DAVID SALIKEN
Clinical Assistant Professor
Division:
Upper Extremity
Site:
Vancouver Island – Victoria General Hospital
Dr. David Saliken is an Orthopaedic Surgeon and Clinical Assistant Professor at Victoria General Hospital, with subspecialty training in orthopaedic trauma and shoulder surgery. He completed fellowships with internationally renowned mentors—where he honed his expertise in complex shoulder reconstruction and high-acuity trauma care.
Dr. Saliken is passionate about surgical education, mentorship, and continuous improvement in clinical practice. He is an active contributor to resident and medical student training and is part of the RebalanceMD group in Victoria, which supports a collaborative and patient-centered approach to orthopaedic care. His clinical philosophy is grounded in discipline, teamwork, and a deep appreciation for the process of skill-building—values shaped by his background as a collegiate football player.
Could you share your educational background and journey, and how these experiences shaped your current role?
I was first exposed to the hospital environment as a youth at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary. My father, an interventional radiologist, would occasionally take me along if we were out when he got called in—sometimes stopping at the hospital after Flames games. I saw a man who was excited to go to work, respected by the people we passed in the hospital, and who was using technology and his hands to help others, often saving their lives. These moments planted the seeds for my future career.
Despite this, when I moved to the University of Toronto to play college football, I initially planned to pursue evolutionary biology (I was going to save the world one single-celled organism at a time!). During my studies, I realized I was not built for the PhD track. Through my interactions with the teams’ orthopaedic surgeon and sports doctors while at U of T, I was reminded of the impact physicians can have and decided to switch gears, applying to medicine.
Early in medical school at the University of Alberta, I spent a summer in Bulgaria on an international orthopaedic elective. I was impressed by the people I worked with and the raw satisfaction of fixing broken bones. Throughout med school, I kept hearing about the importance of lifestyle, so I chose electives in “lighter demand” specialties like radiology and physiatry. Unfortunately, I found myself watching the clock and not truly engaged in the work. At the end of my third year, I rotated through orthopaedics, and despite early morning starts, late nights in the OR, and fast-paced days, I felt energized, engaged, and happy. The hours flew by. I switched all my electives to ortho and haven’t looked back.
What sparked your passion for orthopaedics, particularly in Upper Extremity and Trauma?
I have always enjoyed building physical skills. Since I was young, I have been obsessed with football and basketball and have come to recognize the parallels between the operating room and sports. At the University of Alberta, I was paired with Dr. Martin Bouliane for a research project as a junior resident and was introduced to the world of upper extremity. During scope days, he would gamify the experience by tracking my success rate in inserting the arthroscope into the shoulder joint, gradually letting me do more as I improved. The process of compounding skills and seeing tangible progress was satisfying. I also found the complexity of the shoulder joint fascinating, which led me to pursue it further in a fellowship.
Dr. Bouliane had completed his fellowship with Professor Pascal Boileau in Nice, France, about 15 years earlier. I was lucky to get the same fellowship, in large part due to my mentor’s reference. Professor Boileau is a trailblazer in shoulder surgery and has surgeons from around the world coming to see his arthroscopic advancements, such as the Latarjet and innovative techniques in shoulder arthroplasty like the BIO-RSA. This was a professionally formative year; living on the Côte d’Azur didn’t hurt either.
My wife, Kailey, matched to the University of Ottawa for family medicine residency, and I was fortunate to secure a trauma fellowship with Dr. Allan Liew at the Civic Hospital. Dr. Liew has an exceptional attention to detail and was a very positive influence on my career, particularly in highlighting how outcomes in surgery are directly tied to optimizing each detail in patient care.
What meaningful impact do you hope your work will have on patients, communities, and society as a whole?
I think we have a responsibility to give our best to both our patients and the orthopaedic community. Along the road to becoming orthopaedic surgeons, countless people have spent time and energy educating us, and we should pay it forward. I try to contribute through educating medical students and residents, research, leadership roles, and being up to date in clinical practice. I am grateful to work with the RebalanceMD group of orthopaedic surgeons in Victoria, which fosters and supports this comprehensive approach.
What aspects of your work excite you the most, and what achievements are you most proud of?
As someone who is naturally outcome-driven, I am trying to remind myself to enjoy the day-to-day details more. Throughout my collegiate football career, during our Sunday team meetings, Coach Howlett would regularly discuss philosophical approaches to training and life. One theme that he would often speak on was the importance of learning to love the process, and not just the result. We lost so much during my time there that I was forced to learn to enjoy the process! I think of this lesson regularly, and it applies well to our field.
After eight years of clinical practice, I recognize the ups and downs of a surgical career. One week, every case you touch is gold, and the next week, a pelvis you spent six hours repairing falls apart. It is critical to strive for the best outcome for each patient, but our careers are long, and I don’t think it is healthy to define yourself with each patient outcome or career achievement.
Being present in the process and engaging with patients is what I’m trying to take pride in. This past year, seeing my mother, who made me the person I am today, persevere through an incurable cancer highlighted all of this; her last lesson for me, after a lifetime of them, was to be in the moment.
What advice would you offer to current trainees embarking on their careers?
Establish effective habits early in residency. Dr. Julian Sernik was my senior resident when I first rotated as a med student, and he was efficient in communicating a strategy for becoming a successful ortho resident. He is a straight shooter and laid out the “rules of Sernik,” including simple things like reviewing the slate the night before, rounding early, and optimizing the details of the day. I wouldn’t say I was a star ortho applicant as a med student—far from it. But by establishing these habits early and sticking to them, by the end of my residency, I was fortunate to win several resident awards and earn two great fellowships.
Some of this is luck, but try to surround yourself with good people. I was fortunate to be in a resident cohort with Dr. Ashlee Dobbe and Dr. James McInnes at the U of A, who pushed and supported me through residency, and continue to do so. Trying to keep up with them and their talents made me a better surgeon and person. We have great memories—from conferences and courses around North America to figuring out a traction bed setup at 2 am and growing throughout our residency and careers.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?
My wife, Kailey, and I have three amazing kids, so most of our time is spent enjoying the activities they do. Solène is into dancing and artistic pursuits, so I’m learning my arabesque with her. Harrison loves sports and wants to play hockey day and night. We just had Romy a few months ago, and her smile already lights up the room.
I try to stay in shape by sneaking in lunchtime workouts on office days, commuting by bike a couple of times a week, and getting in early morning lifts with a couple of colleagues. I’m finally taking advantage of living near the ocean by learning to fish and crab with my good friend and trauma bro, Dr. James McInnes. Finally, I cherish any time I get to spend with my best friends and actual bros, Mike and Matt.
