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:
- POSNA member for at least 15 years
- Minimum age of 60 years
- Inaugural Class (2019) includes all previous Distinguished Achievement Award recipients
Richard H. Gross, MD, was raised in Western New York and Pennsylvania. After lettering in football and wrestling at Alfred University, he attended Duke University School of Medicine and graduated in 1965. Following medical school, he honored his ROTC commitment and entered into the Army for residency training, during which he cared for the numerous casualties of the Vietnam war while working at the William Beaumont Hospital in El Paso, TX. In his final year of residency, he worked at Carrie Tingley Hospital for Crippled Children in New Mexico. The respite from war casualties during that year gave rise to his interest in the nascent field of pediatric orthopaedics, and he returned to Carrie Tingly following his discharge without fellowship training. (Right Image: Dr. Gross was named the first pediatric orthopaedist at the Medical University of South Carolina in 1986)
Dr. Gross credits his curiosity and willingness to travel regularly to centers of excellence to learn as his “fellowship.” Throughout his career, he has always sought to emulate Osler’s mandate to know your patients, which is ‘to understand each of his pediatric patients as a vital young person and to appreciate their families as well.’