SIGN Conference: Empowering Surgeons
The SIGN Conference is one of the biggest highlights of every year at SIGN. Surgeons from around the world gather at our headquarters to present their research, learn from each other, and build international relationships.
Like many things at SIGN, the conference started as a small event, but quickly grew as more people learned about the effectiveness of SIGN Instruments and Implants. Back in 2001, Dr. Zirkle decided to hold a conference for surgeons and anyone interested in SIGN Implants. Most attendees were local to Richland, and wanted to learn about how the SIGN System worked and how they could volunteer in low-income countries.
Growing and Expanding
Dr. Carla Smith (center) at the first SIGN Conference in 2001. She went on to start many SIGN Programs in Nepal and is a SIGN Board Member.
By 2003, the SIGN Conference was attended by surgeons from around the world. Nearly 100 surgeons attended the course, which included lectures and hands-on training.
In 2007, we built a conference room that can hold 150 people, enabling more space for lectures, with hands-on breakout sessions throughout the rest of the building. Since that point, the SIGN Conference has included hands-on sessions on the SIGN Technique, limb deformity, pelvic fractures, and the Ponseti method of treating clubfoot.
A big leap forward happened in 2017, when Surgical Training Institute donated their mobile Bioskills laboratory. Surgeons in low- and middle-income countries rarely have access to cadaver or Bioskills labs to practice new procedures.
In 2020, we constructed the Procedural Learning Center, which includes a classroom and a permanent Bioskills lab. This enables us to provide dedicated, hands-on training using human tissue, an opportunity that is not available in many of the surgeons’ home countries.
Elevating International Surgeons
“The SIGN Conference is the best conference SIGN Surgeons can go to,” says Dr. Faseeh Shahab, from Pakistan. “At the SIGN Conference, everyone is using the same instruments and techniques so every presentation is valuable.”
As the SIGN Conference has grown and the organization has matured, the faculty at the conference has shifted from US-based doctors to SIGN Surgeons. They share case studies from their hospitals, present their research, and share their innovations with the global partnership. Many have used this platform as a springboard to present at other international events.
By elevating the voices of SIGN Surgeons through the conference, we are empowering them to be teachers and leaders in their home communities and around the world.
2024 SIGN Conference attendees and staff.
What is the memory about SIGN that first comes to your mind? Perhaps it’s a patient, meeting with a surgeon, or something else in your life that sparked a connection with fracture care.
We’d love to hear from you, and potentially share your story. Please comment below or email us at info@signfracturecare.org
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