Scambler Winston, Hawley Mitchel, Boeckmann Anne, Shau David, Schmidt Robert
Texas Hip and Knee Foundation, Fort Worth, Texas.
Department of Orthopaedics, The Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Chrisitan University, Fort Worth, Texas.
JB JS Open Access. 2025 Jul 8;10(3). doi: 10.2106/JBJS.OA.25.00047. eCollection 2025 Jul-Sep.
Musculoskeletal disorders are a leading cause of disability worldwide, yet contemporary medical school curricula continue to inadequately address musculoskeletal (MSK) education. Multiple orthopaedic-related organizations have made recommendations over the past 2 decades with little subsequent progress in both curricula design and residency preparedness. This study aims to quantify the representation of orthopaedic surgeons in medical school leadership positions and discuss its potential impact on MSK education.
We analyzed publicly available data from US allopathic medical schools accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) as of December 2024. We reviewed medical school websites to identify the specialties of deans, senior level, and other-level dean positions.
Of 156 qualified allopathic schools, 22 of 3,012 (0.7%) dean-level positions were held by individuals with an orthopaedic surgery training background. This included 2 of 156 (1%) head deans, 8 of 1,114 (0.7%) senior-level dean, and 12 of 1741 (0.7%) other-level dean positions). One (0.9%) of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Governing Board members, AAMC leadership, or LCME Membership Roster positions were held by orthopaedic surgeons.
The significant underrepresentation of orthopaedic surgeons in medical school leadership positions and national medical education organizations may contribute to the persistent deficiency of MSK education in our US medical school curriculum. Ongoing efforts should be made to develop new strategies to improve collaboration with educational leaders in MSK disorders to ensure that our undergraduate MSK education receives the appropriate attention and resources.
肌肉骨骼疾病是全球致残的主要原因，但当代医学院课程对肌肉骨骼（MSK）教育的关注仍显不足。在过去20年里，多个骨科相关组织已提出建议，但在课程设计和住院医师培训准备方面后续进展甚微。本研究旨在量化医学院领导职位中骨科外科医生的占比，并探讨其对MSK教育的潜在影响。
我们分析了截至2024年12月由医学教育联络委员会（LCME）认证的美国全科医学院的公开数据。我们查阅医学院网站，以确定院长、高级及其他级别院长职位的专业背景。
在156所合格的全科医学院中，3012个院长级职位中有22个（0.7%）由具有骨科手术培训背景的人员担任。其中包括156名院长中的2名（1%）、1114名高级院长中的8名（0.7%）以及1741名其他级别院长中的12名（0.7%）。美国医学院协会（AAMC）理事会成员、AAMC领导层或LCME成员名单中的职位有1个（0.9%）由骨科外科医生担任。
骨科外科医生在医学院领导职位和国家医学教育组织中的占比显著偏低，这可能导致美国医学院课程中MSK教育一直存在不足。应持续努力制定新策略，以改善与MSK疾病教育领导者的合作，确保本科阶段的MSK教育得到适当关注和资源投入。
