JTO
03 Mar 2025

JTO - March 2025

Volume 13 Issue 1

From the Executive Editor

 

I hope you have all managed to keep warm and healthy as we hopefully emerge from the ‘winter’ pressures! Here’s the next offering of JTO with an assembly of features and news pieces to stimulate further reflection and debate. I draw your attention to what our President Mark Bowditch says about our current challenges, planned essential care reforms, and the focus on prevention, which is one of three defined healthcare reform themes of the UK Government. Within the feature, Mark explains the BOA’s focus on addressing the challenges and concerns regarding training in T&O, which was also heavily featured in last year’s Congress. There are two further features focusing on current issues with training. Charlotte Barter et al. review the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on orthopaedic training and the current landscape of orthopaedic training in the UK. The case for sustained focus on training recovery is well made. Karen Chui and her BOTA co-authors write about the ‘modern orthopaedic trainee’ where there is now better diversity with increasing access to more flexible training. There is also a stronger engagement in research and innovation with the aspiration to integrate that into training.

We all continue to embrace tested new and emerging technologies to enhance various aspects of our professional practice. But is artificial intelligence (AI) better than human intuition when it comes to medical or creative writing? Is AI better at ‘dejargonising’ what we write to make it more understandable by the lay public? Luke Nugent writes about reflective robots and the impact of AI on medical writing. Ahmad Al-Sukaini and colleagues review how aspects of digital innovation help enhance delivery of care for musculoskeletal trauma. Additionally, Jeya Palan, Mohannad Ammori and Henry Chandler appraise future prospects with robotic-assisted hip and knee replacements, and how training for that may be structured.The impact of some of the international engagement work by the BOA and its members continues to impress. Sanjay Gupta and his WOC colleagues report on the successful venture to help Guyana develop their musculoskeletal oncology service. Vittoria Bucknall provides an interesting and thoughtful reflection of her experience during early years as a new T&O consultant. Sarah Bolton, Morgan Bailey and Mark Bowditch provide a succinct review of ACL injuries in women.

This edition features a themed section on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with Bill Ledingham as section editor. The section covers an overview of multidisciplinary management of RA with features by experienced clinicians. Tracy Ward provides an overview of physiotherapy developments, Alan MacDonald reflects on medical management, and Bill concludes the section himself by writing about surgical challenges.

 Amar Rangan, Vice-President elect

 

Subspecialty Section

References

Reflective robots – The impact of AI on medical writing

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‘May you train in interesting times’; Assessing the pandemic’s impact on orthopaedic training

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Robotic-assisted arthroplasty: How should we train for the future?

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Women’s ACL injuries - where are we now?

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The modern orthopaedic trainee

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