Department of Orthopedic Surgery

Orthopedic Surgery Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Leadership

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Melvyn A. Harrington Jr., M.D.

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Professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery
Vice Chair for Diversity and Inclusion

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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee

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Omar Hammad Atassi, M.D.

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Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery
DEI Committee Member

Shawn Okechukwu Okpara, M.D.

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Orthopedic Surgery Resident
DEI Committee Member

Gayleen Breeding, MBA

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Administrator, Department of Orthopedic Surgery
DEI Committee Member

Donna Maura

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Senior Practice Manager, Department of Orthopedic Surgery
DEI Committee Member

Shelby Moser, MUAPP

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Senior Communications and Corporate Affairs Associate, Department of Orthopedic Surgery
DEI Committee Member

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DEI Programs, Organizations and Initiatives

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​​​​​​Shawn

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Student National Medical Association

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Shawn Okechukwu Okpara, M.D. -  “I was involved in SNMA as a medical student, so it meant a lot to be able to go back to the AMEC conference as a resident and represent Baylor. Medical students from all over the country came to our booth and I was able to provide useful information on orthopedic surgery residency. This is a great opportunity to increase Baylor's diversity and inclusion and I'm looking forward to going again in the future.”

Visit the Student National Medical Association website.

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Nth Dimensions

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Nth Dimensions works with medical students and focuses on increasing the number of women and underrepresented minorities in orthopedic surgery. Nth Dimensions works with orthopedic surgeons from across the country to allow first-year medical students to shadow them in the clinical setting. 

Visit the Nth Dimensions website.

Perry

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Perry Initiative

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Our department works with the Perry Initiative. This organization offers a hands-on learning experience for young, talented women interested in the fields of engineering, medicine and orthopedic surgery. The program is targeted toward high school, college and graduate-level female students.

Visit the Perry Initiative website.

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Education Initiatives

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Group photo of TCH women surgeons.
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Dr. Monique Chambers, Dr. Fatimah Mubarak, Dr. Nicole Montgomery, Dr. Olivia Barron and Dr. Christina Alvara are members of the Orthopedic Surgery Residency at Baylor College of Medicine.
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“The lack of underrepresented minorities still is an issue across the board in the physician workforce, not just in orthopedic surgery. There are not enough underrepresented minorities in medical schools and residency programs,” states Dr. Harrington, associate professor of Orthopedic Surgery. Increasing the diversity of orthopedic surgeons is a top priority for our residency and fellowship programs.

Some articles highlighting this are below:

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Research Initiatives

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 Mohamad Jamal Halawi, MD, FAAOS
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Mohamad Jamal Halawi, M.D., FAAOS
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Our department is committed to research regarding health disparities in orthopedic medicine. In 2020, Dr. Halawi was awarded the Zimmer Biomet/JRGOS Fellow and Practicing Orthopaedic Surgeon Grant from the J. Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society.

“We have published several papers in past two years showing that racial disparities persisted in outcomes of hip and knee arthroplasty even after accounting for baseline health conditions. This triggered a question of additional underlying factors, namely socioeconomic factors, that could explain the observed disparities. These disparities are not routinely collected in health databases. The grant awarded by the Gladden Orthopaedic Society is intended to better understand those social determinants of health. Comprehensive surveys were administered to patients presenting to the our orthopaedic clinic. Surveys are completed and we are currently in the analysis phase.”

-Dr. Mohamad Halawi, Associate Professor Orthopaedic Surgery