CONTENTS
1) Register Today and Save!
2) COA Member Appointed to the Order of Canada
3) Canadian Research Takes Top Prizes in San Diego
4) The 2007 National Physician Survey (NPS) is enroute to you!
5) Hip Hip Hooray! Walk With Us on May 27

1) REGISTER TODAY AND SAVE!
Registration is now open for the COA's 2007 Annual Meeting.  This year's Meeting is being held in Halifax, Nova Scotia from June 1-3.  Don't miss out on the discounted early registration rates - register before March 31.  The secure online registration form along with a downloadable preliminary programme, hotel information, as well as speakers' guidelines can be found by visiting http://www.coa-annual-meeting.org/.  Register before March 31 to benefit from the reduced fees!

The COA would like to recognize the generous support our 2007 Platinum sponsors: DePuy, a Johnson and Johnson Company, and Smith and Nephew Canada. The unrestricted educational grants from our sponsors assist us in improving the educational opportunities we offer to our members.

2) COA MEMBER APPOINTED TO THE ORDER OF CANADA
Victoria orthopaedic surgeon, J. Norgrove Penny is among 87 Canadians announced last week as new members of the Order of Canada.  "It's an honour, of course, but like many other recipients I wonder why me," said Dr. Penny.  "Everything I've ever done was in the company of a big team, so this is definitely a shared thing."  Dr. Penny, who is the chief of paediatric orthopaedic surgery for the Vancouver Island Health Authority, spent six years in Uganda with his family setting up that country's first orthopaedic surgery programme for children.  We ask all members to join us in recognizing Dr. Penny for his tremendous efforts and contributions to orthopaedics both in Canada and abroad.  Congratulations.

3) CANADIAN RESEARCH TAKES TOP PRIZES IN SAN DIEGO
Congratulations should be extended to Dr. Michael D. McKee and the Canadian Orthopaedic Trauma Society (COTS) for taking home the 2007 Charles S. Neer Award (clinical science category).  The award is presented annually by the society of American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons, a subspecialty affiliate of the AAOS, to the best papers presented during their Open Meeting held in conjunction with the AAOS annual conference.  The award winning paper: A Multicentre Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial of Open Reduction Internal Fixation versus Total Elbow Arthroplasty for Displaced Intra-articular Distal Humeral Fractures in Elderly Patients was presented earlier this month in San Diego by Dr. Christian J.H. Veillette. 

The same research study was also awarded the Edwin G. Bovill, Jr., MD Award by the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) in San Diego.  The Bovill award is presented annually to the most outstanding OTA paper presented during their annual scientific meeting.

Congrats to this Toronto team for keeping Canadian research in the headlines!

4) THE 2007 NATIONAL PHYSICIAN SURVEY (NPS) IS ENROUTE TO YOU!
Every physician in Canada will receive a personal invitation to complete the National Physician Survey (NPS), either by e-mail or by regular mail.  The invitations to complete the NPS have been sent out in waves over a period of several weeks. This is why some of your colleagues may have already been contacted about the NPS and you haven't yet received your invitation.   If you haven't been contacted about the NPS by the end of February, contact Sarah Scott, NPS coordinator at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it as soon as possible.

Your personal invitation contains your NPS identification number and the URL link to the questionnaire (or paper copy of the questionnaire).  As such, your invitation is not transferable to anyone else.  Please note that your name will only be linked to your identification number for mailing purposes so you don't receive reminders once your survey has been completed. 

Thank you for your support and for all of the completed questionnaires already received!

5) HIP HIP HOORAY! WALK WITH US ON MAY 27
Join patients, volunteers and health care professionals for Hip Hip Hooray! on May 27, 2007.  Attend the walk so that your patients can thank you for giving them back their mobility.

Make Hip Hip Hooray! a topic of conversation with patients - it's an ideal way to focus attention on the benefits of orthopaedic surgery and to raise some money for your community or hospital.  Not only can you ask your patients to attend the event and get sponsors, but you can ask those that are unable to attend to sponsor you, because you're a walker too! 

Submitting patient lists is still permissible in some provinces.  Surgeons in those provinces are encouraged to forward their patient list to the Foundation so that invitations can be sent to patients.  Questions?  Call Diane Butcher at 1‑800‑461‑3639 x 4.