Wasim Khan reports from Warwickshire where the 2009 Annual British Orthopaedic Association Conference was held, 29 to 31 May, at the Marriott Forest of Arden Hotel, Meriden

The first day of BOTA’s annual conference kicked off with the first part of the instructional course and included many useful topics for trainees. Ms D Eastwood (London) spoke about DDH for the FRCS(Orth), Mr P Cool (Oswestry) gave a useful overview of musculoskeletal tumours, and Ms K Daley (London) talked about work-life balance. Mr C Munsch, JCST Chair, spoke about standards in surgical training, and avoided talking about the trainee fee, an issue that would have certainly raised controversy.

The second day saw part two of the instructional course. This year, interactive voting keypads were introduced for the Great Debate. The topics up for debate included ‘Hip: Cemented vs. Uncemented’, ‘Knee: Mobile vs. Fixed Bearing’ and ‘Resurfacing vs. Total Hip Replacement’. The Great Debate was chaired by Professor M Freeman (London) who also delivered an interesting and thought-provoking Keynote Address covering fl exion of the knee and its implications on joint replacement prostheses.

As always, there was a fun-packed social programme that matched the educational content of the instructional course. This included a golf tournament and off-site team building activities. The off-site activities were based at the Heart of England Conference and Events Centre and included archery, blindfold driving and bamboo catapult construction. The highlight of the social programme was the black-tie dinner followed by the prizes ceremony, which included presentation of the award for the Trainer of the Year to Mr T Briggs from the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Stanmore.

The AGM was held on the last day and covered important issues relevant to trainees including post-CCT fellowships and the EWTD.

Further information on these issues and details of this and future BOTA Conferences can be found at www.bota.org.uk.

Wasim Khan,
Orthopaedic Registrar, Royal Free Hospital, London
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