AAHKS Introduces STEM Students to Orthopedics

At the November 2022 meeting of The American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS), over 50 minority STEM students from Dallas high schools took part in an inaugural hands-on workshop.

Working with real surgical tools and plastic bones, the students were able to participate in the programs thanks to the AAHKS partnership with the Nth Dimensions organization, whose mission is to promote “comprehensive excellence in medical students, residents and fellows by increasing their exposure to academic and non-academic resources necessary to become successful health care providers in the future.”

Founded in 2004, Nth Dimensions was the brainchild of orthopedic surgeons who teamed up with academic institutions, community surgeons, and industry to address the lack of women and underrepresented minorities in orthopaedic surgery.

“The AAHKS Humanitarian Committee and the AAHKS Diversity Advisory Board were proud to host this wonderful group of students, said Muyibat A. Adelani, M.D., AAHKS Diversity Advisory Board Co-Chair. “I, myself, was an Nth Dimensions scholar in 2005, so it was personally meaningful to be able to interact with students who remind me of myself, Dr. Adelani added. It was amazing to see them become enthusiastic about medicine, and orthopedics specifically, throughout the day. We hope to continue to work with Nth Dimensions going forward.”

“The highlights of this experience were probably getting to see so many people in a field of work that decided to come out and teach high schoolers in such a fun yet educational way,” Alyna Arreguin, a 10th grader at Cedar Hill High School, told OTW. “I really learned so much from the field trip and it was so much fun to work with real orthopedic surgeons. I want to become a marine biologist and I think that the skills I learned on this field trip can definitely be used to help what I want to become.”

Another Cedar Hill 10th grader, Casey Batiste, added, “The highlights of my experience for me was getting to use tools that I had seen before on television but not in real life. I plan to use this experience to help me get a better understanding of what I want to be when I grow up.”

Several Lancaster High School students participated in the five-hour workshop. Brandon Martinez, a senior, can now see a future in musculoskeletal medicine. “I loved the hands-on activities we were able to do. Because I got a chance to participate in this experience, I’m now considering being an orthopedic surgeon.

“I had fun working with bones; I imagined I was working on real humans,” said high school junior Ne’Vaeh Ates. “I didn’t know that type of career could be so fun.”

This writer asked one student how they hope to use this experience to plan for a career, Lancaster senior Kennedy Mathis told OTW, “I was thinking about how orthopedics applies to working with animals. I am pursuing a career in zoology.”

And Joseph Mayberry, a senior, added, “I really liked working with people from all over and the students in medical school who were not too far from my age. That made it realistic, like I can do this.” He added, “I want to explore it more. I think it was really interesting, even though it was challenging.”