2026 OTA Humanitarian Scholarship Application

The Humanitarian Committee awards up to three (3) OTA Humanitarian Scholarships annually, thanks to the generous support of The Wyss Medical Foundation and contributions from OTA members.

Scholarships are merit-based and will be awarded to the primary author of the selected abstract submitted to the OTA Annual Meeting submission site.

Scholarships are awarded to eligible orthopaedic surgeons from countries with limited resources (determined by the World Bank country classifications as low and low-middle income).

To be considered for a scholarship, applicants:

• must submit an abstract to the 2026 Annual Meeting and be able to attend the Annual Meeting to present their abstract.
• will have completed their orthopaedic training at the time of this application, and show promise as leaders, educators, and researchers. 

Applicants will be ranked according to the quality of their abstract and their potential contribution to the development of orthopaedic care in their home country.

Funding covers travel to the OTA Annual Meeting and a 3- to 5-day observership at a US hospital following the OTA Annual Meeting, for which travel and a per diem will be provided.

All applicants must submit two letters of recommendation. At least one of the letters must be submitted by the applicant's training program director or an orthopaedic surgeon who has known the applicant for at least five years.

Below are guidelines for writing a comprehensive letter of recommendation.

Writers should include the following:

• Duration of time and description of how they have known the applicant professionally.
  
  
• Overview of the applicant's educational skills and capacity to learn new things.
  
  
• Information relating to the applicant's leadership qualities.
  
  
• Information relating to the applicant's potential to disseminate information obtained through the scholarship experience to their fellow colleagues.