A Look Towards the Future

Editor’s note: This article is the first in a four-part series dedicated to understanding and implementing the new AAOS Strategic Plan. Parts two through four will be published in upcoming issues of AAOS Now.

In February, the AAOS Board of Directors approved its next Strategic Plan for 2024–2028, with four overarching strategic goals. Through a series of four articles, we will highlight each of the four Strategic Plan goals: Members, Patients, Culture, and Musculoskeletal (MSK) Community. Our objective is to share the strategic direction, key activities supporting each goal, and how that direction will benefit our members and their patients.

The new Strategic Plan will guide our future direction and will be vital for AAOS to shape the changes that impact MSK health and our profession and equip AAOS and its members for continued success. We are building on the strong foundation of the previous 5 years. AAOS remains committed to providing exceptional member experiences; facilitating a smooth transition to value-based care; and enhancing our culture to become more diverse, inclusive, and strategic. We remain focused on our members and will continue to evolve our organization and culture, while simultaneously looking for opportunities to better engage our patients in the mission of AAOS and deepen our partnerships across the MSK community with the goal of improving MSK health. Members are the foundation of AAOS, as well as leaders in delivering orthopaedic care and improving health.

Each Strategic Plan goal includes three to four Strategic Objectives to clarify direction and reflect clear choices on where AAOS plans to focus its energy and resources over the next 5 years. This article will explore the first goal in the new Strategic Plan, which is focused on members. This goal’s aim is for AAOS to “be the professional home for our members throughout their lifetime” and includes four Strategic Objectives. (Read more about this goal in the Sidebar.)

Strategic Objective: Recruit, develop, and retain a diverse membership of MSK professionals
Making AAOS our members’ professional home means we need to strengthen engagement through enhanced member value, continued advocacy, and meaningful personalization. AAOS will continue to strengthen efforts to recruit and engage a diverse membership and develop our members through strong continuing education and networking opportunities, as well as through additional leadership development programs such as the AAOS Leadership Institute (ALI). AAOS also invests and partners with other organizations to create pathways for a more diverse and inclusive culture within our profession through our Inspiring Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) Grant Program®.

Strategic Objective: Advocate for our members with agencies and organizations that affect their practices
The Strategic Plan includes four Key Enablers that are not often shown directly in individual goals but underpin success of the entire Strategic Plan. Advocacy is core to what AAOS is and does and is a Key Enabler, along with communications, partnerships, and technology. However, advocacy is so vital that it is also called out specifically in several of our goals. For the Members goal, supporting members fully must include advocating on behalf of our members and their patients with legislative and regulatory bodies that impact the practice of orthopaedics. Advocacy for members is an existing commitment from the prior Strategic Plan, recognized even more deeply within this goal to support members in continuing to deliver high-value MSK care to their patients.

AAOS will continue to advocate for a variety of issues important to our members, patients, and healthcare partners through all available legislative and regulatory pathways, with credibility and access built through the Political Action Committee of the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (OrthoPAC) and our members’ active support. In this Members goal, AAOS is specifically emphasizing our commitment to issues that are most relevant and impactful to our members’ professional lives.

Strategic Objective: Enhance two-way communication to provide members a personalized experience that meets their needs
Our prior Strategic Plan included a focus on delivering a more seamless and personalized experience for our members. That commitment remains in the new Strategic Plan, echoed in this strategic objective with an increased focus on two-way communication. AAOS will pursue more bidirectional communication with members by soliciting and listening to member feedback, both written and verbal, and building on data capabilities and analyses of member data and behaviors. Understanding member needs is the key to the future to address issues that matter to members and deliver an optimal, personalized experience.

The AAOS Membership App allows for direct feedback and targeted surveys, whereas events such as Diversity Town Halls and Business Meetings provide opportunities for AAOS to share its efforts and hear from members in person. Members can help direct AAOS to the topics and offerings they are most interested in through the Member Preference Center, specifically designed to help customize member experiences and communications. As artificial intelligence and other tools evolve over the next 5 years, they will provide additional opportunities for AAOS to listen and actively respond to member needs.

Strategic Objective: Support career development by expanding opportunities for leadership growth and professional advancement
AAOS will also expand its value as a professional home through support for members’ career development. AAOS has enhanced its ability to connect members to jobs through ACCELERATE, a new career-exploration platform for orthopaedics. ALI offers education and personal development applicable to not only potential roles as an AAOS volunteer but also broader careers. Volunteer opportunities through the Committee Appointment Program (CAP) to participate in AAOS Councils and Committees, as well as participation on the Board of Directors, also provide access to valuable experiences to advance capabilities, connections, and careers. Education programs support clinical development; improve practice management; and explore emerging topics, such as artificial intelligence, biologics, and augmented reality/virtual reality, to broaden horizons. Advocacy helps directly grow opportunities for members to participate in physician-led hospitals, value-based payment and delivery models, and other programs.

Overall, the Members goal reflects AAOS’ strong commitment to its members. The new AAOS Strategic Plan will explore new activities regarding engaging patients, improving health and health equity, and partnering with the MSK community. It will modernize our governance with upcoming proposals to allow AAOS to become more adaptive and able to nimbly react to our ever-changing environment. The goal is to ensure the best opportunities, advocacy, and value for our members. However, at its core, AAOS is maintaining its priority focus on our members. AAOS will continue to offer strong education and quality programs, while innovating and developing new pathways to enhance a diverse membership, foster bidirectional communication, support advocacy and career development, and deliver value to meet our members’ needs. The Strategic Plan will guide AAOS forward over the next 5 years, putting members at the forefront as we continue to pursue our vision of becoming the trusted leaders in advancing MSK health.

Kevin J. Bozic, MD, MBA, FAAOS, is the inaugural chair of the Department of Surgery and Perioperative Care in the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin. He is also the AAOS immediate past president.

Lisa N. Masters, MBA, is a retired Bank of America Enterprise Learning and Leadership Development executive and a lay member of the AAOS Board of Directors.

Strategic Plan Goal: Members

The Members goal in the new Strategic Plan aims for AAOS to “be the professional home for our members throughout their lifetime.” AAOS members have varied interests, opportunities for professional support, and relationships with many societies and organizations that evolve throughout their professional careers.

AAOS seeks to be their primary professional home, a touchstone for leadership and service opportunities, educational and quality resources, and advocacy to support and facilitate high-value musculoskeletal care. Available resources to support this goal include the Resident Orthopaedic Core Knowledge (ROCK) program; CME courses; clinical registries and Clinical Practice Guidelines; and thought leadership on emerging topics, such as biologics, patient-reported outcome measures, and advocacy, among many others.

AAOS can be a valuable resource throughout the professional lifetime of its members, from medical school through residency and fellowship, through years and stages of practice and varied practice settings, and even upon retirement for Emeritus members.