Dear colleagues

In this edition of the FacultyFocus, we look at additional ways of making life easier for AO faculty, specifically concentrating on the online teaching package.

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New: online teaching and learning resources

With the current global pandemic, online teaching and learning have become hot topics in education. Find out how AO Spine can help you—its esteemed faculty.

Do you want to be an AO Spine examiner?

The AO Spine Global Diploma Exam Committee is looking for volunteers to join its team of experienced examiners.

Celebrating ten years of the AO's Faculty Education Program (FEP)

Looking back to exactly ten years ago, June 2–3, 2011, the very first AO Faculty Education Program (FEP) was conducted in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

New educational research publications from the clinical divisions and AO Education Institute

Faculty from education task forces in AO CMF, AO VET, and AO Trauma collaborated with curriculum developers and educational research managers at the AO Education Institute and have now published two new articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Are you leading by example?

Diverse teams are the key for a successful organization. Leaders who role model inclusive behavior can change the organization’s ethos and help it achieve cultural parity.

Explore a range of interactive resources through the AO virtual environment

The AO virtual environment supports course participants' learning experience with engaging and easy-to-navigate interactive resources. Explore and share the benefits of the AO’s learning enhancement platform.

myAO—designed for surgeons and by surgeons—is more intuitive than ever with relaunch

The myAO interface has been redesigned—and relaunched—to be more intuitive and provide quick access to the features most relevant to surgeons: case sharing, posting, accessing groups, and scientific expertise.

AO educational event organization update

On June 1, 2021, the AO introduced a new process for delivering our educational events. The change was driven by an organizational change that DePuy Synthes (DPS) made to its AO-related operations: To ensure that it has a compliant global organization, DPS handed over the activities of the DPS local event organizers (LEOs) to the AO.

The AO and RIMASYS partner to benefit the global surgeon community

In March 2021, the AO and RIMASYS Group announced the signing of a long-term strategic partnership.

AO Davos Courses 2021: Save the date

We are preparing to welcome you back to Davos—in person and on-site—for another round of world-class educational offerings, including 28 courses from AO Trauma, AO Spine, AO CMF, AO VET, AO Recon, and AO PEER as well as a virtual weekend of additional online learning opportunities. This year's AO Davos Courses will run from November 28 to December 10. The hybrid event will combine the best in on-site training with additional online learning opportunities. Registration opens on July 5.

10 tips for mindful teaching

Mindfulness, defined as the basic human ability to be fully present and aware of where you are and what you’re doing, can be a way of tackling the growing problem of physician burnout that can lead to a loss of passion for education. In the context of teaching, mindfulness means recognizing learners’ challenges and supporting them to overcome them and—in doing so—promotes effective learning. Practicing mindful teaching requires deliberate focus, reflection, and inquiry (Burks and Kobus 2012; Epstein 2017). It helps educators become more caring in their teaching, establish deeper connections with their learners, and set an example to learners to develop mindfulness.