Claudette Lajam Named AAOS Board of Councilors Chair

Claudette M. Lajam, M.D., FAAOS, is the new chairperson of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ (AAOS) Board of Councilors. She assumed the position after the organization’s 2022 annual meeting last week in Chicago. 

Lajam has been a leader in the field, dedicated to all aspects of clinical excellence, and a champion for underserved patient populations. She is chief orthopedic safety officer, chief of quality for the adult reconstruction division, and master high reliability organization trainer at NYU Langone Orthopedics, in addition to associate professor of orthopedic surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
 
Lajam leads orthopaedic health equity initiatives at her institution, throughout the country, and the world to provide care access for patients. She was honored as “Advocate of the Year” in 2019 by the New York State Society of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
 
Promoting professional growth for the increasing number of women orthopedic surgeons, Lajam is past president of the Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society, has actively served on the Political Action Committee of the AAOS (PAC), and the only woman to be named to the OrthoPAC Hall of Fame. A first-generation Dominican American, she is a member of the American Association of Latino Orthopaedic Surgeons. Lajam is the first Latina chair of the Board of Councilors, and the second woman to serve in this role.
 
Before heading AAOS’ Board of Councilors, she was a member of the AAOS’ Education Council and chaired the Central Program Committee for the 2021 AAOS Annual Meeting. Lajam was a member of the 2013 Leadership Fellows Program and currently serves as a mentor for the AAOS Leadership Institute (ALI). She specializes in primary and revision total hip and knee replacement.
 
Lajam serves on the Central Board of Operation WALK, a humanitarian organization that performs total joint replacements at no cost to residents of developing countries. She has volunteered on medical missions to the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Haiti and is a member of the board of directors for Steadfast Service Dogs, which provides trained German Shepherds to people with mobility, mental health, or behavioral disorders. Lajam also is a member of her county Community Emergency Response Team.
 
Lajam earned her medical degree from Cornell University, graduating Alpha Omega Alpha, and a bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of Pennsylvania. She completed residency training at Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in Rochester, Minn., and an adult reconstructive fellowship at the Insall Scott Kelly Institute in New York City. She has published widely on the topics of quality and safety, healthcare disparities, telehealth, medical ethics, knee and hip replacement, and technology assisted surgery.
 
With more than 39,000 members, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons is the world’s largest medical association of musculoskeletal specialists. It provides comprehensive education to help orthopedic surgeons and allied health professionals at every career level to best treat patients. The AAOS is the source for information on bone and joint conditions, treatments, and related musculoskeletal healthcare issues, and it leads the healthcare discussion on advancing quality.