Drawing on a wealth of International and North American training and experiences, Dr. Klaus is committed to a caring and compassionate approach to finding your most suitable management path to arthritis health! Born in Nurnberg, Germany, Dr. Klaus was raised in South Africa and called beautiful Camps Bay, nestled at the foothill of Table Mountain, his home. Dr. Klaus’ medical journey started at the University of Stellenbosch, where he obtained the six-year M.B.Ch.B, Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor in Surgery degree in 2000. He gained further experience by completing two years of intensive Internship and Community Service training in Bethlehem in the eastern Free State Province, South.
Newly married to his beautiful wife, Gerdi, their international call started by moving to the Peace Valley of northern beautiful British Columbia, Canada. It was in Fort. St. John that Dr. Klaus served four years as a full-time rural Family Practitioner caring for his patients in private practice while working in the medical/surgical, OR, maternity ward, and busy ER department. He completed the Canadian Evaluating Exam of the Medical Council of Canada (2003), the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCCI) (2004), and LMCCII (2005). However, his growing interest in Internal Medicine called him back to South Africa, where he was privileged to study Internal Medicine under the guidance of many esteemed clinicians at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
This sparked an interest in Rheumatology and another trans-Atlantic journey for Dr. Klaus and his family back to Canada to Halifax, in the maritime province of Nova Scotia. Dr. Klaus completed his Residency in Adult Rheumatology at the prestigious Dalhousie University and obtained The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in Internal Medicine (2012) and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in Adult Rheumatology (2013). He opened a private practice in Nova Scotia. He later moved back to British Columbia, where he initially worked in Internal Medicine in the ICU and Medical wards, but later dedicated his attention to opening a new rheumatology clinic in Chilliwack in the Eastern Fraser Valley.
Dr. Klaus worked as a solo adult rheumatologist for more than eight years and served a large clinic of patients with autoimmune, inflammatory autoimmune arthritic conditions with the help of two registered nurses. Dr. Klaus completed his American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) (2021), followed by the USMLE United States Medical Licensing Examinations (2022) and Special Purpose Examination (SPEX) Federation of State Medical Boards (2022). He moved with his family to Palm Harbor, Florida late 2022 and joined the staff of the Arthritis and Diabetes Center in January 2023. Dr. Klaus is particularly interested in caring for patients with inflammatory arthritis, including rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, osteoporosis, lupus, and connective tissue diseases. During his free time, you will find Dr. Klaus enjoying the beautiful Floridian beaches with his wife, encouraging his two daughters in their XC, track, and field competitions (high school and NCAA1-level), or trying to perfect the art of Spätzle or a South African braai!
