Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] Speaker A: Welcome to the Ortho Joe Podcast, a joint production of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery and Ortho Evidence.
Join hosts Mohit Bhandari and Mark Swankowski as they discuss current topics and publications in the world of orthopedics and beyond.
[00:00:19] Speaker B: Well, hello. Hello, everybody. Mark, how are you?
Judy, how are you?
[00:00:24] Speaker A: A cup of Joe in the middle of the afternoon.
[00:00:26] Speaker B: So you're wondering why we have three of us, first of all, why we're all on one screen. Well, we're all at the editorial meeting of the Journal of BO Joint Surgery held in Cleveland, Ohio, specifically at the Cleveland Clinic. So it's been a full day, and today we're just going to have a little chat. We're going to have a chat with someone I pretty sure most of you all know, and we're going to learn a little bit more about her career. But Professor Judy Baum, who was also the vice Dean of Academics. Right, the vice Dean of Academic affairs at the University of Rochester. So, you know, maybe I'll start off. Judy, I wonder if you could just speak a little bit about your current role within the Journal and generally, and then we'll maybe go backwards in time. Yeah, sure.
[00:01:07] Speaker C: Well, my current role is I'm currently the chair of the Board of Trustees, which got me to this great meeting where I got to hobnob with all the different editors of all the different areas and hear a little bit more about what they're doing and what things they see for the excitement for the future. Been awesome.
[00:01:28] Speaker A: So you have had an outstanding career, particularly in the area of foot and ankle and education.
And maybe you could, just for the sake of our listeners, run through your educational pedigree.
[00:01:43] Speaker C: Oh, well, thank you for asking, Mark.
Let me see if I can remember.
So I did an undergraduate at Springfield College, and then I went to graduate school at Middlebury College, and then I went to medical school at University of Vermont, and then I stayed there for my residency, did a fellowship at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and then I came to the University of Rochester, and I have stayed there.
That's the end of my story right there.
[00:02:15] Speaker A: Some really great mentors at the University of Rochester. Maybe you could just mention a few of them have been really important in your career development.
[00:02:24] Speaker C: Yeah.
At the University of Rochester, I was hired by Dick Burton, who's past president of the Hand Society, and he is just exceptional at, I guess, leading a young faculty member to learn. You know, Mark, you have a big influence on me. So from. From Times, you know, you have been a great mentor to Me, Kendah Haven. So past president of the Sports Medicine, but also a AOS and, and super great guy. He had a great influence in me too.
[00:03:01] Speaker A: Yeah, so many people in that department were influenced by Mac Evarts.
[00:03:05] Speaker C: Yeah, Mac was before my time, but yep, we had a lot of, a lot of people have had leadership roles right out of that department from training there.
[00:03:14] Speaker A: Yeah, I got one more and then I'll turn it back to my esteemed associate with cup of Joe empty today in the afternoon. How did you settle on foot and ankle surgery?
[00:03:28] Speaker C: You know, I had a, I had a mentor at the University of Vermont, Salt Trevino, who really influenced me. He was just great at teaching and made it interesting and, and recognized how challenging foot and ankle really is.
And it's through his, I guess, influence I went into foot and ankle.
[00:03:52] Speaker A: It's great.
[00:03:53] Speaker C: Yeah, it was awesome. I also happened to have done a little bit of research in foot and ankle before I went to medical school, so I was already inclined. But Saul solid it right up.
[00:04:05] Speaker B: I mean, Judy, you've got like such a long history of some of your academic interests and can you speak a little bit to what interests you most right now when it comes to research and quite frankly, where you see, you know, sort of your own research endeavors moving forward in the years to come? I have a general idea, I think.
[00:04:23] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah.
[00:04:23] Speaker B: Where it is going, but maybe I'd like to hear what you think.
[00:04:26] Speaker C: Yeah, well, I think, you know, I, I had many, many years of doing biomechanical research in foot and ankle and gate lab Studies. Had a PhD buddy, Debbie Nowzinski, who worked with me and we published together.
