Specialties
- Pediatric Spine
- Orthopaedic Surgery
- Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery
- Pediatric Orthopedics
Board Certification
|
American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery
|
Patient Rating
Patients repeatedly praise Dr. Speirs for his kindness, excellent bedside manner, and ability to put children at ease. Commenters note he explains procedures clearly, is knowledgeable and thorough, and often goes above and beyond, including post‑op follow-up and emotional support. A small amount of feedback raised concerns about coordination with infectious disease specialists and an aggressive treatment approach in one case, but overall reviews are overwhelmingly favorable.
Generated via Patient Reviews
The patient rating score is an average of all responses on our patient experience survey. The rating averages scores for all questions about care from our providers. The scale on which responses are measured is 1 to 5 with 5 being the best score.
Patient comments are gathered from our patient experience survey and displayed in their entirety. For the convenience of our visitors, some patient comments have been translated from their original language into English while preserving their original meaning as accurately as possible. Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.
Board Certification and Academic Information
| Academic Departments |
Orthopaedics
-Assistant Professor |
|---|---|
| Board Certification |
American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery
|
Education history
| Undergraduate | Biology - Brigham Young University | B.S. |
|---|---|---|
| Professional Medical | Medicine - Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso Paul L. Foster School of Medicine | M.D. |
| Residency | Orthopaedic Surgery - Loma Linda University Medical Center | Resident |
| Fellowship | Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery and Scoliosis - Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego | Clinical Fellow |
Selected Publications
Journal Article
- Smith AC, Bellaire LL, Speirs JN, Turtle JD, MacWilliams BA, Makarewich C (2026). The Reliability of Photograph-Based Digital Measurements for Assessing the Pediatric Elbow Range of Motion-A Pilot Study. Children (Basel, Switzerland), 13(3),
- Speirs JN, Parent S, Kelly M, Upasani VV, Petcharaporn M, Bryan TP, Newton P (2024). Three-dimensional vertebral shape changes confirm growth modulation after anterior vertebral body tethering for idiopathic scoliosis. Spine deformity, 12(4), 1017-1024.
- Ramos O, Speirs J, Morrison M, Danisa O (2022). Effect of narcotic prescription limiting legislation on opioid utilization following pediatric spinal fusion for scoliosis. Spine Deform, 10(2), 335-341.
- Burke CA, Speirs JN, Nelson SC (2022). Maximizing mechanical advantage: surgical technique increases stiffness in spinal instrumentation. Spine Deform, 10(2), 295-299.
- Morris SC, Speirs JN, Heinrich CK, Wongworawat MD (2021). Visual Estimation of Length by Orthopaedic Surgeons: How Accurate Are Lengths Estimated in Digital Images Compared to In-Person Estimations? J Surg Orthop Adv, 30(2), 108-111.
- Burke CA, Speirs JN, Morrison MJ (2021). Pediatric On-Call Challenges for the General Orthopaedic Surgeon. Instr Course Lect, 70, 379-398.
- Morrison MJ 3rd, Speirs JN, Chicorelli AM, Garner M, Flynn JJM, Herman MJ (2020). Intramedullary Fixation of Both Bone Forearm Fractures in Children and Adolescents: Healing Correlates With Development of the Olecranon Apophysis. J Pediatr Orthop, 40(3), e198-e202.
- Speirs JN, Nelson SC (2019). The Rule of 57: Orthopaedic Trigonometry Made Easy. J Am Acad Orthop Surg, 27(24), e1110-e1114.
- Gomez C, Nelson S, Speirs J, Barnes S (2018). Magnetic Intramedullary Lengthening Nails and MRI Compatibility. J Pediatr Orthop, 38(10), e584-e587.
- Lanier PJ, Speirs J, Koehler L, Bader J, Abdelgawad A, Waterman BR (2018). Predictors of Persistent Pain After Fixation of Distal Clavicle Fractures in an Active Military Population. Orthopedics, 41(1), e117-e126.
- Speirs JN, Lyons MI, Johansson BE (2017). Emergency Medical Service Personnel Recognize Pediatric Concussions. Glob Pediatr Health, 4, 2333794X17719187.
- Speirs J, Showery J, Abdou M, Pirela-Cruz MA, Abdelgawad AA (2015). Dog bites to the upper extremity in children. J Paediatr Child Health, 51(12), 1172-4.
Review
- Amin NH, Speirs JN, Simmons MJ, Lermen OZ, Cushner FD, Scuderi GR (2019). Total Knee Arthroplasty Wound Complication Treatment Algorithm: Current Soft Tissue Coverage Options. [Review]. J Arthroplasty, 34, (4), 735-742.
