The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) is a non-profit medical association representing more than 38,000 orthopedic surgeons. AAOS provides education and practice management services to surgeons and healthcare professionals.
AAOS ROCK (Resident Orthopaedic Core Knowledge) is a standardized, personalized, and seamless product for resident education that establishes a core knowledge base for orthopaedic residency training. ROCK offers a comprehensive learning solution across 11 orthopaedic sub-specialty areas that can be customized to individual program schedules and personalized to each program year.
The challenge
In 2017, AAOS rolled out an education strategy aimed at providing personalized, needs-based content to customers and stakeholders and optimizing those digital experiences. Through surveys, interviews, and ad hoc conversations with members, they gathered feedback on current and desired offerings and identified a gap in the market when it came to digital education products. They also identified a need to more actively engage with their members.
“We knew if we could get members to take more action, it would build loyalty, it would improve our member retention rates, and it would enhance our brand for the next generation,” said Anna Salt Troise, Chief Commercial Officer at AAOS.
The solution
In evaluating vendors, AAOS sought not only specialized software to meet the specific online needs of orthopaedic residency programs, but a modern user experience and proven services and support. As AAOS approached the project, they considered building the product internally, buying an out-of the-box offering, utilizing their existing LMS, or partnering with a platform provider. AAOS ultimately chose to partner with Silverchair because of their alignment on technology, processes, and overall company values. Silverchair offered AAOS flexibility, the ability to work with aggressive timelines, and extensive expertise in the area of medical education technology.
With a strong medical educational knowledge, experience in the market, and flexibility, Silverchair worked with AAOS to develop and launch ROCK (Resident Orthopaedic Core Knowledge), the AAOS resident orthopedic curriculum. This curriculum, launched with 552 chapters, more than 500 authors, and over 3,000 exam items will help to transform the way that surgeons learn. The ROCK serves as a rich source of information and includes elements such as technique videos, didactic videos, and full-text chapters.
The process
AAOS was able to repurpose their existing content assets in order to provide access to publications, online learning, and external content to prepare members for the OITE (Orthopaedic In-Training Examination) and the ABOS (American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery) exams. In doing so, they considered the unique needs of residents and program directors that were going unmet by existing offerings. The ROCK offers a standardized way of teaching and learning that also serves to unify AAOS’ many content assets, including recordings, journals, textbooks, and more.
Now, AAOS is able to leverage built-in self-serve tools to deliver their content, enhancing the online member experience, and simplifying the process for all stakeholders. Most importantly, they’re able to provide their members with a product that fulfills their mission and serves their education strategy.
“AAOS is excited to deliver our first-ever Resident Curriculum Platform with the support and expertise of Silverchair. Thanks to diligent market research, the Academy identified a gap across consistency and skills-based learning in current resident curriculums throughout the country. Our partnership with Silverchair was be an integral component in helping us close that gap while also delivering on our Strategic Plan goal of providing a personalized and seamless member experience that will have a direct impact on how future orthopaedic residency programs engage in learning and education.”
—Anna Salt Troise, AAOS Chief Commercial Officer