Have you ever said or thought, “it was the opportunity of a lifetime…” Opportunities abound in our lives, some larger and more meaningful than others; some earned, others given, or perhaps not even initially recognized or embraced for the tremendous value and impact they ultimately provide when acted upon. We share a common pathway of opportunity into and within the world of orthopaedic surgery, though individual circumstances may vary.
My journey further includes opportunities within the Orthopaedic Trauma Association, the professional society of my subspecialty choice. Over twenty years ago, it was natural for me to aspire to attend the OTA Annual Meeting, and to submit research work as a fellow and a young surgeon for consideration for presentation there. As a traumatologist in my early years of practice, I was one of a much, much smaller group of colleagues than we have today—in 2000, the Annual Meeting had but one room for all presentations, no simultaneous engagements, and although a smaller attendance and engaging community, there was no less commitment to excellence of the care of injured people. What a thrill to be there, among pioneers in our field, mentors, and even a handful of peer colleagues. I had the good fortune to be encouraged to get involved by several leaders, including Dr. Paul Tornetta who supported my election to the Membership Committee of the OTA. This occurred concurrently with a few lab instructor and other teaching assignments, along with opportunities within the trauma center where I worked under the leadership of Dr. Brendan Patterson. He supported and promoted by career, including collaboration with colleagues on research projects, which opened more doors for our team, and for me to work with others in our specialty to develop clinical research agendas, and to slowly move our field forward together. Several years later I got to know Dr. Tim Bray, through the OTA, and by common interests we had in the business side of orthopaedic trauma. He encouraged me to get more involved within the OTA, resulting in my election to the Board of Directors as Secretary. At that time, and over the past 10 years, the OTA has experienced a rapid growth of membership and scope. The Board has been a tremendous opportunity for me to work with like-minded colleagues committed to the mission, vision and values we share. The mission of the OTA is to promote excellence in care for the injured patient, through provision of scientific forums and support of musculoskeletal research and education of orthopaedic surgeons and the public. The vision of the OTA is to be the authoritative source for the optimum treatment and prevention of musculoskeletal injury, and to effectively communicate this information to the orthopaedic and medical community to influence health care policy that impacts care and prevention of injury. OTA members provide worldwide leadership through education, research, and patient advocacy. It has been an incredible honor to have served as the President of the OTA last year.
One of the new initiatives we generated during the past two years is a task force on physician well-being, moral injury and advocacy. Career longevity, sustainability, and impact relate directly to the health and well-being of the surgeon. Key purposes of this task force are to draw attention to importance of our own limitations and to develop resources for self-care and institutional advocacy to mitigate moral injury and burnout. Educational symposia, webinars, and self-assessment tools have been added to member resources. When we make regular time to re-charge our batteries, we are then able to fully care for others, and to wholly enjoy other relationships and activities.
Dr. Vallier delivers her Presidential address at the 2021 Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association
A celebratory toast of the OTA Presidential Line
Presenting at the Trauma Fellowship Graduation event with colleagues Paul Tornetta and Ross Leighton
Dr. Vallier attended the AAOS Annual Meeting with her daughter, Natasha Simske, who delivered her first podium presentation.
Another key area of OTA strategic investment is in broadening our excellence in patient care-- to go beyond the treatment of musculoskeletal injury, even the traditional team-based care of the multiply-injured patient to embrace the mental and social health opportunities most all of our injured patients have. Pre-existing mental illness is common among our injured patients, and it pre-disposes to heightened pain and catastrophizing. Mental illness is associated with less patient satisfaction, prolonged recovery, more pain, more complications, worse patient-reported outcomes, and more trauma recidivism. Recently some trauma centers have developed programs to educate patients and to treat mental illness. These types of recovery programs often lack institutional financial and operational support to get off the ground; however, when in place, the rewards are tremendous. From a financial perspective, better adherence to treatment recommendations, lower utilization of the ED, in favor of maintaining outpatient scheduled visits leads to lower complication rates and less costs of care. From a personal perspective, this directly improves the outcomes and the lives of injured people. Better satisfaction scores are reported, lower rates of recidivism are seen, and patients often volunteer to return to be part of the peer mentorship programs which influenced them. The OTA developed a task force to provide resources to support wellness in patients following trauma and to develop strategies for program implementation. This group is also charged with educating and engaging the trauma community regarding mental health needs of our patients and promoting best practices. Each of us can learn more about caring for the whole patient and identify ways to work with colleagues in our own trauma centers, perhaps developing new programs or enhancing use or scope of existing programs.
Opportunities within the OTA and resulting from OTA initiatives are abundant. Each of us can access these resources and services and identify ways to augment to care we already provide; perhaps broadening extent of patient education, encouraging patient engagement in care, affording opportunities for mental health care, or more. These issues are not unique to trauma surgeons or trauma patients, but they are issues of our lives, and opportunities to find fulfillment by enriching the recovery and the lives of others.