The 2011 North American Traveling Fellowship

Abstract

Our twenty-four-day, thirteen-presentation tour through ten “Western” orthopaedic departments began on the way to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, when those of us participating in the 2011 John J. Fahey, MD, Memorial North American Traveling Fellowship (NATF) caught glimpses of each other in airports while connecting to various flights. Finally, we made formal introductions in the Saskatoon International Airport after a seemingly exhaustive interview by the Canadian Border Control. We all greeted and got to know each other briefly in the airport while comparing our web searches of each other to our real impressions. The first to arrive was Dr. Peter Rose. Originally from Houston, Texas, he had studied physics at the University of Houston before pursuing a degree at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. After medical training, including a stint at the National Institutes of Health pursuing research, Dr. Rose did his residency training at the Mayo Clinic and was recruited to the faculty following two fellowships as a Mayo Foundation Scholar in spine and oncology. In order to participate in the NATF, he left a wife and baby daughter behind at home. Sitting next to Dr. Rose on a Saskatoon Airport bench was Dr. Kelly Lefaivre, who hailed from Vancouver, British Columbia, where she was born and raised. She had completed an undergraduate degree at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, followed by medical school and orthopaedic residency at the University of British Columbia. After obtaining a master’s degree in epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health and finishing a fellowship in orthopaedic trauma at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dr. Lefaivre accepted an academic position in orthopaedic trauma at the University of British Columbia. She was the only fellow on this journey to visit her hometown and be able to reunite, albeit briefly, with her husband …