British Orthopaedic AssociationGold Medal
In 2026 the British Orthopaedic Association awarded Professor Paul Lee its Robert Jones Medal and Association Prize, a gold medal, for his work on Recovery. It is one of the Association’s flagship prizes, and a recognition of recovery as a discipline in its own right.
The British Orthopaedic Association
The British Orthopaedic Association (BOA) is the professional body for orthopaedic surgeons in the UK and Ireland. It was founded in 1918 and today has over 5,000 members. Its prizes and medals are awarded by the Association itself, not by a commercial sponsor or a conference organiser.
The Robert Jones Medal and Association Prize is a gold medal and one of the Association’s flagship individual honours. The BOA describes it as a prize of £500 and a gold medal. It was inaugurated in 1924 in memory of Sir Robert Jones, who helped found British orthopaedics.
Awarded for his work on Recovery
Professor Lee received the medal at the BOA Congress in 2026 for his work on Recovery. His position is that as imaging, predictive analytics and continuous recovery tracking reshape orthopaedic practice, clinical judgement needs humility alongside the technology, not in place of it.
That is the same view of recovery that runs through his clinical work: preparation before treatment, strength, sleep, structured progression and objective testing, so that whatever treatment a patient has works as well as it can. The medal recognises the thinking. The clinical programme is where it is applied.
Check it with the awarding body
The prize is described on the British Orthopaedic Association’s own prize page. For the history of Sir Robert Jones, photographs of the medal and local press coverage, see the Robert Jones Medal page. Professor Lee’s other independent honours are listed on the awards and recognition page.
More on the award and the surgeon
The Robert Jones Medal
Who Sir Robert Jones was, what the prize is, and photographs of the medal.
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An award-winning orthopaedic surgeon
What the medal recognises, and why humility sits at the centre of the work.
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About Professor Lee
Background, philosophy and the clinical framework behind the work.
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Recovery is where the work is judged
An award-winning orthopaedic surgeon, recognised by his own profession.