Susan Bukata, M.D., has earned the prestigious title of Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and UC San Diego Health.
Prior to her appointment, Dr. Bukata worked in several positions at Los Angeles, California-based UCLA Health. She acted as orthopedic surgeon, professor, and vice chair of orthopedics clinical operations, in addition to other leadership positions in the orthopedics space.
Dr. Bukata is “internationally recognized for her work on bone fragility disorders, which range from osteoporosis to rare genetic bone disease.” Furthermore, she “holds a patent on technology for protecting and repairing cartilage and musculoskeletal soft tissue.” She has also been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals.
OTW spoke with Dr. Bukata about her new role. Dr. Bukata told OTW, “I am most excited about the creative and mentorship aspects of the job. As a chair you help to build a future for the department, both with business and with people. I look forward to coaching my incredibly strong faculty team and helping them to grow professionally and personally in areas they are passionate about with orthopaedics and healthcare. There is so much innovation happening right now in musculoskeletal health. What a wonderful time to be able to help implement some of these things into our practice.”
Dr. Bukata commented, “While being among the first women to hold such a position is only a small part of why I took this job, it is something I take very seriously. Only 6 percent of orthopedic surgeons are women and there are very few women in leadership. We live in such a wonderful diverse state in California, and orthopedics is not a particularly diverse specialty. I’m looking forward to attracting and training students, residents, fellows and junior faculty who represent the patients we serve, and as well as engaging with the local community to introduce young girls to careers in musculoskeletal health.”
Dr. Bukata is one of just four female orthopedic department chairs. With her appointment, she joins the company of the following female leaders: Leesa Galatz, M.D., chair of the Leni and Peter May Department of Orthopedic Surgery and the Icahn School of Medicine at the Mount Sinai Health System in New York.; Lisa Lattanza, M.D., FAOA, FAAOS, chair of the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at the Yale School of Medicine in Connecticut; and Evalina Burger-Van der Walt, M.D., chair of the Department of Orthopaedics at the University of Colorado in Colorado.
