Joel L. Mayerson, MD, Outgoing Board of Councilors Chair, Discusses His Work Improving AAOS Governance Communication

Joel L. Mayerson, MD, FAAOS, orthopaedic oncologist and professor at Ohio State University (OSU), served as the 2024-2025 chair of the AAOS Board of Councilors (BOC). During his tenure, he led with a strong focus on creating opportunities for collaboration not only within the BOC but also between AAOS leadership and the orthopaedic community at large. For AAOS Now, he reflected on the goals for his year of service and the principles guiding his leadership.

Dr. Mayerson has practiced at OSU for 22 years, and he also serves as associate chief medical officer for the James Cancer Hospital, medical director of perioperative services, and director of the sarcoma program. Dr. Mayerson has been an active leader in AAOS for 2 decades, serving on the Board of Specialty Societies (BOS), Research and Quality Council, Musculoskeletal Content Committee, and Committee on Healthcare Safety. He is also a former president of the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS).

He served as president of the Ohio Orthopaedic Society, representing his state in that position for 4 years. “The BOC is really the grassroots membership representation for the entire Academy, so we should represent everyone: those in private practice, academics, [and] employed physicians,” Dr. Mayerson explained.

As chair, Dr. Mayerson aimed to ensure bidirectional communication between AAOS members and the Board of Directors. To accomplish this, in 2024, the BOC introduced a series of structured meetings between AAOS leadership and BOC constituents, broken up into five geographic regions. “These meetings [were] a venue to hear concerns and bring them to leadership,” he said. To read more about these meetings, see the article “AAOS Board of Councilors Elevates Bidirectional Communication to New Heights” in the October 2024 issue of AAOS Now.

A challenge the BOC faces is getting its members involved. To address this, Dr. Mayerson encourages members to utilize Board Effect, an online platform that houses resources and encourages communication with the BOC. Committee chairs can post discussions and conduct surveys and polls of BOC members, allowing for bidirectional communication. His hope is that discussions started online can continue in person at events such as the BOC business meeting at the AAOS Annual Meeting and the Combined National Orthopaedic Leadership Conference/Fall Meeting, which is an annual business meeting in Washington, D.C., where AAOS members gather to discuss important advocacy topics related to orthopaedics.

Dr. Mayerson’s experience as past president of MSTS was a driving force behind his push for increased collaboration and communication during his tenure as BOC chair, because he understands the perspective of the specialty societies. “I think there has been this division, where the specialty societies have one thought process and agenda, and the BOC has another,” Dr. Mayerson said. “But the BOC really should be complimentary to the BOS because all of us practice orthopaedics. We all have to deal with government regulation, issues in our states, of people trying to move into different scopes of practice causing patient safety issues. [For] all of those things, we can help one another, and we’re going to be stronger together rather than apart.” He hopes that improving avenues for open communication will help inform members about what is happening across the organization and the field, allowing them to band together when concerns arise.

Odion Binitie, MD, FAAOS, is an associate professor of orthopaedics and oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center and the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa. He also serves on the AAOS Now Editorial Board.