Book Chapter
- Joshua N. Speirs, MD; Peter O. Newton, M (2023). Endoscopic and Anterior Approaches for Spinal Deformity Surgery in the Adolescent and Young Adult. 179.
Case Report
- Ramos O, Speirs JN, Danisa O (2020). Lumbar Discitis and Osteomyelitis After a Spinal Stem Cell Injection?: A Case Report and Literature Review. JBJS Case Connect, 10(3), e1900636.
- Speirs JN, Morris SC, Morrison MJ 3rd (2019). Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis in an Adult Patient With Kabuki Syndrome. J Am Acad Orthop Surg Glob Res Rev, 3(10).
- Speirs JN, Shields TG, Morrison MJ 3rd (2019). Focal Periphyseal Edema: An Uncommon Cause of Adolescent Knee Pain: A Report of Three Cases. JBJS Case Connect, 9(3), e0391.
Letter
- Speirs JN, Nelson SC (2020). Reply to Letter to the Editor: The Rule of 57: Orthopaedic Trigonometry Made Easy. [Letter to the editor]. J Am Acad Orthop Surg, 28(22), e1031.
Video/Film/CD/Web/Podcast
- Speirs J (2025). How Scoliosis Bracing Can Prevent Surgery in Children.
- Speirs J (2024). Understanding Childhood Scoliosis: A Parent's Guide from Detection to Treatment. .
- Speirs J (2024). Seven Questions for a Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon.
Knowledgeable, thoughtful and considerate of patients care, mindful of their needs and treats you like family
Thank you for taking the time to explain things well and listen to our concerns. You are top-notch physician! Hope you get some time to enjoy the outdoors this summer
Good doctor, explained well and provided good care [TRANSLATED]
Dr Speirs was very knowledgeable with my daughter's scoliosis and took the time to answer all the questions we had regarding treatment and prognosis. We were grateful for his thoroughness and his candidness with where to seek the best brace for her needs. Would definitely recommend!
Dr Spiers is so friendly and personable. He was compassionate and kind and very knowledgeable.
Great doctor.
He is an excellent doctor who cares about his patients and is willing to help find the best solution for the problem. He listens
Dr. Speirs was very friendly and knowledgeable.
Can't say enough good things abt Dr. Speirs. He was great!
Dr. Speirs listens carefully and doesn't talk over you. He explains everything so that you know exactly what is going on and what you can do going forward. He clearly cares about his patients long term health, not just about the one thing that brought you into his office that day. I was very pleased with my visit and highly recommend him.
Dr. Spears is a very caring, professional physician. He goes above and beyond the care of service. We are so grateful to use him for our daughters orthopedic need.
Always upbeat, he listens and is honest. He is good at explaining what, why and how, will give you options if possible and let's you make the decisions concerning your child's treatment.
We love Dr. Speirs! He's great with our daughter and she looks forward to her appointments instead of dreading them. He explains things in a way that she can understand and she leaves his office with a smile. He's great with kids and highly recommend him!
He is very kind. He is willing and very capable of explaining procedures and including patients and families. He loves what he does and it shows. No matter the time of day or night he shows the care for all.
Dr. Speirs was awesome! Very kind and knowledgeable and confident. Gave great info and recommendations. We felt really good about our visit and would highly recommend!
Dr. Speirs is amazing. He did a great job fixing my daughters back. He listened to our concerns and answered our questions. I always felt like my daughter was in great hands. My daughter also really liked him. He is great with kids.
Thank you for all of your help in my son's recovery. We're forever grateful!
Dr. Speirs is a rare find as he is compassionate and supportive while being an exceptional doctor and surgeon. We're really grateful for this rare type of clinician.
Dr. Speirs is absolutely fantastic! He is kind, caring, knowledgeable, professional yet so fun. My son has had 2 nasty fractures. One with surgery and each time Dr. Speirs has made a really scary and challenging time manageable and as pleasant as experience as possible. We love Dr. Speirs and wouldnÕt go anywhere else for a pediatric orthopedic surgeon!
Dr Speirs is the best! From surgery to the entire recovery/ follow up process, he's been outstanding. I highly recommmed him.
Dr. Spiers is amazing!! Super friendly and thorough. We love how he shows his concerns and care!!
He was very personable, honest, open to all questions gave detailed but understandable explanations.
Thank you. You were amazing. I'm glad we had the opportunity to be seen by you.
