Interview with a Pedipod

Join Nick Fletcher as he is joined by former POSNA president Steve Frick from OrthoCarolina as well as Steve's long time friend and current POSNA president, Kevin Shea. The three of us have a terrific discussion centered on leadership, surgeon improvement, program development, education, foot and ankle surgery, and Steve's incredible journey across the country and back.

Nick Fletcher speaks with Jen Bauer from Seattle Children's about mentorship and being a mentee, managing complications, tackling cervical spine surgery, career development and finding balance. The interview finishes with an exciting lightning round discussion about hot topics in spine and a primer on wing foiling. 

In this special episode, Scott Rosenfeld, MD from Texas Children's Hospital and POSNA historian sits down with 2025 POSNA Distinguished Achievement Award winner Frances Farley, MD to talk about her illustrious career at Mott's Children's Hospital at the University of Michigan and recent transition to Chief Medical Officer of the Shriner's Children's Hospital system. 

Nick Fletcher sits down with Pablo Castaneda, Chief of International Surgery at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston and hip surgeon extraordinaire to talk about his transitions from Mexico City where he performed over 1000 surgeries for DDH, to NYU where he led a team as they grew a department within a new freestanding pediatric hospital in NYC, and back to Houston where he recently started a new venture helping grow the international footprint of TCH. Other highlights include discussions about early vs late reconstruction of developmentally dislocated hips, PAO's with or without arthroscopy, and how to manage complex deformity in older patients with Perthes. 

Nick Fletcher talks to Kevin Neal from Nemours in Jacksonville, Florida about his winding path to pediatric orthopedics, how CPT codes are generated and RVU's are assigned in medicine, as well as the POSNA compensation survey and how this can impact our specialty. 

Nick Fletcher welcomes Tony Herring, his former fellowship director, onto the podcast. Listen to Dr. Herring's stories about the origins of the famous Monday night conference at Texas Scottish Rite, building a team of superstars in Dallas,  his work with the limb deficiency clinic including an incredible experience on one of his annual ski trips with his amputee patients, and making award winning movies. You won't want to miss this episode with an absolute legend in pediatric orthopedics. 

The truly incomparable Peter Newton, chief of orthopedics and scoliosis at Rady Children's Hospital, joins Nick Fletcher to talk about his remarkable career innovating spine surgery, developing a research program, growing the Harms Study Group, and leading organizations including the SRS and POSNA. He also discusses his own experience with surgeon health and wellness and the process of transitioning into the next phase of his career. 

Nick Fletcher talks with Coleen Sabatini, MD from UCSF about her transition from small town Colorado to Northern California, being a division chief in her first few years of practice, her passion for improving health disparities on a global scale through her work in Uganda and how to achieve some balance between her work in the US in a busy academic practice with her work in Africa. 

Interview with a Pedipod is officially old! Come celebrate our 40th episode with an incredible conversation with Dr. Maryse Bouchard from SickKids in Toronto. Nick Fletcher talks with Dr. Bouchard about challenging problems in foot and ankle surgery, surgeon entrepreneurship and innovation, a pediatric foot/ankle study group (PEDIFORG), the POSNA traveling fellowship, and that ever tricky work/life balance. 

Interview with a Pedipod is turned on it's head as Derek Kelly from Campbell Clinic interviews Nick Fletcher from Children's Healthcare of Atlanta about the genesis of this podcast, early career development, building research infrastructure as a young surgeon, getting involved in POSNA, and his incredible mentors along the way.

Derek Kelly  talks to Nick Fletcher about education, mentorship, the really hard clubfoot and IPOS, including shedding a light on how one becomes faculty and what expectations are for faculty members. 

Nick Fletcher speaks with Dr. Bob Cho, his long time friend, during an in person interview at the Scoliosis Research Society in Barcelona. Hear Bob talk about about his role as chief at the LA Shriner's hospital, leadership, social media, and how to grow amongst the ranks of our organizations. 

Nick Fletcher speaks with pediatric orthopedic legend and spinal surgery icon Dr. Alvin Crawford from Cincinnati Children's Hospital about his upbringing as the first African American graduate from the University of Tennessee, creating the first pediatric orthopedic scoliosis center in the Navy, his pioneering work in neurofibromatosis, and his lifelong passion for caring for children. For those who are interested, please read his biography "The Bone Doctor's Concerto: Music, Surgery, and the Pieces in Between" which can be purchased online. 

Salil Upasani, Nick Fletcher, and Carter Clement interview the 2024inductees into the POSNA hall of fame. Dr. Laura Tosi, Professor Alain Dimeglio, and Dr. Jack Flynn share stories about their careers and involvement with POSNA. 

Nick Fletcher speaks to Don Bae about his career at Boston Children's, what it takes to build a hand surgery program, mentorship, the ethos of IPOS, the financial state of POSNA, and how to be an introvert and a podium superstar at the same time. 

Dr. Corinna Franklin of Yale University joins Nick Fletcher for a discussion on leadership, the Ruth Jackson Society, increasing diversity in pediatric orthopedics, and balancing her role as division chief with parenting and her family. She shares stories of her mentors in orthopedics, the state of the POSNA DEI initiative, and her learning curve as a leader in her department and field. Produced by Nick Fletcher. Music by Christian Bjoerklund. 

Dr. Manoj Ramachandran from Royal London Hospital and Barts Health joins Nick Fletcher for a broad-ranging conversation about his multifaceted career, including multiple entrepreneurial successes, authoring numerous books, building a practice, leading a department, and more. Dr. Ramachandran also offers illuminating insights into how artificial intelligence can advance our field. Produced by Nick Fletcher and Carter Clement. Music by Christian Bjoerklund.

Dr. Kevin Shea of Stanford joins Nick Fletcher during the IPOS meeting for a broad-ranging conversation about his upbringing including his early knack for working on engines, his path through training including a rigorous fellowship year at San Diego and subsequent travels around the globe, his experience in private practice and recent transition to academics, and his extensive work on healthcare quality and value including the POSNA Safe Surgeon Program. Produced by Nick Fletcher and Carter Clement. Music by Christian Bjoerklund.

Dr. Mark Dahl of Gillette joins Nick Fletcher for a broad-ranging conversation about his background and journey to a cutting edge practice in limb deformity correction. Dr. Dahl recounts his travels around the globe to learn from pioneers in this niche subspecialty. Join us to hear how Dr. Dahl's unique path has led him to grow as a surgeon and to advance the field. Produced by Nick Fletcher and Carter Clement. Music by Christian Bjoerklund.

Dr. Laurel Blakemore, CEO of Pediatric Specialists of Virginia, joins Nick Fletcher for a broad-ranging conversation about her upbringing, her transition into leadership roles at a relatively young age, her pivots to new jobs and new challenges, and her visions for the future of the Scoliosis Research Society and the entire field of pediatric orthopaedic surgery. Produced by Nick Fletcher and Carter Clement. Music by Christian Bjoerklund.