News

Post Meeting: 2023 Annual Meeting

A letter from the Program Chair, recognition, awards, and more!

Dear Meeting Attendees: 
 
We hope that those of you that attended the 2023 POSNA Annual Meeting in Nashville, TN, enjoyed the experience! It was great to have such a robust return to form after the past couple of years with the ever-present concerns regarding COVID-19 and its impact on our Annual Meeting. This year’s meeting featured a novel 3-day format designed to maximize education and social interactions while returning the entire weekend to attendees. It was great to get together in person, reconnect with friends and colleagues, and share ideas on the care of our patients. In addition to providing much-needed reunions, the meeting provided cutting-edge educational material all against the entertaining backdrop of Music City, USA. A big thank you to our local hosts from Vanderbilt University, including Greg Mencio, MD; Jon Schoenecker, MD, PhD; and Jeff Martus, MD.  
  
I had the pleasure of chairing this year’s program, and I appreciate the guidance from the Program Committee: Matt Oetgen, MD; Tony Ricco, MD; and Julie Samora, MD, PhD. President Jeff Sawyer, MD, presided over the meeting and transferred the presidency of POSNA to Dan Sucato, MD, who gave us his vision for the upcoming year.  
  
For the general scientific program, 907 abstracts were submitted. We are grateful for the 100+ volunteer readers who participated in the grading process. This resulted in 174 podium presentations and 80 ePosters from over 70 different institutions and 21 different countries. On-demand ePosters and symposia content is available online. I would like to offer a special thanks to all of the committees who contributed to the four outstanding virtual symposia that are on the meeting app. These symposia, with topics ranging from research to practice management, allow us to touch on topics that are important to meeting attendees; however, time constraints prevented us from offering them in person. The effort to record and submit these symposia is significant, and they add a great deal to the meeting. The virtual content will continue to be available through 2023 to all attendees. 
  
Subspecialty Day opened the meeting this year, and Tony Riccio, MD, did a great job organizing this portion of the meeting along with all of the Subspecialty Day chairs and speakers. Thursday morning began with an incredible opportunity to hear from Lead Like Lori Lecture Keynote Speaker Molly Fletcher, who made a name for herself as one of the first female sports agents. The inaugural Lead Like Lori Lecture honors POSNA trailblazer and former president Lori Karol, MD. Thursday afternoon welcomed back opportunities for social engagement from enjoying the sights on Broadway in downtown Nashville to athletic endeavors such as reunion soccer matches and cycling. Friday morning was highlighted by the awards sessions, with 18 podium presentations and tremendous discussion.  

The Steel Lecture was given by Dr. Patrick Bisher, a Navy Seal and former Perthes patient. Jim Beaty, MD, was the Presidential Guest Speaker. Award recipients were Scott Mubarak, MD, who received the Distinguished Achievement Award; Jacob Heydemann, MD, who accepted the Humanitarian Award for his mission work in Chihuahua, Mexico; and Marcella Woiczik, MD, who received the Special Effort and Excellence Award.

This year’s Annual Meeting Awards recipients were:  

• Best Clinical Research Paper: A Rapid MRI Protocol for Acute Pediatric Musculoskeletal Infection Eliminates Contrast, Decreases Sedation, Scan and Interpretation Time, Hospital Length of Stay and Charges without Missing Actionable Diagnoses
  Kyle Chan; Daniel McBride; Jacob Wild; Jonathan Samet; Romie Gibly, MD
• Best Basic Science Paper: Like a Lizard: Repair of Perthes Disease Occurs Through Recapitulation of Development of The Proximal Femoral Epiphysis
  Jonathan Schoenecker, MD, PhD; Rachel McKee; Courtney Baker, MD; Hernan Correa; Stephanie Moore-Lotridge, PhD
• Best ePoster: Non-Operative Treatment of Tibial Tubercle Fractures: Who is at Risk for Failure?
  Lauren Spirov; Konstantin Brnjoš; Neil Kaushal, MD; Folorunsho Edobor-Osula, MD; Alexander Griffith; John Blanco, MD; Clare Kehoe; John Schlechter, DO; Evelyn Thomas, DO; Lindsay Crawford, MD; Abhi Rashiwala; Dustin Greenhill, MD; Haley Tornberg; Brendan Williams, MD; Kevin Huang; Neeraj Patel, MD, MPH

In addition to the many educational opportunities, Nashville provided outstanding venues for dining, exercising, sightseeing, catching up with old friends, and making new ones. The opening reception at the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum also doubled as a closing reception and provided a wildly entertaining venue to reconnect with friends. As we left Nashville to return home, Tony Riccio, MD, and next year’s Program Committee were already working on creating another exciting program for EPOSNA 2024 in Washington, DC, hosted by Matthew Oetgen, MD, and Megan Young, MD.   
  
Thank you to the incredible POSNA staff for their amazing and tireless efforts for the organization and this meeting. Their professionalism, commitment, and expertise were incredible. I also would like to thank the POSNA leadership for their vision and perseverance in holding a truly international meeting event given all the challenges that continue worldwide. 
 
See you in Washington, DC, next year!   
 
Sincerely, 
Nick Fletcher, MD