AONA Profile of the Month
Professor James Hughes, M.D.
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In March 1969, a young Senior Resident from Johns Hopkins Hospital was sent by his Program Chairman to attend the first AO Course held in North America, in Winnipeg, Canada. That experience truly changed his life, as Dr. James Hughes recognized the importance of the AO technique as a major step forward in the treatment of trauma patients, and became both an advocate and an outstanding teacher of his new philosophy.Dr. Hughes is now Professor and Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery of the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. He is also a Trustee to the AO/ASIF Foundation, the original Chairman of the AO North American Education Committee, and has been Chairman of several AO Courses and faculty at countless others. But most importantly, he is truly one of the finest and most selfless human beings any of us have ever known. His faith in God and his fellow man has given strength and comfort to nearly everyone whose lives he has touched--especially those in need of care--whether medical or spiritual.During his orthopaedic training. Dr. Hughes served as a surgeon in a MASH hospital in Viet Nam at the height of that conflict. He then completed Residency training at Johns Hopkins and subsequently was awarded one of the first AO Fellowships in Switzerland. Thus began in earnest his long and memorable association with the AO, where his contributions have been far too numerous to mention.His awards, honors and other accomplishments are also too numerous to mention, but one is certainly worth noting--that despite the pressures and commitments required by his position, he still somehow finds the time to do missionary work in Third World countries and also actually served for 6 years as Pastor of the Grace Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi. His hobbies include fishing--"both for fish and for men", as he is an avid student of the Scripture.Dr. Hughes shares his life with his wife, Virginia, and daughters, Wendy, Kathryn, and Ann, and their families. The senior Hughes also have two granddaughters.Dr. Jim Hughes is truly a remarkable man, a wonderful surgeon, a great teacher, and a valued member of the "AO family". By James E. Gerry
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