What is The Perry Initiative? It’s a “nationwide group focused on inspiring young women to be leaders in orthopedic surgery and engineering.” The effort at U of I is being led by Jona Kerluku, co-president of the CI Med Orthopedic Surgery Interest Group.
Through The Perry Initiative, they will be able to offer programming for area high school students who might be interested in the field, and are planning the first event in 2024. Students will be able to learn about skills that orthopedic residents are working on, and try their hand at a few of them.
According to the article from Carle Illinois, “only about 8.5 percent of all practicing orthopedic surgeons in the US are women, only two percent identify as Black, 2.2 percent are Hispanic, and less than one percent are Native American.”
You can read more at the Carle Illinois website.
