Doctors Nova Scotia welcomed Dr. David Milne as its new President during the association’s annual conference on Saturday, June 6 in Cape Breton.

The Halifax-based anaesthetist decided to pursue a career in medicine because he had, and continues to have, a sincere desire to help people. And it shines through in every way – whether through his many achievements or his interests in improving the health-care system.

After graduating from Dalhousie Medical School in 1989, Dr. Milne began practice in family and emergency medicine in rural Nova Scotia. He then went on to pursue his specialty and a career in the military. His career in the military included Deputy Commanding Officer of a Forward Surgical Unit in former Yugoslavia, a NATO peacekeeper, and squadron medical officer on the HMCS Protecteur.

Dr. Milne received his fellowship from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in anaesthesia from the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Hospital in 1998. In the same year he received his clinical fellowship in thoracic anaesthesia.

Since 2002, he has been a staff anaesthetist at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Centre in Halifax in the area of thoracic and transplant anaesthesia. He works with the operating room team and his main focus is to manage the patient’s pain before, during and after surgery.

Dr. Milne has been involved in various committees, working groups and associations at the local, provincial and national levels. He’s been engaged with Doctors Nova Scotia as a member of the Board of Directors and as section chair. He has also served on the Nova Scotia Physician’s Manual Modernization Project and the Policy and Health Issues Committee.

He has extensive leadership training through the military and the Canadian Medical Association’s physician leadership institute.

Dr. Milne’s primary goal during his term is to engage Nova Scotian physicians in changing the conversation about how they care for their patients.