Then I saw the wisdom and Mark, you influenced this of patient reported outcomes. So the concept of, yeah, they might be able to walk, but it's killing them when they walk, so they don't go anywhere. So understanding how the patient is feeling and functioning was pivotal. And then through some research at the University of Rochester with the sports group, we transitioned into utilizing promise. And so then my research has really been disseminating the collection of patient reported outcomes through our health system. And then the influence that I'd have on disseminating it even more broadly through.
I'd like to see the world, but at least through the United States, it's been really a great ride. We're very interesting, very patient centered.
[00:05:32] Speaker A: You presented to various audiences well outside the field of orthopedics on this work, correct?
[00:05:37] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, I, I have had great opportunities to kind of go with the, the level higher like CMS National Quality Forum different specialties have asked me, you know, educational areas of higher ed, all that sort of stuff. So it's been fantastic. Yeah.
[00:05:54] Speaker A: I'm curious, how did you get invited, asked, evolve into the dean's office position?
[00:06:01] Speaker C: Oh, that.
You know, I love taking care of patients. There's no question. Boots on the ground, I'm in.
It happened to be that I was having an. Having a role in the Dean's Office of Academic affairs. And all of a sudden the person that was there decided he was going to leave for another job. And so that job came open and I thought, well, this is the opportunity, I guess.
So then I interviewed and was fortunate enough to receive it, so.
[00:06:33] Speaker A: And what exactly do you do?
[00:06:35] Speaker C: I do everything. This is. This is the part where I kind of choke a little tiny bit because I say it in a simple way so you'd understand it, but it sounds horrible.
It's HR for the faculty. I do everything but benefits I take care of. I know. Hiring, firing, professionalism, promotion in tenure.
Literally everything you could conceivably mention around academic affairs, I'm involved with.
I have to say, changing from boots on the ground with a patient care focus to doing something that sounded so administrative made it really difficult for me. Initially.
I had to put a tagline on my email and it says helping faculty to help our patients. And that's how I live through this.
[00:07:24] Speaker B: Yeah, it's very interesting.
Do you find, like. So the one thing I would imagine about faculty affairs and other similar roles would be there be, you know, opportunities to help and possibly remediate through coaching?
Has there been a shift also in thinking around. Well, we're often spending a lot of time mentoring and coaching individuals who often, you know, maybe. Maybe, you know, aren't necessarily, you know, following professional standards. Not always, but sometimes. But what about the individuals who are just doing everything you want them to do and sometimes just get felt to say, well, you're doing fine. You don't need any additional help. What's your thinking around coaching for those who are high achievers?
[00:08:02] Speaker C: Actually, on the other side, we have that going to career coaching support for all of those things. I didn't mention when I said HR for the faculty. I didn't mention faculty development, which is awesome. And then empowering all of our faculty who have interests and educational aptitudes and things, empowering them to become part of faculty development so that they could expand on what they're teaching to our faculty. So we have facilitated peer mentoring programs, we have coaching programs. We have all sorts of things that really have been developed by faculty that we've empowered to bring to the U of R. It's really great.
[00:08:44] Speaker A: You are the chair of the board of trustees, and I venture to guess that most of the people that read the journal don't even understand what that is. And I'm going to start out by saying that you are a wonderful person for that position because for at least 20 years, since I've been around anywhere assigning reviewers, you always say yes to review a manuscript. You always do a great job, you always do it on time, and you never say no.
And you're a role model for the people that should be involved in leadership of this journal. So that's just a compliment that is well deserved. But maybe you can explain to our audience what the heck do the trustees do.
[00:09:32] Speaker C: Yeah, you know, it's the governance, right. So, yes, there's important aspects of the journal of making sure the articles come in appropriately reviewed, peer reviewed, processed, you know, edited, all of that. And then there's the governance oversight and the governance oversight, you know, fiscal oversight and strategic oversight with sharing from. That's why I'm here, with sharing from others, so that we could be the best journal we can be. That's really what the board of trustees does. And, you know, I'm sorry, surrounded by unbelievably talented individuals that are in different stages of their career, but are also in different specialties, different areas of the country.
