ROSEMONT, Ill. — Orthopaedic surgeon P. Merrill White, III, MD, was recently elected by the Tennessee Orthopaedic Society to the Board of Councilors (BOC) of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). BOC members represent orthopaedists in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Military, U.S. Territories and Canada and four of the regional orthopaedic societies. Election to the BOC is an extraordinary milestone in any orthopaedist’s career.
After earning his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, Georgia, Dr. White completed his residency in orthopaedic surgery at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine in Winston Salem, NC and fellowship at the Adult Spine Surgery at the Rothman Institute and Jefferson Hospital, both in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“It’s an honor to be elected to the Academy’s Board of Councilors and have the privilege to serve my colleagues,” said Dr. White. “I look forward to becoming more closely involved with various issues of importance to the orthopaedic community.
Active in several professional societies, Dr. White is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the North American Spine Society, the Knoxville Orthopedic Society, and the Tennessee Orthopedic Society.
The BOC was founded in 1973 by members of AAOS concerned about “the totality of orthopaedic life.” The responsibilities of the BOC are to establish and maintain communication with the AAOS’ Board of Directors and members; serve as a representative, deliberative body in matters of concern to all orthopaedic surgeons, which include reviewing, debating, and making recommendations regarding AAOS resolutions, standards of professionalism and bylaws proposals; and be an effective and authoritative policy-making body in matters of concern to orthopaedic surgery.
An orthopaedic surgeon is a physician with extensive training in the diagnosis and non-surgical as well as surgical treatment of the musculoskeletal system, including bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles and nerves.
