JBJS JOPA Writing Awards

I am proud to say that JBJS Journal of Orthopaedics for Physician Assistants (JOPA) has provided a unique academic resource for the PA professional for over 10 years. During this time, JBJS has given PAs, NPs, physicians, and other healthcare clinicians the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience to help improve patient care. JOPA strives to publish foundational orthopaedic knowledge critical for PA professionals, who learn much of their orthopaedic knowledge in clinical practice. JBJS JOPA continues to recognize our PA and NP authors through generous writing awards each year to help improve the quality and quantity of these resources. We created the JOPA Writing Awards to recognize PA and NP authors and educational leaders in our profession. The JOPA award winners are chosen on the basis of the following criteria: the article must be well written, the article should be of interest to the PA and NP audience, and the article should help improve patient care. Two winning papers were selected for 2024. I am extremely pleased to announce the winners of the 2024 JOPA Writing Awards: “Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis in a Military Cohort Using Platelet-Rich Plasma” by Jacob Wittenauer, et al. “Diagnosis and Management of Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease in the Obese Pediatric Population” by Lauren Beckish, et al. I found both article topics to be relevant to PA practice and both provided clinically useful information to help with patient care decision-making. Although these article topics may not be unique to the current body of literature, they both provide foundational orthopaedic knowledge that is so critical for PAs to learn. Osteoarthritis of the knee is one of the most common patient complaints PAs see, and we all should be aware of treatment options, including platelet-rich plasma injections. Legg-Calve Perthes disease is a “can’t miss” diagnosis that PAs may encounter once or twice a year but a diagnosis that should always remain on our radar. To give more PAs opportunities to be recognized for their contributions, we will be expanding the awards program in 2025 and offering up to 10 $500 awards for any PA or NP (including students) who publishes a review, case study, or scientific article in JOPA. I would also encourage all JOPA contributors and readers to spread the word about these awards to your practice or faculty colleagues. I want to thank all our authors for submitting their work in 2024, as well as our reviewers, editorial board, and readers for their continued support of JBJS JOPA.