COA Awards of Merit, Excellence and Outstanding Services
2007 Recipients

Brendan D. Lewis, M.D., FRCSC
Past President, Canadian Orthopaedic Association
Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador

Each year at the Canadian Orthopaedic Association Annual Meeting, we are given the honour to recognize people who have made significant contributions to orthopaedic surgery in Canada and the care of Canadians.

The "Award of Merit" is awarded to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the art and science of orthopaedics. This was awarded to Dr. Kris Shekitka and Dr. Don Flemming who were recognized for their work on behalf of resident education for the orthopaedic community in Canada. They participate annually as part of the faculty of the COA Annual Basic Science Course in a spirit of intellectual generosity that is the legacy of Dr. Don Sweet. He received this award posthumously at the 2006 meeting.

Dr. Shekitka is an anatomical pathologist with special expertise in orthopaedic pathology. He has taken over a number of lectures taught by Dr. Sweet that represent the core pathophysiology covered in the course. With the development of digital technology, Dr. Shekithka helped develop the Clinical Case Seminar Series and an atlas of pathology containing 1000 slides of normal and abnormal histology taking the course to another level of usefulness. He has been described the cornerstone on which the course depends.

Dr. Flemming, an orthopaedic radiologist, is head of the radiology residency programme at Penn State in Hershey. He teaches all of the radiology lectures, and is "the heart and soul" of the Clinical Case Seminars. He is described as the best educator who is able to provide the key information that allows residents to describe the radiographic findings of ongoing cases. He has also contributed on an ongoing basis to the database for the Clinical Case Seminars. He epitomizes the principle of intellectual sharing without reservation that Dr. Sweet so well exemplified.

The Award for Excellence was presented to Dr. Ted Rumble, Dr. Hans Kreder, Dr. David Landells, Dr. David Peddle and Dr. Reginald Yabsley. This award recognizes a member of the association for significant contributions to orthopaedic surgery in Canada.

As co-chairs of the National Standards Committee, Drs. Rumble and Kreder have made significant contributions to the COA and its members. They were able to identify the number of orthopaedic surgeons that we require to provide care to Canadians in a timely fashion. They were also responsible for developing benchmarks for access to arthroplasty and other orthopaedic procedures. This data was instrumental in helping the Canadian Medical Association develop the Wait Time Alliance with four other associations that has since expanded. Dr. Rumble is now involved with the development of physician assistants to help in the provision of orthopaedic care. Recognizing that there are not enough orthopaedic surgeons, alternate avenues are being explored to provide timely care to Canadians.

Dr. Landells was one of the first orthopaedic surgeons to work in Newfoundland and Labrador. He was one of the strongest supporters for the medical school development in Newfoundland.

Through his dedication to the province, he provided significant, outstanding paediatric orthopaedic care to many Newfoundland children. He was intimately involved with teaching future orthopaedic surgeons within the orthopaedic training programme at Memorial University and the Mayo Clinic early in his career. He developed a long career in orthopaedics and made a difference in Newfoundland.

The next individual to recognize is Dr. Peddle. He has worked for many years in Newfoundland with a tireless passion for orthopaedics. He was mainly responsible for bringing back the orthopaedic training programme to Memorial University following its affiliation with Dalhousie University for a number of years. Through his tenacious personality and diligent work ethic, the training programme fully returned to Newfoundland. Today, this residency programme has national recognition with excellent orthopaedic surgeons being trained for Newfoundland and many parts of Canada. He has made significant contributions to the lives of young orthopaedic surgeons that he has mentored.

The final person in the group of five, but certainly not the least, is Dr. Yabsley, a Past President of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association. He was the founder of the orthopaedic training programme at Dalhousie University. Through his recruitment of young, intelligent orthopaedic surgeons, the programme grew exponentially and developed excellent surgeons. Dr. Yabsley and his group welcomed residents from Newfoundland during the combined programme and offered support while the programme was being redeveloped. A testament to his outstanding contribution, is our annual Yabsley Club Meeting that is attended by many of the graduates.

This year's Outstanding Services award was presented to Dr. David P. Petrie. This award's recipient is an orthopaedic surgeon who has made a significant contribution to the COA. Dr Petrie is also a Past President of the Association. He is an educator, a leader, and an excellent surgeon teacher. He made a significant change in the development of the COA. He was one of the individuals responsible for the founding of the annual "Hip Hip Hooray" event which has been a tremendous success over these many years. He was chair of various committees and was responsible in reshaping the organization. He has made a significant difference to the many that he taught. He was the one who really taught me how to "cut".

I believe that Canadian orthopaedic surgery is much richer from the outstanding contributions of these loyal individuals.