have not bumped up as high as in previous instances where wastewater levels were high. Duke is not changing COVID rules. The CDC recommended yesterday that everyone over six months old receive an updated COVID vaccination this fall.

1)  Todd Cade, PT, PhD (Doctoral Physical Therapy Division) was recognized as a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association (FAPTA). This is the association’s highest honor for service and contribution to the field.

Today is National Orthopaedic Technician Day –a time to recognize the outstanding professionals who are the backbone of our practice. We are thankful for our orthopaedic technicians who provide our patients with excellent, compassionate, and thoughtful daily care. Our technicians are critical in patient care, often caring for the most vulnerable people (think about a child getting a cast removed).

• Welcome to our new faculty member: Flavia Penteado Kapos, PhD, DDS. She started her dental career and completed her post-doc in Seattle, working on pain management research and solutions. One of her research foci is social determinants of health. Many faculty are working in this space, and her efforts will help coalesce this work. This is an area in which we are poised to make significant advances. 

The annual U.S. News and World Report (USNWR) rankings came out today. I am delighted to report that Orthopaedics at Duke University Hospital remained ranked first in the southeast U.S., second amongst the ranked specialties at Duke University Hospital (first among the specialties using data for ranking rather than reputation only), and No. 22 overall.   

• Many thanks to today’s Ralph Coonrad, MD, Visiting Professor - Charlie Johnston, MD, for his insights about the biological treatment of severe orthopaedic abnormalities. We appreciated seeing a room filled with pediatric orthopaedic colleagues from UNC. Together, we support the Pediatric Ortho Fellowship program.