EWI: A Decade of Groundbreaking Combat Injury Research

Jennie McKee

American military surgeons faced major challenges in treating severe extremity injuries resulting from improvised explosive devices and other trauma during conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Surgeons lacked a forum for collaborating with one another and with civilian trauma surgeons regarding best practices for caring for vascular injuries, infections, and other devastating problems not seen since the Viet Nam War.

Orthopaedic PAC Continues to Set Records

Kristin Leighty Brackemyre

In 1999, the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) established the Orthopaedic Political Action Committee (PAC) to advance the advocacy goals of the AAOS and orthopaedic specialty societies. Since then, the interest and involvement of AAOS fellows has continued to rise, culminating in a record-setting participation rate during the 2013–2014 election cycle. Following nearly a decade of continued growth, the Orthopaedic PAC remains the only national PAC in Washington, D.C.

The Cadillac Tax and Orthopaedic Surgeons

Stuart J. Fischer, MD

The news is filled with stories about “Obamacare.” Now that the Republicans are in charge in Congress, they want to repeal it. Insurers have had to rewrite their plans. Employers aren’t sure what they will do. Everybody’s getting taxed. No one is quite sure what comes next. But there’s one thing we should all look at more closely.

Second Look – Advocacy

These items originally appeared in AAOS Headline News Now, a thrice-weekly enewsletter that keeps AAOS members up to date on clinical, socioeconomic, and political issues, with links to more detailed information. Subscribe at www.aaos.org/news/news.asp (member login required). Impact of duty hour reforms on patient safety Two studies in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA, Dec.