Kim Templeton, MD is Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City and department vice-chair for diversity and equity. She was the first McCann Professor of Women in Medicine and Science in the United States. She received the inaugural Women Leaders in Medicine Award from the American Medical Student Association in 2008, the Marjorie J. Sirridge leadership award for women in medicine from the University of Kansas in 2012, the Elizabeth Blackwell Award for outstanding contributions to the cause of women in the field of medicine in 2013, and the Bertha Van Hoosen Award in 2019 for exception leadership and service to women physicians and students (both from the American Medical Women’s Association), and was named to the University of Kansas Women’s Hall of Fame and an honorary alumnus of the University of Kansas in 2014.

Dr. Templeton is a past-president of the American Medical Women’s Association and was the first orthopaedic surgeon to lead that organization. During her tenure as president of AMWA, Dr. Templeton developed the organization’s Wellness Initiative. That work is accelerating, given the significant issues that physicians, especially women, are facing during the pandemic. Dr. Templeton is an invited founding board member of the Academy of Women’s Health. She is past vice-chair of the AMA Women Physician Section and past chair of the AMA Orthopaedic Section. She initiated and worked with the AMA in developing their new policy that recognizes an “expanded definition of ‘women’s health.” Dr. Templeton is a member of the NBME and is currently working on their RENEW project to assess sources of stress related to step 1- especially any gender-based or race-based differences. She is a member of the Orthopaedic Residency Review Committee. Dr. Templeton is one of the 2 orthopaedic surgery representatives to the AAMC Council on Faculty and Academic Societies. She is a member of committees within the NQF and the osteoporosis expert review committee of the NCQA.

Dr. Templeton is a past president of the US Bone and Joint Initiative. During her tenure as president of the USBJI, she continued to develop multiple public education programs to address the burden of musculoskeletal conditions, initiated COAMI (the Chronic Osteoarthritis Management Initiative), and started PB&J (Protect Your Bones and Joints) Day for children and adolescents. This Day is now an international observance. Dr. Templeton and is a current member and past president of the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts. During her tenure as president of the KSBHA, she helped develop a new category of “re-entry license,” one of the few such in the US, and worked to change qualifications for licensure (in light of recent changes in graduate medical education training). In 2019, Dr. Templeton worked with the Board to change licensure language to no long ask about specific applicant/licensee health issues, to encourage those in healthcare to seek the care that they need. Dr. Templeton is a member of the state prescription drug monitoring program advisory committee and the Healthy Women chronic pain task force.

Dr. Templeton has numerous publications, both articles and book chapters. Her areas of focus include issues faced by women physicians and the inclusion of sex and gender medicine in medical education. Her work addressing the issues of women physicians extends from medical students to those nearing the end of practice and includes such topics as burnout and re-entry to practice. Dr. Templeton was the lead author on the National Academy of Medicine paper on burnout among women physicians that came out in 2019 and the senior author of a paper published in 2020 that was the first to address issues faced by senior women physicians.