First funding project brings poster authors to smart phones

A grant from the AAOS Education Enhancement Fund (AEEF), established in December 2010 to support innovative education projects, will fund audio enhancement of the poster presentations at the 2012 AAOS Annual Meeting. The project is the first to be supported by the AEEF.

Designed to help the Academy provide orthopaedic surgeons with the most innovative learning technologies, the AEEF received seven applications for funding during its first giving cycle. The AEEF Governance Committee—Edward Akelman, MD; Kevin P. Black, MD; Naomi N. Shields, MD; Joseph D. Zuckerman, MD, and Mark W. Wieting, AAOS chief education officer—selected “The Poster Enhancement Project” submitted by 2012 Annual Meeting Program Chair Michael Stuart, MD.

Bringing posters to your smart phone
“This innovative project will provide audio enhancement for poster exhibits at the 2012 AAOS Annual Meeting,” said Dr. Akelman. “Through an audio feed to smart phones or tablets, the poster presenter will cover the key points in the poster. In addition, a blog will allow viewers of the posters to comment on the work and submit questions to the authors, creating an ongoing dialog. The poster area also will feature workstations with tablets where attendees can view ePosters and listen to the audio to help them select individual posters they wish to view.”

The goal, continued Dr. Akelman, “is to help members use their time most efficiently, and to help them experience what the author of the poster thinks are the most important take-aways. It should be fun and instructive.”

The ePosters also extend the life of the posters postmeeting and provide everyone—even those not attending the meeting—the opportunity to keep up on the latest research. The opportunity to make an audio presentation will be offered to all 567 poster presenters.

“Posters are popular in their own right,” said Dr. Akelman, “and this new program, paid for by our AEEF contributors, will make them come to life and focus their findings for all of us.”

About the AEEF
Under the leadership of John J. Callaghan, MD, and Daniel J. Berry, MD, 154 donors have contributed more than $330,000 in gifts and pledges to the fund as of Nov. 1, 2011. The goal is to reach $500,000 by Dec. 31, 2011. Founding Members—who contribute $2,500 or more by Dec. 31, 2011—will be recognized on a permanent commemorative plaque located on the main floor at the AAOS headquarters in Rosemont.

“I think of my founding membership as an investment in my own education and that of my colleagues across the country,” said Dr. Black. “I hope others will join us and grow this fund so that in the future we’ll be able to fund multiple projects each year.”

AAOS fellows can make a secure online donation via the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF) website, www.oref.org, by clicking on “Donate Now,” “AAOS Special Appeals,” “AEEF.” Checks should be made payable to OREF AEEF and mailed to OREF, 6300 N. River Road, Suite 700, Rosemont, Ill. 60018.

Bonnie Emberton is OREF’s director of development; she can be reached at emberton@oref.org or (847) 384-4353.

Additional Resources

Founding Members (PDF)