Stony Brook Women’s Sports Medicine Mentorship Program Is a Win

March 31, 2026
3 min read
High school students and mentors pose together at the Stony Brook Women’s Sports Medicine Mentorship Workshop on March 7
High school students and mentors pose together at the Stony Brook Women’s Sports Medicine Mentorship Workshop on March 7.

Thirty high school students gathered inside Stony Brook Medicine’s Advanced Specialty Care at Lake Grove on March 7 to network and learn at the annual Women in Sports Medicine Mentorship Workshop. Hosted by The Women’s Sports Medicine Center and the Department of Orthopaedics, this year’s program featured the expertise of more than 30 mentors volunteering their time from a variety of specialties, including orthopaedic surgeons, physician assistants, certified athletic trainers, nutritionists and physical therapists.

The workshop is a culmination of a school-year mentorship program, now in its fifth year, for girls interested in sports medicine careers. The brainchild of Kristin Hopkins, MD, and her female orthopaedic partners, Samantha Muhlrad, MD, and Megan Paulus, MD, the mentorship program and workshop seek to address disparities in the percentage of female practitioners in sports medicine fields, including orthopaedic surgery. Hosting the program on the eve of International Women’s Day was a choice celebrated by Dr. Hopkins, who shared that “building mentorship early feels powerful and promising.”

Students learning about casting techniques inside the Stony Brook Orthopaedic Associates Suite
Students learning about casting techniques inside the Stony Brook Orthopaedic Associates Suite.

The program was structured for students to spend time at a variety of stations, starting with a nutrition session, emphasizing the importance of a healthy diet to support athletic goals and recovery. From there, students cycled in small groups to spaces with hands-on demonstrations. These included a visit to the casting room to learn about and practice casting and splinting techniques on each other. Next, the girls got to use power tools and saw bones to place orthopaedic plates and screws. After that, it was on to a suturing station where the students practiced stitching, stapling and other wound closure techniques. They even got some exercise with a physical therapy station that focused on the importance of warming up and stretching, as well as ACL prevention exercises. The last station was set up as a mentoring Q&A circle, where high schoolers could listen to orthopaedic residents, PA students and experts in sports medicine describe their professional journey and then ask questions in a comfortable and intimate setting.

Jillian O'Brien works with a student learning suturing techniques.
Jillian O’Brien works with a student learning suturing techniques.

This year, more than 90 students from Suffolk County high schools applied to attend the workshop, with the final group of 30 students chosen to participate from schools including Ward Melville (Three Village), Miller Place, Commack and the Stony Brook School. Students were excited for the opportunity to work alongside professionals and receive mentorship and exposure to the wide variety of roles within sports medicine. Evie, a student from Miller Place, was impressed with the amount of time the mentors shared to work with students, and how impressive their respective career pathways were, describing them and the program as “amazing.” Rania and Teja, from the Stony Brook School, said that they “learned a lot — [the workshop] was eye-opening and helped us to start thinking earlier” about future educational and career goals — a shining example of Dr. Hopkins’ plan to provide girls with powerful and promising early mentorship.