About APOS

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Our Mission

The Australian Paediatric Orthopaedic Society (APOS) has as its mission:

The development and implementation of high quality education of orthopaedic surgeons – thereby assuring the best possible care of children with musculoskeletal disorders.
The stimulation and support of basic scientific and clinical research that will lead to evidence-based improvements in patient care.
The development of an environment for peer review that will ensure that the highest possible standard of patient care is maintained.
The development and implementation of appropriate relationships with affiliated international paediatric orthopaedic societies for the advancement of research and education.

Our History

The Australian Paediatric Orthopaedic Society, evolving partly from the Paediatric Orthopaedic Special Interest Group, was established in 1991 to improve the treatment of children with orthopaedic conditions through better education and research and by forming alliances with international orthopaedics societies such as POSNA (the Paediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America) and EPOS (the European Paediatric Orthopaedic Society).

Under the inaugural presidency of Malcolm Menelaus, APOS held its first scientific meeting in combination with the Paediatric Orthopaedic Society of New Zealand in Tauranga, New Zealand, 7-8 October 2011. The meeting, with the theme of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine in the Adolescent, was a great success. Keynote speaker Dan Sucato presented on The Challenges of the Adolescent Orthopaedic Patient in the opening session. The second combined meeting was held in 2014 at the Sheraton Mirage Resort Gold Coast, and included guest speakers Tony Herring and Thomas Wirth. In 2017 the third combined meeting took place in Christchurch, NZ, 5 members of POSNA attended, and we hope that this will become a recurrent collaboration.

The Instructional Course Lectures are held prior to the Annual Scientific Meeting each year. The paediatric curriculum is covered over a two year cycle, through a combination of short lectures, small group sessions and practical teaching. These have proved exceptionally popular with registrars, and are now considered a core part of the registrar training curriculum.