Dr. Richard K.N. Ryu of Santa Barbara will accept the Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA) Distinguished Service Award at the Combined 2021 Annual Meeting of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) and AANA, the AOSSM-AANA, July 9 in Nashville.
The newly created award is presented to an AANA member for exceptional service in leading an initiative or project for the organization, the orthopaedic community, or community at large.
Dr. Ryu, a past president of the AANA, is being recognized for the inaugural award because of his commitment and influential leadership to the Annual AANA and Society of Military Orthopaedic Surgeons (SOMOS) Course.
The concept for the first AANA/SOMOS Course originated from a discussion with Dr. Ryu and SOMOS past presidents and AANA members Dr. Matthew Provencher, capt., M.C., USNR; and Dr. John Tokish, col., USAF.
They concluded that an advanced arthroscopy course focusing on state-of-the-art concepts for their military colleagues was needed, which eventually came to be the AANA/SOMOS Course.
The two-day intensive skills course combines hands-on cadaver lab training with technique-based lectures dedicated to optimizing care of the military, with the focus rotating each year between shoulder and knee.
The AANA Distinguished Service Award, in addition to recognition at the annual meeting, also grants a donation of $2,500 to be given to the organization of the recipient’s choice. Dr. Ryu and his wife Linda Ryu have chosen the donation to be given to the National Military Family Association, an organization that supports service members, their spouses and children.
“I cannot think of a more worthy recipient of this inaugural award than Dr. Ryu,” said Laura Downes, CAE, AANA CEO. “His passion, dedication and unwavering leadership to the AANA/SOMOS Course and related initiatives are truly inspiring, and are qualities that represent the essence of this award.”
Dr. Ryu is also set to deliver the inaugural Diversity Lecture at the annual meeting. He will discuss the importance of diversity in orthopaedics as well as different ways orthopaedic surgeon minorities can become leaders in arthroscopy.
Dr. Ryu was part of the AANA Diversity & Inclusion Task Force since mid-2020, working and collaborating with a team of AANA volunteer leaders to develop impactful initiatives to move the needle of diversity in orthpaedics.
AANA is an international professional organization of more than 6,500 orthopaedic surgeons and other medical professionals who are committed to advancing the field of minimally invasive orthopaedic surgery to improve patient outcomes through education, research and advancement.