Olivia O'Reilly, MD
Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Fellow 2024-2025
Duke University
Durham, NC
Member Since: 2019
How has the AAOS helped you throughout your career?
Throughout my residency at the University of Iowa, having access to the AAOS early on was a game-changer. From using ResStudy for OITE and board preparation to presenting new research at the Annual Meetings, AAOS provides resources for trainees to grow their orthopedic knowledge and opportunities to network and learn from great orthopaedic surgeons around the world.
As a Fellowship Member, which AAOS resources do you use most and why?
In residency, I used ResStudy nearly daily during OITE and ABOS Part 1 Board preparation time. More recently, I have utilized the Career Center to look for job opportunities and CV review resources.
What’s the best advice you were ever given?
One of my father’s favorite sayings is “It’s not X’s and O’s, it’s Jills and Joes.” Essentially, it’s about the team you surround yourself with, and the people you work with towards a common goal that make those goals a success. You can have the best play drawn up – you need the right people to execute. I also apply it in a more personal sense to patient care – patients are people, not their injury or their extremity or their lab values. Always remember to take care of the person in front of you.
What’s your go-to productivity trick?
I stay organized by using my calendar to keep track of my studying progress. I make a physical to-do list and cross off tasks as I complete them, even for tasks as small as emails. Noise-cancelling headphones or earplugs are a must.
What’s one thing you’re currently trying to make a habit?
Regular exercise can be hard to stay on top of in residency, so I am currently working on being more mobile.
What hobbies do you enjoy in your spare time?
I enjoy watching and attending college sporting events – women’s basketball, football, softball, baseball…the list goes on. I also like to travel and hike, read, and spend time with family and friends.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself that not many people know?
Even though I ended up as a Division I softball player, I also grew up dancing ballet. I still have a pair of pointe shoes I dance on from time to time.