3 osteopathic organizations win 2024 Outstanding Affiliate Awards

The AOA recently selected the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons (ACOS), the American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics (AOAO) and the West Virginia Osteopathic Medical Association (WVOMA) as the recipients of the 2024 Outstanding Affiliate Awards.

The Outstanding Affiliate Award recognizes osteopathic state and specialty college affiliates that demonstrate innovation, creativity, resourcefulness and flexibility; highlights outstanding affiliate performance; recognizes affiliate contributions that advance the osteopathic profession; and celebrates and shares noteworthy programs and initiatives with all affiliates to encourage best practices.

The recent achievements of this year’s recipients are highlighted below.

American College of Osteopathic Surgeons (ACOS)

• ACOS created a leadership recruitment campaign titled “Replace Yourself.” The campaign identified emerging leaders or veteran members interested in leadership roles to encourage involvement with ACOS. A personal invitation was extended for involvement, with an opportunity to learn more about the role from the member providing the invitation.
• Created a Mentorship Committee focused on an online community and event engagement for career guidance, practice mentorship and research opportunities. The goal of this committee is to increase efforts to engage all generations of surgeons at all career levels.
• ACOS focused on using personal outreach to retain members, which resulted in a 94% retention rate since the pandemic and following the transition to a single accreditation system for graduate medical education.
• Developed various educational events in surgical areas of interest for continuing medical education (CME) opportunities that included rural surgery, bariatric surgery, breast surgery, wound care, robotics, trauma and critical care.
• Initiated ACOS Vibes, a quarterly communication from the ACOS CEO to keep membership informed about the organization’s operations and events. A texting platform was also added to ACOS communication and marketing to increase engagement and feedback from members.
• Created the IDEA (Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity and Action) Committee to identify and recruit more diverse membership and leadership. The committee conducted outreach to premedical and medical students interested in surgery.
• The ACOS Resident Section addressed a decrease in their number of members by engaging emerging leaders. A Resident Advisory Council was created with a career surgeon representative from each discipline who assisted in guiding the resident section in education and career planning.

American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics (AOAO)

• AOAO partnered with the AOA for OMED 2023 and provided a virtual orthopedic track. AOAO also released an online Virtual Resource Center with over 300 video lectures, which were provided free for its members.
• Hired a new social media consulting firm to increase presence and member engagement for AOAO. As a result, followers and interactions increased by over 1,000%. In addition, the format of the AOAO newsletter, “The Orthopod,” changed to a monthly news bulletin instead of three times per year.
• AOAO has been able to provide more opportunities for students to interact with residency programs by implementing Boot Camps for the residency program to teach basic orthopedic skills as well as osteopathic principles. The second annual Residency Program Fair saw an increase in program participation. This program allows students to speak with representatives, residents and directors in an informal setting.
• Collaborated with the AOAO Foundation and AOAO Women’s Orthopedic Section to develop a new DEI Award with the first recipient having been selected in fall 2023. AOAO supports women in orthopedics events with students, including virtual discussion panels.
• Created the Lee Vander Lugt, DO, Leadership Award Program in honor of the former executive director to provide resources and opportunities for leadership development. The intention of the program is to bring younger members into leadership positions within the AOAO.

West Virginia Osteopathic Medical Association (WVOMA)

• WVOMA partnered with the AOA to advocate for the osteopathic profession and defeat Senate Bill 714, which would have eliminated the West Virginia Board of Osteopathic Medicine (WVBOM) and transferred the regulation of DOs in the state to the allopathic medical board, which oversees MDs. This was an incredible win for DOs and their patients across West Virginia.
• Initiated recruitment efforts in collaboration with the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) to transition student members to resident members and retain them as full physician members in the state of West Virginia.
• Partnered with 27 organizations to form a coalition to defeat House Bill 5105, which sought to weaken West Virginia’s immunization laws. As a result, the governor vetoed House Bill 5105.

Winners recognized

AOA President Teresa A. Hubka, DO, FACOOG (Dist.), FACOG, CS, bestowed these esteemed awards upon ACOS, AOAO and WVOMA during the awards ceremony held in-person during OMED24 on Saturday, Sept. 21.

Related reading:

OMED 2024 awards to recognize leaders & innovators in osteopathic medicine

Leaders of the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association and the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians receive the 2024 Bob E. Jones, CAE, Award