Tuks– and Stellenbosch– trained orthopaedic surgeon, Dr J Chris Coetzee has been named president of the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS), the leading organisation for lower extremity medicine and foot and ankle surgery, reports Business Insider. In addition to leading the society as president, Coetzee will serve on the board of directors of the Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Foundation.
As president of the 2,200-member society, Coetzee will continue the mission of advocating for patients on local and national levels to ensure they receive the best and most appropriate orthopaedic foot and ankle care. He will also continue the AOFAS tradition of providing outreach to communities in need through the Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Foundation.
One of Coetzee's other priorities during his one-year term is ensuring that orthopaedic residents are involved in the society early on during their medical training. "We still live in uncertain times. Belonging to an organisation like the AOFAS helps me channel the uncertainties of today into creative solutions for tomorrow," Coetzee said. "I am looking forward to continuing collaboration with peers from all over the world to work towards our goals of improved patient care, education, and outreach."
The report says Coetzee earned his medical degree from University of Pretoria School of Medicine in South Africa and performed his orthopaedic residency at University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. He also completed a fellowship in foot and ankle orthopaedics at the University of Washington Harborview Medical Centre in Seattle in addition to a trauma fellowship in Davos, Switzerland. His current work is through Twin Cities Orthopaedics in Minneapolis-St Paul.
As an avid supporter of the educational mission of AOFAS, Coetzee served as programme chair of the 2014 AOFAS Annual Meeting and has chaired several other AOFAS committees. He is an assistant editor of the AOFAS peer-reviewed journal Foot & Andle International and a reviewer for other orthopaedic journals.
Coetzee added, "My hope for all in the society is to live by the words of Benjamin E Mays: 'The tragedy of life is often not in our failure, but rather in our complacency; not in our doing too much, but rather in our doing too little; not in our living above our ability, but rather in our living below our capacities.'"
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