We are excited to welcome our incoming orthopaedic residents. They are exceptional applicants with backgrounds and interests that will enrich our program. We are proud to have them on our team and look forward to training with them to be the best orthopaedic surgeons and future leaders in our field.    Congratulations to:

Patient Safety Awareness Week, promoted by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, aims to encourage everyone to learn more about healthcare safety.  

Today, we commemorate the life and legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was an exemplar of courageous, nonviolent activism. In addition to his speaking out against violent acts of racism, he also spoke out about quiet, less overt forms of racism. Overt or otherwise, all forms have links to poverty, health disparities, higher rates of incarceration, and other societal injustices that disproportionately impact marginalized communities. 

Shyni Varghese, PhD, Laszlo Ormandy Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, will be the new vice chair of research in Duke's Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.

I am thrilled to announce the Duke Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) Program received notice this week that it has received full accreditation through the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association.

This week marks Perioperative Nurses Week, an annual celebration of the nurses who help our patients through operations and their commitment to safe patient care. 

The date, November 11, 1918, marked the end of the First World War (within the 11th hour of the day of the 11th month). The day was initially celebrated as  Armistice Day and became Veterans Day in the 1950s when it was expanded to honor veterans of all wars. We continue to celebrate Veterans Day every November 11, paying tribute to the selfless service of the men and women of our armed forces.

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).

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.