Magnificent Québec
A Review of the 2008 CORA Annual Meeting

Ludovic Bouchard, M.D.
Karine Gélinas-Chaîné, M.D.
2007-2008 CORA Co-Chairs

Several years ago, the author-composer-musician Robert Charlebois sang "If I had the wings of an angel, I'd go to Québec!" So, we hope that those of you who had the opportunity to come and visit our beautiful city enjoyed the trip just as much!

This year we had the opportunity to organize an especially enjoyable programme for the CORA Annual Meeting, which was held in Québec City on June 4, 2008. Having our meeting at the same time as the joint COA/AOA conference enabled some of our members to attend the Resident Leadership Forum organized by the American Orthopaedic Association. We were also able to benefit from excellent lecturers throughout the day. Drs. Alastair Younger and Pierre Guy shared a few vital aspects with respect to entering the practice, and Drs. Jean Cournoyer and Marie-Josée Caron recounted their experiences overseas in Kandahar and Colombia.

As for the scientific programme, Drs. Michael Monument from Calgary, Marlis Sabo from London and Wadih Y. Matar from Ottawa stood out among the 18 residents selected to present their research projects. Once again, we wish to highlight the exceptional quality of the work carried out by these residents.

The Annual Meeting was very well attended by 87 residents from 15 out of the 16 orthopaedic training programmes in Canada. As for COA membership, 63 residents and fellows joined as Associate members this Spring. The COA's policy to offer free membership fees to residents and fellows undoubtedly had a positive impact on the number of new members. Furthermore, the number of new Associate members was also higher due to this year's new policy of residents having to be a COA member in order to attend the CORF review course in Calgary. At this point, all residents who have attended the Canadian Orthopaedic Resident Forum (CORF) seem to have accepted this new policy.

Some of the projects CORA had been working on for quite some time were completed this past year. One of these projects, the COA's Online Fellowship Directory, represents a remarkably useful tool for residents. We have also updated the Canada-wide survey on surgical orthopaedic residency programmes, which enabled us to examine the differences between the various programmes in an effort to standardize the quality of training in Canada. A new version of this survey will soon be sent to representatives from each programme.

As we complete our mandate, we hope that your expectations were met. We would like to express our thanks to you for making this enriching experience possible. We are pleased to pass the torch to Drs. Kelly Apostle and Gerard Slobogean from the University of British Columbia as the new CORA Co-Chairs. Significant challenges await you, particularly with respect to financing the meeting. This will require major reorganization following the loss of our main sponsor. However, we remain confident that you will make the most of the situation and host another memorable event.

In closing, we would like to express special thanks to Cynthia Vezina and Doug Thomson of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association for their organization and support, as well as Drs. Luc Bédard, Étienne L. Belzile, Jean-François Roy, Stéphane Pelet and Alexandre Denault for their involvement with the Programme Committee. Such a successful event would not have been possible without all of you!

We look forward to seeing you again in Whistler in 2009!