Michael W. Chapman, MD, FAAOS
Professor and Chairman Department of Orthopedic Surgery
School of Medicine at the University of California Davis
University of California Davis Health System
Sacramento, CA
As an Emeritus Member, which AAOS resources do you use the most and why?
The most important to me today is the AAOS Annual Meeting as it’s an opportunity to see the big picture as to what's new in orthopaedic surgery and because of the opportunity to network with fellow members. The AAOS played a very important role in developing my leadership skills. This led to me serving as a founding member and second President of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association in 1985, and President of the American Orthopedic Association in 1990-1991. I started off as chairman of an AAOS course on Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick & Injured from 1972 to 1974. I was a member of the AAOS Committee on Examinations and Evaluation's and wrote questions for the OITE from 1974 to 1981. I served as an at-large member of the Board of Directors of the AAOS in 1982–1983. I served on nine different AAOS committees including chairing the Summer Institute Committee in 1983–1985 and served on the Nominating Committee in 1991 and 2001. I was a guest reviewer for the Journal of the AAOS from 1994 to 2005.
If you were mentoring a new Member, what important advice would you give them as they progress in their career?
I would encourage new members to become active in the activities of the AAOS and aspire to a leadership position as chair of an important committee or becoming an officer. The key to becoming an important leader in the Academy is simply to volunteer in an activity that is of interest to you or in which you have special skills and do a good job. This will inevitably lead to recognition for your work and the opportunity to move into leadership positions.
What non-financial aspect of retirement living surprised you the most?
Both my wife and I have been surprised at how busy we are in retirement and wonder how we were ever able to work the 60-to-80-hour weeks of the past.
What hobbies do you enjoy in your spare time?
In the recent past, our activities have focused on the out-of-doors and adventure travel. We are avid snow skiers, including backcountry ski touring, and love hiking and mountain climbing. In the summer we live full-time in a wilderness cabin in the Sierra Nevada that is off grid and can only be reached by hiking or taking a boat. Due to our age and some health issues, we have slowed down recently. Much of my time is spent working on my memoirs which I hope to publish as an autobiography and history of the development of Orthopaedic Traumatology as a subspecialty. I am also the senior editor of the Fourth Edition of Chapman's Comprehensive Orthopedic Surgery, a large textbook of 5807 pages.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself that not many people know?
While working as a volunteer ski patrolman at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort in California in 1959, I took advantage of my ability to cut through the lines to ride up on the ski lift with an attractive young woman who was skiing alone. I decided that day that I should marry her. Betty and I have been married 61 years now.