Student AOAO Update
Students Striving to Reach Their Dream
By Ryan Joseph, OMS-III
President, Student American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics
Since the SAOAO’s inception in 2005, our small group of students has grown to become one of the largest student osteopathic organizations in the country. Not only do we have strength in numbers, but we are arguably one of the hardest working and brightest organizations out there. We now stand at thirty four chapters nationwide, one of which was added this school year, with over 1,400 total members, around one hundred of these being new.
As our organization expands, responsibility increases from the Student Executive Board, which consists of ten members elected by their peers at our annual Spring Conference, held during the AOAO’s Postgraduate Seminar. The new board is well represented from chapters around the country and every officer has done a tremendous job in reaching out to fellow students, helping any member that expresses interest and has a desire to get to the next level of their education. This year we had a large turnover as many officers graduated and moved on to orthopedic residencies, leaving only four returning board members.
A few challenges have arisen this year, the largest one involving our new online membership system. Previously, new member spreadsheets were mailed to our secretary and checks were sent to the national office. Now with the current online membership application, our process is streamlined, leaving national membership in the hands of local chapter officers. We are still in the process of watching our membership numbers and national dues, as this is our major source of funding for the bulk of our conferences. The national officers have continued to write a newsletter targeted towards students, and we are beginning to receive contributions from residents as well. These newsletters can have anything from an educational article to information on residencies.
Conferences are probably the biggest benefit of being a national member since this is a great way to meet many orthopedic surgeons, gather information on residencies, and meet other students who share the same passion. The Spring Conference, held during the AOAO Postgraduate Seminar, in Miami was a great success as we had around 30 students attend and around four hours of student lectures given by residents. In addition, we had a four-hour casting clinic and, as stated previously, our national officer elections. This was also the first conference in which we were able to offer travel scholarships for students. Three scholarships were disbursed to the chapters with the best applications in the amount of $300 each. We will continue this with future conferences, hopefully increasing student involvement and meeting attendance.
The next meeting takes place in San Diego this fall, in which a pretty busy schedule has already been created. We have scheduled a Residency Directors Panel and a Resident Panel on Friday afternoon and lectures on Saturday morning with a casting clinic in the afternoon. We are always looking for participation from the AOAO and RAOAO so if you would like to help out, or even just stop by to say hello, we are always very grateful for your time.
With that said, I would like to thank the AOAO for all of their support. Over the past few years we have had many physicians from around the country contribute to our organization and it is only with the help and permission of the AOAO that we can continue to operate. If it were not for the generosity we would not be able to keep this organization active. We look forward to the challenges that lie ahead, and to one day, work by your side.
