I am Dr. Maarten Joost de Vos.

My career in orthopedics began in 1997 at the Sint Maartenskliniek in Nijmegen. During my time at the Maartenskliniek, I specialized in upper extremity within orthopedics, meaning that I treat all diagnoses from 'hand to shoulder'. Specializing increases the number of patients you treat, which allows you to improve your performance and results. I have always thought that sharing knowledge is important, which is why I established a visiting center at the Maartens Clinic to exchange knowledge with colleagues from both the Netherlands and abroad.

In 2010, I moved to Tergooi Hospital in Hilversum, where in 2017, together with my colleagues, I started the upper extremity unit and created a national center for shoulder and elbow surgery with a dedicated team of physicians, fellows and physiotherapists. To ensure that knowledge sharing among colleagues continued, I established the organization of two shoulder congresses, the Lowland Shoulder Congress, in 2019 and 2023, with both international and national speakers. In 2016, I wrote my dissertation on "Total elbow replacement, a historical and contemporary perspective.

At Tergooi, I was also a deputy educator for my specialty, training young physicians in both conservative and invasive treatments, and in all other aspects that contribute to becoming a good physician. It has been a fantastic and fun part of my job to see how good training creates confidence and therefore produces better physicians. Ultimately, we want to provide the best possible care for our patients, to improve their quality of life so they can manage their health well and continue to do the things they love. Within the limits of expected outcomes, of course, but through good communication and patient engagement, we can make decisions together that ensure patient satisfaction.

I retired from Tergooi Hospital in September 2024, but as everyone knows, this was too soon for me. I love my job and get energy from doing a good job and improving the quality of life for my patients. Therefore, I am very pleased to have joined Flexclinics as an upper extremity orthopedic consultant effective October 1, 2024.