Each year, the AAOS honors three members with the following awards:
- Diversity Award
- Humanitarian Award
- William W. Tipton, Jr., MD, Leadership Award
The recipients of these awards are recognized during YourAcademy at the AAOS Annual Meeting.
The recognition of AAOS members through these three awards is an important Academy activity and follows a consistent and fair Awards Protocol.
Diversity Award
The Diversity Award recognizes AAOS Active Fellows and Emeritus Fellows who have distinguished themselves through their outstanding commitment to making orthopaedics more representative of and accessible to the diverse population it serves.
2025 nomination period will open later this year.
Humanitarian Award
The Humanitarian Award recognizes AAOS Active Fellows, Emeritus Fellows, and International members of the AAOS who have distinguished themselves through outstanding musculoskeletal-related humanitarian activities in the United States or abroad.
2025 nomination period will open later this year.
Tipton Leadership Award
The Tipton Leadership Award recognizes AAOS Active Fellows or Candidate members who have demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities that have led to benefits for the orthopaedic community, patients, and/or the American public.
2025 nomination period will open later this year.
Tipton Leadership Award Criteria
AAOS Achievement Award Program
The spirit of this recognition program is to encourage and celebrate active volunteer involvement by our members. We have established this Achievement Award Program to recognize your participation in our programs and elsewhere in orthopaedics. We hope to encourage and enhance individual growth of our members and to say thanks for their many contributions to education, research, and advocacy in orthopaedics.