Mauricio Kfuri, MD, PhD
Associate Professor – Residency Program Director
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery – University of Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
How has the AAOS helped you throughout your career?
AAOS offers a variety of educational materials and opportunities that helped me to build a broader perspective and knowledge in orthopedic surgery.
As an Affiliate Surgeon Member, which AAOS resources do you use most and why?
As residency program director, I constantly use ResStudy, AAOS Comprehensive Review, and, more recently, the ROCK. Those materials are very well designed and written by experts in orthopedic surgery.
What’s the best advice you were ever given? Who was it from?
Prof. Dr. Joseph Schatzker, my mentor, told me once, "Pursue the principles and the truth, providing your contributions to our field." This has been the foundation of our collaborative work on the classification of tibial plateau fractures.
What’s your go-to productivity trick?
Productivity is usually assessed by quantitative metrics, which eventually fail to measure human efforts to provide impact in our work environment. At times when new technologies and artificial intelligence are transforming medicine, I understand that the most valuable aspect of our work is the time we spend with our patients, listening to their needs and expectations. Patient trust and satisfaction are quality metrics I use to assess the outcomes of my work
What’s one thing you are currently trying to make a habit?
Increase my reflection on what went well and what should be done differently next time.
What hobbies do you enjoy in your spare time?
I truly enjoy cooking for my family and friends and spending time with them at dinner.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself that not many people know?
Trying to pick up different languages has been a legitimate effort to improve my communication skills. However, there have been several instances where I neither pronounced a word correctly nor used a word in the correct context, or I was unaware of the double meaning of expressions. Embarrassing at the beginning, but funny at the end.