DAYTON, Ohio – Premier Health will host an orthopedic medicine externship for area high school and college students interested in orthopedic medicine.
The externship will take place from Monday, July 17, through Friday, July 21, at Miami Valley Hospital South in Centerville. An application is available at https://www.premierhealth.com/ortho-externship. This year the program will accept 12 applicants. The application deadline is Monday, May 15.
Premier Health launched the orthopedic externship program in 2021. The externship introduces students to the medical field at an early age while also addressing the disparity in gender and race within orthopedics. Premier Health encourages all area high school and college students to apply, especially female and minority students.
Historically, orthopedics is a physician specialty with glaring disparities in gender and race. For example, only 1.9 percent of practicing orthopedic surgeons are Black, as are just 5 percent of orthopedic residents, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Premier Health is committed to addressing such disparities through opportunities such as the orthopedic medicine externship.
During the externship, students will gain hands-on experience, including surgery instrument demonstrations; lab work; and educational talks from orthopedic surgeons, spine surgeons, and sports medicine physicians. Please visit https://www.premierhealth.com/ortho-externship to apply. For more information on the orthopedic medicine externship, please contact Michael Herbenick, MD, at maherbenick@premierhealth.com.
Featured photo (provided): Louis Okafor, MD, meets with students participating in Premier Health’s 2022 orthopedic medicine externship at Miami Valley Hospital South.