The 2008 Combined COA and AOA Annual Meeting
Advancing Orthopaedics Across Borders

Doug Thomson, CEO
Canadian Orthopaedic Association

The 63^rd Annual Meeting of the COA and the 42^nd CORS Annual Meeting was held in Québec City this past June. This year we shared the stage, for a second time, with the American Orthopaedic Association as they combined their 121^st Annual Meeting with ours.

Over 600 orthopaedic surgeons from across North America, evenly split between Canadians and Americans, enjoyed an outstanding scientific programme that included six controversial critical issues symposia, 17 instructional course lectures, more than 200 free papers, 160 poster presentations and six surgical "Tips & Tricks" video sessions. This was, by a significant margin, the largest COA Annual Meeting ever held, and, measured by the returned evaluation forms, one of the best. The Programme Chairs who worked many hours to organize these highly successful scientific sessions were Drs. Chris Harner and Emil Schemitsch.

Presidents of the seven sister orthopaedic associations

One of the highlights of the meeting was Presidential Guest Speaker Marcia Angell, whose lecture, "Health Care: A Tale of Two Countries", created considerable discussion with attendees, most of whom could find something to disagree with in her assessment and comparison of the Canadian and American health care systems. Occasionally a meeting enjoys a focal point from an unexpected source - this year one of those was the Opening Ceremonies Howard Steel Lecturer, Dr. David Mendel, who delivered a captivating lecture on the history of Québec City. Our thanks to our Local Arrangements Chair, Dr. Pierre Mercier, for his assistance in finding the perfect speaker for the Opening Ceremonies.

Howard Steel Lecturer, Dr. David Mendel

The COA honoured Dr. Carroll A. Laurin with the Award of Excellence and Dr. Cecil H. Rorabeck with the Award of Merit for their outstanding contributions to both the orthopaedic profession in Canada and to the COA. Dr. Norman Schachar delivered an exceptional R.I. Harris lecture entitled, The Orthopaedic Educator, Continuous Lifelong Learning and Our National Specialty Society: An Educational Imperative." Dr. Schachar began his address by saying, "I am supposed to make a disclosure - I have nothing to disclose other than I am passionate about what I am about to tell you." His disclosure was certainly unnecessary - he delivered a talk that left no doubt as to his great passion for teaching and learning throughout his orthopaedic career.

The COA's Business Meeting was exceptionally well attended this year. Our Treasurer, Emil Schemitsch, detailed his financial recovery plan for the COA and highlighted where investments will be made over the coming year for maximum benefit for members. At the top of the list include: advocacy, models of care and outcomes, as determined and defined in the COA's Strategic Plan of 2007. The members also formally approved the COA Code of Ethics document that was circulated to all members earlier this year.

The icing on the cake for this year's meeting was the principal social event, A Night at the Museum, held at Musée National des Beaux Arts. Over 500 guests enjoyed the food and ambiance of Québec's prestigious arts museum on a glorious June evening on the Plains of Abraham.

Past COA Presidents Dr. Robert B. Salter (1981) and Dr. Glen E. Edwards (1980)

By almost any measure, this year's meeting continued to raise the bar for educational and networking excellence at our Annual Meeting. The 2009 Annual Meeting of the COA will be held July 3-6 in Whistler, BC. Be sure to mark your calendars and look for the registration announcements in the coming months.