AAOS Announces 2025 IDEA Grant Recipients to Encourage Diversity and Inclusion in Orthopaedics
Summary
The recipients were selected based on the merits of their initiatives to reduce bias and discriminatory practices or advance diversity, equity, and/or inclusion (DEI) within the orthopaedic specialty. This initiative fills a funding gap for so many programs across the U.S., allowing organizations, practices and institutions to explore innovative solutions to encourage, prepare and support individuals from groups underrepresented in medicine along their journey towards a career in orthopaedic surgery, said AAOS Diversity Advisory Board Chair Holly Tyler-Paris Pilson, MD, FAAOS, FAOA. The number of IDEA Grants funded in 2025 has nearly doubled compared to last year, helping pave the way for more equitable, accessible, and effective perspectives in musculoskeletal patient care. This program fosters a culture of collaboration and discovery that expands exposure to orthopaedics as a rewarding and meaningful career choice.Program funds are allocated among four tracks: touchpoints, retention, community retention/support, and academic retention/support. Curators of the University of MissouriTrack 2 Retention: Grants are intended to support organizations, programs, and events with a longitudinal focus on recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce in orthopaedic surgery.