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On September 19, 2026, the Canadian Association of Orthopaedic Medicine presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. Jean-Paul Ouellette in recognition of his distinguished service to orthopaedic medicine in Canada. The award was presented at the closing banquet of CAOM’s 40th Annual Conference by Dr. Aly Lakhani, Chairman and President of CAOM. Dr. Ouellette was unable to attend, and the award was accepted on his behalf by his son, Dr. Érik Ouellette, a member of the CAOM Board of Directors. The timing of the honour was especially fitting. Dr. Ouellette was one of the founding members of the Association, and he helped establish the organization whose work and fellowship members continue to celebrate four decades later. A career shaped by one question Dr. Ouellette graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa in 1970. After several years in practice, he became increasingly focused on a problem familiar to every CAOM member: how to better understand and treat patients with persistent and recurrent musculoskeletal pain. That question shaped the rest of his professional life. In 1977, he began studying orthopaedic medicine, with a particular interest in the work of Dr. James Cyriax. In 1980, he completed a fellowship in Cyriax orthopaedic medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine in New York. From then on, his practice centred on orthopaedic medicine, and he became widely recognized for his expertise in prolotherapy.

Forty Years Strong: Highlights from CAOM’s 40th Annual Conference