So diversity on the board is unbelievable, too.
[00:10:22] Speaker B: It's amazing too, because from my purview, and I think similar to what Mark's saying, you have a very collaborative but pragmatic style which allows decisions to get made, but also practical decisions like, you know. And I think it goes. It goes to why I think you've been able and to do so many things so well. The question I actually have is doing all the things you do well, how do you re. Energize. How do you fill up the battery, so to speak, when the battery is empty? And is it travel, is it out? Is it reading? Is it all those things? What kind of things do you do besides running?
[00:10:57] Speaker C: I run. Mark knows we're down in the fitness area at the same time.
So, you know, I have a family. I have three wonderful women that are launching their careers. So it's fantastic. In support of a husband. And I do read, I still write, I still do research. I really enjoy that. I like to give back. So I'm involved in some of the philanthropy endeavors at the university. So it's, you know, it all keeps me very busy.
So, yeah, there's a lot to do
[00:11:32] Speaker B: when you, when you're giving or if you are. You know, we are very lucky at Ortho Joe to have, you know, such a diversity of listeners. But we have numerous, you know, early career, early career faculty and certainly residents who are listening along. What advice do you give or what advice would you give someone who's just sort of early in their career? And, you know, when you're early in your career, you have a whole bunch of dreams, but you also have a lot of worry about, you know, where, how life will turn out with respect to your career and all things, any, any general lessons you've learned that you'd want to share.
[00:12:06] Speaker C: You know, I, I don't know that I'm, you know, worldly about sharing, you know, what people could think of. But I have to say I'm a planner, so I do plan and I, I do think about what would be cool and what, what I might like to do.
I also see opportunities and I see where people really don't, don't step up.
Mark mentioned, you know, I don't say no very often. I do, I do try and do what I do well, so you can't over extend sometimes, but you gotta step up and see what, see what something's gonna drive you to do. And I don't think I would be where I am today if I hadn't done that, hadn't just taken advantage of, of some opportunities that came my way. I didn't say I'm too busy. I just carved it out and made it work because I thought it would be interesting and it would be, it would, it would change me and inform me and educate me.
[00:13:08] Speaker A: That's great. I got one more Mo and then I'll let you take us out. But. So I believe this is your first editorial board meeting.
Yes.
[00:13:17] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:13:18] Speaker A: Okay. So of all the things discussed today in a very well organized meeting by Mo and Christina and Alan and others, what's the one thing that you really excites you or maybe even bothers you about what you heard in the last seven, eight hours?
[00:13:36] Speaker C: We had a big chunk of time on AI and I have to say I really am interested in learning more about it. So I have dabbled in it like everyone has. And I think it's one of those things where you think, well, I'm my first year of residency and I know a little bit about orthopedics, but you only have four years worth. And I feel like that's how I am in AI and a little tiny bit about it and it's something that we are going to have to learn about and manage and understand and see where it's going to bring us. It's going to bring us to places that we find exciting and helpful and then some places that might be challenging and we're just going to have to manage those things. So I think that was one of the great areas amongst many that were here today.
Thanks.
[00:14:26] Speaker B: We could talk all day and all night, but we are all trying to get to also an editorial board dinner.
[00:14:31] Speaker C: Yes, we are.
[00:14:32] Speaker B: With that in mind, I want you to just thank you again for everything you're doing for the Journal, but everything you're doing for orthopedics in broadly. And I think there's many, many who have, I'm sure, who see you as mentor and, you know, have just benefited from you, you being in the field. So thank you for everything you're doing and certainly a great honor to have you on ortho.
[00:14:49] Speaker C: Joe. Well, I said before we started taping, I said this is a dream come true. I'm on, you know, I'm got a cup of Joe and I went to.
[00:14:57] Speaker A: Great.
[00:14:57] Speaker C: So cheers.
[00:14:59] Speaker B: Cheers.
[00:14:59] Speaker C: Cheers.
[00:15:01] Speaker B: Onwards, Sam.
