Keggi-Kimball International Scholars Program

Acute shortages of orthopaedic surgeons exist today and are projected worldwide in the decades ahead, making talent cultivation vital to global health.

The Keggi-Kimball Visiting Scholars Program addresses this urgent need for talent head-on. It is a unique program—with a focus on total joint replacement surgery—that nurtures future global leaders in orthopaedics. Advanced surgical training, mentoring, knowledge sharing, and lessons in cultural exchange are among its core activities and priorities. The program provides young surgeons advanced training in total joint replacement surgery through two-month rotations in international settings. These rotations include experiences at Yale for surgeons visiting from other countries as well as experiences for Yale surgeons who travel to overseas sites.

We recruit senior or chief residents, fellows in total joint arthroplasty, and early-practice surgeons—individuals who are recognized as “emerging leaders” working toward future leadership roles in medicine. Latvia, Turkey, Vietnam, China, and Georgia are the home countries of the six Keggi-Kimball Program participants who have visited Yale since 2017. Each has benefited from a world-class learning experience hosted by the faculty of Yale Orthopaedics, and shared the knowledge gained with peers in their home country.

To grow the program and increase its global impact, we aim to recruit future program participants from many other regions such as Central and South America, India, Africa, and other parts of Asia. Ultimately, in addition to equipping orthopaedic surgeons with advanced skills, the program strives to connect orthopaedic surgeons around the world and create academic and intellectual bridges in the rapidly evolving era of global health.