Dr. Speirs is an exceptional physician. He is obviously competent but also has a kind and personable bedside manner that helps nervous patients feel at ease.
Dr. treats you like family, looking out for the best care and making sure the patient is top priority. He also makes sure the family is informed of all options and possibilities that are available.
A very kind and understanding man
He was great with my son and able to explain different options in terms we understood.
Dr. Speirs was so good with my 2 year old after he broke his leg. He went out of his way to make him feel safe and included. Excellent bedside manner. He was caring and kind and made me feel at ease as well.
Dr Speirs is wonderful when interacting with our child about an upcoming surgery. He explained the procedure in a way we all could understand and answered all our questions phenomenally.
Dr. Speirs is very thorough and explains things very well so that you understand. He listens to any concerns you may have as well and addresses them.
Dr. Speirs is wonderful. He is good at his craft and very personable. I never felt like he was in a rush and he always took whatever time I needed to make me feel comfortable.
Very good Dr. [TRANSLATED]
Dr. Speirs was AMAZING to work with. I loved that he wanted to get the opinion of other Drs/Surgeons to make the best possible decision for my son! We highly recommend him to others!
He's awesome!! I felt very confident in his decision to move forward with surgery and trust that my daughter will have a full recovery.
Muy bien atendida por el doctor mil gracias
He was very kind. However, he did not give us any advice on what to do next. He said to just wait. We'll see you in a couple of months but didn't give any advice on what to do in between visits to improve the condition.
We recommend Dr. Speirs 1000%. He is excellent at what he does and so at interacting with my child as the patient and providing clear instructions to me as the parent. I hope to never need his services again (knock on wood), but confidently recommend him to other parents who suddenly find themselves dealing with a broken limb of their child.
I am so grateful for Dr. Speirs and his staff. Everything from pre-op to post-op and recovery for my sons broken arm had been amazing! I would highly recommend Dr. Speirs!
Dr Speirs is the best provider! He is expert at his craft as well as communication skills! He's like a ray of sunshine and makes every encounter fun and comfortable!
Dr Spiers was very personable with our 15yr old son and explained things perfectly to help him understand his injury and recovery. His surgery by Dr Spiers went very well and our son is healing great
Muy buena enfermera muy bien capacitada
Dr. Speirs is an amazing surgeon. We were so lucky to have him operate on our son. He is very knowledgeable kind patient and friendly. We were very very impressed with him. I would highly recommend him to anybody.
Dr Speirs is such a a good doctor! He is a pleasure to work with and is very knowledgeable about my son's condition. I'm so glad that we found him!
He has been amazing! He helped put our fears and unease when dealing with our difficult situation and was able to answer questions and make us feel at ease with what needed to happen in taking care of a badly broken bone that required surgery for my daughter. I felt very confident because of our interactions that he was able to help take care and perform the necessary surgery for my daughter.
Dr. Speirs is a caring, thorough Dr! We will keep going back to him and this practice as we get the personalized care that is comforting in times of stress with unexpected injury!
Dr Speirs is the best doctor! He identified my daughter's fracture, repaired it beautifully, and was so wonderful to work with. Always happy, great energy, helps you feel safe in a vulnerable time, teaches and explains things so you can understand, is up to date on research, and I couldn't recommend him more.
Dr. Speirs is a skilled and knowledgeable doctor, who gave my child excellent care and treatment, he also is caring and kind with wonderful bedside manners making his patient and their family feel comfortable with the treatment and genuinely cared for.
Dr Speirs has been so helpful and encouraging before, during and after our daughter's spinal fusion surgery. I don't know when he ever sleeps, but we sure appreciate his hard work and attentiveness to his patients.
He is excellent Doctor
Dr Speirs is amazing.
Excelente doctor !!! Excelente atención y amabilidad
Dr. Speirs is great with our 8-year-old! He is animated and very kind. He is also very knowledgeable and good at explaining everything in a way that's thorough and thoughtful.
Dr. Speirs is not your normal Dr. He went above and beyond his duties. We lucked out getting him as our 10 year old daughters surgeon on a broken arm. He explained everything and made her feel comfortable and at ease. 3 months later our daughter had a very traumatic accident and broke her femur. By some miraculous way Dr. Speirs was on-call for her surgery. She was so scared and in so much pain. As soon as she heard it was Dr. Speirs she felt calm and had peace. When he walked in the door before surgery he talked with her and answered any and all questions she had. The next day he came and checked on her and made sure she was okay not just physically but emotionally and mentally as well. No other surgeon would do this. He cares about his patients and they feel that. As a mom I feel extremely grateful for Dr. Speirs. He goes above and beyond what is expected of him. My daughter loves him and considers him her friend. He continues to care about her in all aspects if her life!
