Lessons From The Summit

It is a privilege to serve the WOA in any capacity; the greatest honor for me personally has been serving as President. Many lessons drawn from this experience can be translated into general teaching points for all.

Here are the top 3:

1) Membership and exhibitor sponsorship are ubiquitous challenges for organizations in our profession. Nobody has the “magic answer” yet, but surely success will derive from a multi-pronged approach. As Members, we must actively strive to get new members engaged, and to encourage our corporate partners to support us in our educational endeavors. This requires teamwork. Talk to a colleague today about joining WOA! Together we are stronger.

2) Achieving diversity in membership and in leadership is a laudable goal. No orthopaedic organization does that better than the WOA. We can be proud of that, yet, we ought to strive for continued improvement.

3) The WOA has a proven track record of resilience dating back to its inception in 1932. More than once, its’ “imminent demise” was suggested, yet has always rebounded. WOA’s future has never been brighter than it is now as we continue to add new extraordinary programs to complement the membership. I strongly encourage you to join the team effort to keep WOA flourishing. Ever onwards….!

Bob Slater, MD
President, Western Orthopaedic Association
[email protected]

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