Training & Practice Management / Formation et gestion d’une pratique
History of Orthopaedics in British Columbia – Part II Robert W. McGraw M.D., FRCSC COA Past President, 1990
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e are pleased to present Part II in our three-part series outlining the history of the specialty in BC. Click here to view Part I of the series and stay tuned for Part III in an upcoming edition of the COA Bulletin – Ed. The Beginnings of Academic Orthopaedics in British Columbia • 1950 – Opening of the University of British Columbia Medical School • 1951 – Creation of the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery At the end of World War II in 1945, there was no medical school in British Columbia and much controversy ensued over where the new medical school would be located. Arguments for both a UBC site and Vancouver General Hospital site were presented and finally, VGH was chosen as the medical school’s location. A campus hospital was not built until much later on. In 1951, F. P. Patterson Jr. was appointed Head of the new Division of Orthopaedic Surgery by H. Rocke Robertson at the Vancouver General Hospital. F. P. Patterson Jr. F. P. Patterson Jr. (Figure 1) was an ABC Fellow and a member of the first North American group to be guests of the British Orthopaedic Association. He immediately divided the existing Vancouver General Hospital (Figure 2) orthopaedists into two services with two and a half OR days for each and alternate all-day Saturdays. Dr. Patterson took no emergency calls.
Figure 2 Staff at VGH – 1951. W.J. Thompson; F.C. Preston; D.E. Starr; C.S. Allen; H.H. Boucher; A.M. Inglis; K.S. Morton; F.P. Patterson; H.S. Gillepsie; W.H. Fahrni
The London Rotation Dr. J. C. Kennedy was the Head of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Western Ontario which did not have a resident training program. As a result of a close personal friendship between Drs. Kennedy and Patterson, an orthopaedic rotation from Vancouver to London was established. In this rotation, a resident, one year before completion, spent a year training at the University of Western Ontario. The following residents participated in this program: • 1961 – J. Watt • 1962 – H. McNeil • 1963 – Dr. Brown • 1964 – R. McGraw • 1965 – J. Hunt • 1966 – J. Schweigel
In 1951, there were 2,294 orthopaedic inpatients, 3,434 operations and 120 Figure 1 beds.
F. P. Patterson in his RAF Uniform
The objectives for the new division were to: 1. Develop a highly-rated clinical service. 2. Develop a resident education program. 3. Develop a research program.
• 1967 – D. Harder • 1968 – R. Rusch • 1969 – S. Tredwell • 1970 – J. Poulsen • 1971 – M. Piper • 1972 – R. Loomer
Post-fellowship Education Dr. Patterson observed the benefits of education outside of the UBC’s Division of Orthopaedics. Early on, he established a policy that all academic appointments in the University’s orthopaedic division must have a post-fellowship education. As a result of this decision, the Vancouver program became one of the most subspecialized orthopaedic groups in Canada. American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery Dr. Patterson highly valued affiliations with orthopaedics in the United States and strongly recommended that all graduates sit the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery examination. This way, they could qualify for fellowship in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in order to facilitate personal continuing education.
COA Bulletin ACO - Fall/Winter - Automne/Hiver 2017
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