About

The Western Orthopaedic Association was formally established in 1932, a year before the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery, and was the first Regional Orthopaedic Society and the first Orthopaedic Association of its kind west of the Mississippi. Under the guidance of past and present leadership, WOA membership grew to over 1,500 members pre-pandemic, and has now grown to over 900 members from 14 Western States.

Long focused on Orthopaedic education and research, the WOA is the Regional representative to the ABOS for 35 major Orthopaedic Training and Fellowship programs, with an Annual meeting that celebrates contributions from students, residents and fellows from the most prestigious training programs in the United States. Through donations from our membership, the WOA supports OREF Resident Research Grants from Western States Grant Recipients each year, along with multiple WOA and Western Orthopaedic Foundation grants and awards.

Over the years six different endowments have been established in the names of esteemed former members, providing grant support or awards for research presented at the meeting.

The Annual meeting is always content-rich with strong academic and educational programs, symposia on patient care and practice management, and important talks on self-care and career management. At the same time, the Association continues to emphasize the importance of family health and activities and ensures that every meeting makes family participation a priority.  Our Annual meetings visit member states Hawaii and California once every three years on rotation, and visits one of our other 12 member states on the third year, always at an outstanding location. 

Our Board of Directors, made up of volunteer member-physicians, is responsible for governing the Association and for establishing goals and setting priorities. In addition to the Board, both standing & ad-hoc committees address some of the most crucial challenges facing Orthopaedic surgeons today while providing opportunities for members to become active participants in the work of the society.

Serving the most culturally diverse regions of our country, the Western Orthopaedic Association is consciously dedicated to providing a representative leadership and membership, and has lead the country in areas of diversity in leadership and education.  The WOA continues to expand its efforts to represent and provide services to Orthopaedic surgeons, students and residents, and our patients throughout the West.

Mission

The mission of the Western Orthopaedic Association (WOA) is to help ensure that people in the Western Region of the United States receive high quality ethical care by providing Orthopaedic Surgeons with superior educational programs, opportunities to foster collegiality and develop leadership skills, and ways to positively influence health policy.