A Sense of Purpose and Belonging
A sense of purpose and belonging to a diverse and inclusive society is crucial for professional growth and personal well-being. The ORS community includes clinicians, basic scientists, and industry/private sector members of all races, career levels, ethnicities, nationalities, gender identities, sexual orientations, abilities, religions, and other forms of human diversity. These diverse identities increase the pool of ideas, perspectives, and know-how to collectively advance orthopaedic research.
Making ORS Welcoming to Everyone
While the ORS has made tremendous progress in training an outstanding and diverse orthopaedic research community, groups who are traditionally underrepresented in STEM are also underrepresented at higher levels in our field. Our biases, whether or not we are aware of them, affect how we perceive and treat others, and in turn can have life- and career-altering effects on people. Bias includes not only overt racism and discrimination, but also subconscious intrinsic associations we make about people based on our perception of them. Microaggressions are small acts of discrimination that can create a culture of distrust and perpetuate inequity within social groups. People are also often unaware of how microaggressions affect others or may be unaware that their actions constitute microaggressions. Learning to spot and address these within ourselves and our community can help to make ORS more welcoming to everyone.
Developing a Culture of Inclusion and Respect
Creating diverse and inclusive spaces is therefore important to mitigate negative feedback loops that hinder personal and professional growth. Having cultural sensitivity and accessibility accommodations creates a more welcoming environment. This allows folks of diverse backgrounds to feel like they belong and hopefully would decrease downstream effects of insensitivity/insensibility such as instances of imposter syndrome. Those who are historically underrepresented are more likely to experience imposter syndrome, the feeling of being a ‘fraud’ despite considerable qualifications and accomplishments. However, when considering the institutional biases, microaggressions, and power dynamics in professional settings – these reactions are not completely unfounded.
Seemingly small actions by those with more power can have big effects on defining the norms of acceptable behavior within groups. Bystander intervention allows us to stand up against harassment, discrimination, and bias directed at others. Improving the accessibility of information and events allows us to communicate and collaborate more effectively. Collectively, these actions will improve participation within the ORS community by helping us develop a culture of inclusion and respect for all.
The ORS Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Committee has assembled the following valuable recourses. Explore the content under each toggle to learn more.
ORS Open Door
To address gender, racial, and ethnic disparities regarding representation within the field of orthopaedics, the Open Door Program was established by ORS in 2018 as a day long program held in conjunction with the ORS Annual Meeting. Open Door engages students and teachers in short career talks from different disciplines (e.g., engineers, biologists, and physicians), a discussion panel featuring ORS members from historically underserved backgrounds in STEM, and a series of hands-on workshops and demonstrations.
This program engages middle- and high-school students (i.e., Grades 6-12) from first-generation and underrepresented minorities (URM) backgrounds. The majority of attendees have identified as Hispanic or LatinX, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. In 2023, the ORS also launched the Early Career Outreach Travel Award (ECOTA) to recruit a similarly diverse cohort of Open Door trainee volunteers and ensure equitable access to participation, allowing student participants to meet and connect with scientists whose identity and lived experiences closely align with their own.