Top notch provider. We've gone to several ortho surgeons over the year and dr speirs is wonderful.
Dr. Speirs did a great job. He was very nice and personable. He was also very aggressive with our son's treatment. After meeting with the infectious disease doctors, I don't believe Dr. Speirs needed to be so aggressive but it worked. Our son has been able to recover fully. It would have been nice if Dr. Speirs communicated with the infectious disease doctors who were the experts on Group A Strep. There were some conflicting treatment options with being too aggressive. This was a very stressful experience. We are very help with the results.
He is an awesome surgeon and person
Dr. Speirs is awesome, very kind & interaction with my child & myself. I would definitely recommend him & his staff to family & friends if they ever needed an pediatric orthopedic surgeon. He's very genuine makes you feel like family, not a number like other providers make you feel.
Dr Speirs was wonderfully kind and gentle while treating our baby.
Dr. Speirs really cares. He is knowledgeable, precise, and good with kids. He explained our treatment options and gave his reasons for his recommended approach. He put me and my anxious child at ease.
Dr. Speirs is an extremely caring and skilled doctor. He made a really difficult and scary situation much better by explaining every step of the process and by going above and beyond for my childs care. Couldnt recommend him more.
I appreciate Dr. Speirs and his care. He was responsive to our needs and treated us well.
Dr. Speirs is an amazing surgeon! My daughter has had chronic knee pain her whole life. When he found and fixed the problem, I truly feel that he was just as excited as I was! Great bedside manner and genuine care for his patients.
Dr Speirs is great! He made my daughter feel very comfortable and took the time to answer her questions and concerns.
Dr. Speirs is an excellent physician. He went above and beyond to make sure our son was taken care of. He is personable, listens to our concerns, and made sure we felt comfortable with all decisions made. We are so happy with the results of the surgery. We would highly recommend him!
He is great! Very nice and takes the time to answer all our questions. Involves us in all the treatment decisions.
He was super kind and helpful. It was a pleasure being around him. He was very practical in his explanations of the services, and he would make sure you felt very informed and comfortable for the whole process. Plus he was just a cheerful guy, he made me feel like family.
Really nice doctor listens to you
Dr Speirs is kind, clean, personable and was able to answer all of our medical questions. Thanks!
Very personable and funny. Took the time to make my son feel comfortable. He called us personally to see how my son as doing after surgery
Doctor Speirs is wonderful to my 2 yr old. He even played peek-a-boo with him! He has put my mide at easy by taking time and explaining how the treatment was going and recovery. I would definitely take my child to him if the need arose. He is very caring, of both the child and the parent.
Dr. Speirs was very kind and thoughtful. He tried to explain things to us and give us the best treatment plan for the situation. He put my daughter's mind at ease and very kind to her.
Dr. Speirs put me at ease with my 2 yr Olds arm. He explained everything so that I understood the treatment. He was interested and kind with my questions. He even played peek-boo with my child. Very nice doctor!
Caring, smart, and explained everything we could think of. Stayed late to help my daughter with her ankle surgery.
Dr. Speirs has a great bedside manner, and made my 12-year-old feel very comfortable. Dr. Speirs answered all my questions and provided good insight into things I didn't even know to ask. I'm very grateful for his help for my child's broken arm.
Dr Speirs is awesome! Very attentive, remembers my son and makes us feel heard.
Very knowledgeable about my kid broken Arma and very compassionate about my kid problem he is an amazing human being also a plus he speaks Spanish what helped us a lot to treat our kid with him and we were able to understand everything he say about our kid problems .
Dr. Speirs is the most understanding, kindest, and all round most amazing doctor ever. You can tell he really cares about his patients and does such a great job at making you feel supported through the whole process. He addresses all concerns, no matter how small and genuinely just took great care of my son through everything. It felt like I had someone on my team every single time I was worried.
Dr. Speirs is very kind & understanding. He is genuine, when we went to PCMC to have the surgery done on September 30th 2122. He gave me reassurance that my son would be fine, I love that he said he prays before every surgery he dose to get the guidance he need from Heavenly Father. That right there mand me feel more at ease sending my child into surgery. I would recommend my family & friends to him any day.
He was awesome!
Dr Speirs was absolutely amazing with my son and wonderful to work with!
Dr Speirs was amazing and I would recommend him to everyone. My little guy loved him and is sad he doesnt get to go back. Especially because he wont get any new Lego guys!