Podcast Task Force Update

Ron El-Hawary, MD
Podcast Task Force Co-Chair

The mission of the SRS Podcast Task Force is to deliver the most current and trusted information to clinicians that care for patients with scoliosis. It aims to provide up-to-date, quality information that will impact the daily practice of scoliosis treatment. The task force worked tirelessly through 2019-2020 with a goal of hosting the first podcast by September 2020.  With the help of task force advisors, Craig Louer and Carter Clement, we are pleased to report that we met this goal and that “Scoliosis Dialogues: An SRS Podcast” has now published 12 podcasts. These are available on the SRS website, iTunes, and Google Play…this far surpasses the task force’s initial goal of 1-2 podcasts per month!

Specific podcast topics are determined by the hosts with input from the Podcast Task Force. In addition, topics have been suggested by the SRS Board and a variety of SRS Committees. As the Education Committee charges include highlighting the SRS Annual Meeting and IMAST award winners, we have spent the majority of the podcasts to date highlighting those flagship SRS meetings.

In March, a podcast was dedicated to the SRS Research Grant Outcome Symposium and included interviews with several prominent SRS researchers such as Rene Castelein, Marinus de Kleuver, and Dominique Rothenfluh. The podcasts now include sponsored content from our industry partners with “Emma’s Story” being released on May 11, 2021. This podcast marked a shift towards the inclusion of patient focused episodes and was a springboard towards the “Patient Dialogues” episode published on June 2, 2021…just in time for Scoliosis Awareness Month! This special episode features patient Prateek Shukla, and scoliosis advocate, Marcus John. Credit to Ryan Fitzgerald and Jeff Mullin for their insightful interviews that highlight patient stories and the work of SRS to advocate for patients with scoliosis.

Coming up soon will be episodes from the Early Career Surgeon Task Force and from the Global Outreach Program. Other suggested topics to further develop by our team include reviews from Spine Deformity Journal, interviews with SRS Board Members, educational content from the Growing Spine Committee, content related to scoliosis history, travelling fellowships, research study groups, the future of spine research, and a spotlight on SRS sponsored research, such as the Coscco adult spinal deformity project.

Of course, we will also feature presentations and award winners from the SRS 2021 Annual Meeting!  With such compelling topics, we expect that podcast listenership will continue to grow over the next several months. Special thanks to Shawn Storey for his organizational and technical abilities. We would not be experiencing this success without Shawn’s dedication and the commitment of the SRS team.

 

Co-Chairs: Yan Wang; Ron El-Hawary, RTF Liaison Task Force: Jaysson Brooks; Ryan Fitzgerald; Hui-Ren Tao; Masood Shafafy; Jeff Mullin; Carter Clement, Advisory; Craig Louer, Advisory