Providence Doctor Gets American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Diversity Award

When E. Anthony Rankin, MD, arrived at his first American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Annual Meeting in 1967, he found only two African-American orthopedists in attendance. Back then, there were only about 10 board-certified African-American orthopedic surgeons practicing in the United States. Spurred on by this lack of diversity, Dr. Rankin — who became the academy's first African-American President in 2008 — chose to devote a significant portion of his time and energy to making orthopedics a more inclusive specialty.

At the recent AAOS Annual Meeting, Dr. Rankin, Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery at Ascension's Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C., received the organization's 2016 Diversity Award. The award recognizes members of the academy who have distinguished themselves through their outstanding commitment to making orthopedics more representative of, and accessible to, diverse patient populations.

Dr. Rankin has trained more than 120 minority and female residents, many of whom returned to underserved communities to practice. Throughout his career Dr. Rankin also championed several initiatives using diversity as a lens, including Culturally Competent Care, which brings cultural awareness into every patient-physician interaction in an effort to enhance outcomes. He also played a key role in establishing the AAOS Leadership Fellows Program and the academy's first committee on diversity, two actions that were instrumental in recruiting highly qualified female and minority orthopedic surgeons to positions of leadership.

"Dr. Rankin's promotion of diversity in orthopedics has been a career-long mission," said Augustus A. White III, MD, PhD, Ellen and Melvin Gordon Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Professor of Medical Education at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

"I am grateful for the leadership roles I have held at AAOS which allowed me to promote the inclusion of minorities and women in orthopedic education and patient care," Dr. Rankin said. "Through the Diversity Advisory Board and other resources, the academy continues its efforts to improve accessibility for underserved populations."

Medicine runs in the Rankin family. His wife, Frances, is a psychiatrist and son, Marc, is an orthopedic surgeon.​