Mentorship & Wellness Leads
Across Canada, we are celebrating Canadian Orthopaedic Care Day on Wednesday, March 26, 2025!
This year’s theme, ‘Bridging Generations in Orthopaedic Care,’ highlights the need for mentorship between senior and early-career surgeons in the overall strategy to address current and future musculoskeletal health needs for Canadians.
Canada has the lowest number of orthopedic surgeons per capita of the G7 (3.5 per 100,000 patients). With an aging population, musculoskeletal needs are projected to increase drastically over the next decades. This means that current and future Canadian orthopedic surgeons will have more patient care load placed on them than ever before. We cannot expect to meet population care needs with historic care models. Innovative, multidisciplinary care models are required, and orthopedic surgeons must lead these teams.
At UBC Orthopedics, we believe that mentorship from orthopedic surgeons who are further along in their career journey is key to helping younger surgeons thrive. Leadership, innovation, advocacy and stress management are clear development areas for young orthopedic surgeons. Using the Stanford Model of Professional Fulfillment—balancing wellness, efficiency, and resilience—we aim to create an environment where mentorship fosters both career growth and overall wellbeing.
UBC Department of Orthopedics is working to design, match, and train participants in our UBC Ortho mentorship program. Our goal is to create a high-quality and effective mentorship initiative that equips and supports orthopedic surgeons in innovating and leading the transformation of musculoskeletal care in Canada, both now and for years to come.
