Over 140 young women from high schools across the Vancouver Lower Mainland attended our second Women in Orthopaedics (WORTH) event on June 8, 2024.
The flagship WORTH event, hosted by the BC Children’s Hospital and UBC Department of Orthopaedics, began with an inspiring keynote address delivered virtually by Dr. Rujuta Mehta from India. Following the keynote, students participated in interactive workshops and career panels led by female researchers and allied health professionals from various disciplines.
The workshops covered saw bones, suturing, casting, research, and orthopaedic devices. Students had an opportunity to partake in all of the workshops before splitting into small career panels to learn more about the career path that interested them: orthopaedic surgery, research, nursing, and occupational/physiotherapy.
Reflecting on this event, students expressed that they “gained a deeper understanding” and “found more passion for the field.” Many noted that “orthopaedics is a diverse field” with many “options for careers” that they “never really considered before attending this event.”
Most participants enjoyed the hands-on aspect of the Saw Bones and Suturing workshops. Some shared that they “would consider orthopaedics as a career because it seems highly intriguing and rewarding” while others expressed that they are “so glad [they] had the opportunity to learn about this specialty,” which “allows [them] to make more educated decisions for [their] future career in the medical [field].” It was clear that each student left the workshop with a newfound appreciation of orthopaedics.
In November, we are hosting our third in-person workshop in collaboration with the newly established student advisory council, which comprises a team of high school attendees from WORTH. Registration is now open for our November 2024 WORTH Workshop.
Special thanks to the volunteers, career panelists, and workshop facilitators for supporting this initiative and making this event possible!
More details about this transformative initiative can be found on the WORTH webpage.
