Urbana-based Carle Illinois College of Medicine students are partnering with the Perry Initiative, a national group focused on inspiring women to join orthopedic surgery.
Students are also teaming up with other medical student organizations to encourage students from diverse backgrounds to join orthopedics, according to an Aug. 9 press release.
Only about 8.5 percent of practicing orthopedic surgeons are women, while 2 percent are Black, 2.2 percent are Hispanic and less than 1 percent are Native American, according to the release.
The Perry Initiative provides hands-on training programs for high schoolers and medical students to pique interest in orthopedics. Carle Illinois is set to host its first program in the spring of 2024.
Presenters at the session will include musculoskeletal experts Mariana Kersh, PhD, and Morgan Moon, MD.
In Carle Illinois' first two graduating medical classes, two female students were selected for orthopedic surgery residency slots.