Ortho Departmental Updates – Jan. 17, 2024
- The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day.
- Duke recently hosted a workshop focused on racial equality, and many individuals from our department attended. We shared the equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) measures utilized for our faulty and how EDI is a ‘team sport’ among many other topics. Duke Ortho has the makings of a great team; we are an interprofessional department. Poignant MLK quote: “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends” from the 1967 Massey Lectures in Toronto. This captures the importance of the role that we must always play to keep equality present. Book: The Diversity Bonus by Scott Page. In this book, Scott Page shows data that shows that companies with an inclusive environment do better. Because good ideas can come from anywhere, if you have an environment that is not inclusive, you will miss out on innovations that will drive the future.
- The Duke Centennial celebration began on Dec. 9. The Centennial celebration will focus on where we were going. We can use our department's strategic plan to focus on this, and we will be speaking more about this in the coming weeks.
- Article receiving press: Development of a low back pain care pathway in an academic hospital system: results of a consensus process: Christine Goertz and Michael Guo
- Congratulations to faculty members Neill Li and Joshua Johnson on their Pepper Center grant awards.
- As we consider our strategic planning discussions, we can focus on ways to help the community. We can focus on improving people’s access to physical activity. The CDC estimated that the $117B in annual healthcare costs were associated with inadequate physical activity. Also, 110K premature deaths per year could have been prevented if adults were more physically active. In NC, under 25% of the population participates in physical activity. Many Americans do not have safe or convenient places to be active. Our department can help with school and youth programs, campaigning, and providing social support and prompts to encourage physical activity. Ex. If you exercise, you will have less or prevent osteoarthritis.
- We are already working on inclusive access to physical activity in our DPT and OTD programs, and our sports medicine team members are working with local high schools. We can help make Durham a healthier place to live.
- Jan. 26: January departmental social, 5-7 p.m. at the Page Road Grill. Join us!
