The POSNA Hall of Fame provides an enduring history to honor those POSNA members who have displayed dedication to the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, teaching and mentoring, studying musculoskeletal conditions in children and caring for children with musculoskeletal conditions. Nominations for inductees are taken each fall by the POSNA membership and selected by the Awards Committee and members of the Hall of Fame.
Hall of Fame Categories: Leadership, Diversity, Teacher, Humanitarian, Hero, Triumph over Adversity, Pioneer, Contributions to Literature, Home Person (one who does the real work while others go to meetings), Fox-Hole Buddy (reliable person when the stakes are high), Exceptional Clinician, POSNA Service
Eligibility:
Dr. Peter Waters was nominated for the POSNA Hall of Fame by Dr. Mininder Kocher for his leadership, for being a pioneer in the field of hand and upper extremity in pediatric orthopaedic surgery, and for being an outstanding clinician. Dr. Waters joined POSNA in 1992 and has been an active member of our organization. He was president of the Society from 2010-2011 and has been the chair of multiple committees from 2006 to 2015.
Dr. Kocher’s nomination stated, “Peter has been an exceptional leader on many levels. He is the Chief of the Department of Orthopaedic surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital. As such, he has led and grown the largest academic pediatric orthopaedic program. He was an excellent President for POSNA instituting many procedural and operational changes to allow for efficiencies. He similarly has been an excellent leader for the International Pediatric Orthopedic Think Tank (IPOTT). He is fully committed as a leader and has done much work on leadership development though the PLD Program at Harvard Business School and the West Point Program.”
Dr. Peter Waters was raised in Syracuse, NY and graduated college and medical school from Tufts University in Boston, MA. Post-graduate residency training included general pediatric training at the Massachusetts General Hospital and orthopaedic surgery residency in the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program. He completed his fellowship training in both pediatric orthopaedic surgery and sports medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital and hand surgery in the Harvard Hand Surgery program. He believes education is transformative and has gained post-graduate certificates and degrees from programs in leadership, management, and education from Harvard’s Business, Public Health, and Medical Schools along with Middlebury Breadloaf Writers Conference.
Peter is presently Director of the Hand Surgery Program and Orthopaedic Surgeon-in-Chief at Boston Children’s Hospital as well as the John E. Hall Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at the Harvard Medical School. He is the author of over 225 publications and book chapters, co-author of
Surgery of the Pediatric Hand and Upper Limb, Illustrated Tips and Tricks in Pediatric Fracture Orthopaedic Surgery, Illustrated Tips and Tricks in Pediatric Reconstructive Surgery, and co-editor of
Fractures in Children. Dr. Waters is known for his expertise in pediatric hand and upper extremity surgery and in particular, care of children with brachial plexus birth palsies and congenital hand and upper limb differences.
Outside of orthopaedics, Dr. Waters has a deep passion and commitment for coaching and has led diverse youth athletic programs in Boston/Brookline as well as Curry College. On a personal note, he has two wonderful kids – Rebecca and James who were foolish enough to engage him in all activities; along with three Charlotte based grandchildren, Izzy, Elle, and Zhanna. And most importantly, his great wife, Janet, who keeps everything and everyone together.
As Dr. Waters reflected on his tremendous career, he had some pearls of advice to share with younger generations of POSNA members:
- Always remember "WHY" you get out of bed each day and each night for an on call case. Our mission is care of children and families in need, and everything else should be "mission enabling."
- Take care of your peers, believe in teams as they always outperform individuals, even great ones.
- Finally, first and foremost, take care of your family. It is your most important job. What we do for work is close behind, but take care of your loved ones.
Biography written by Dr. Salil Upasani, on behalf of the Hall of Fame Committee. 2021.
