Embargo for Release:             March 12, 2010
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Michael F. Schafer, MD, Appointed Academy
Communications Cabinet Chair

NEW ORLEANS—Michael F. Schafer, MD, takes position as the Chair of the Communications Cabinet of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) at its Board of Directors Meeting held during the organization’s 77th Annual Meeting, March 9-13, 2010, in New Orleans. Dr. Schafer will serve a two-year term on the Cabinet charged with communicating the Academy’s activities to members, patients and the public. He – and members of his Cabinet – will plan, organize, direct and evaluate ongoing communications vehicles and provide media relations expertise to various branches of the Academy’s structure.

“I am honored to serve as the next Chair of the Communications Cabinet and look forward to ensuring that the Academy continues to improve its communication efforts,” said Dr. Schafer. “The next several years are going to be critical to the future of medical care in our country, and our members, patients, the general public and the media need to be kept abreast of all the new orthopaedic issues and initiatives that will affect them.”

Dr. Schafer currently is chairman and professor of the department of orthopaedic surgery at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. He also is an orthopaedic surgery consultant for the Veteran’s Administration Westside Hospital in Chicago. Additionally, Dr. Schafer has served as an orthopaedic consultant for the Chicago Cubs for 30 years and was the team orthopaedic surgeon for the Chicago Bears for 10 years.

After earning his medical degree from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Dr. Schafer completed an internship at Chicago Wesley Memorial Hospital and a residency in orthopaedic surgery at Northwestern University. He then completed the National Foundation Traveling Fellowship in Spine Surgery in Australia and the American Orthopaedic Association North American Traveling Fellowship.

Active in several professional societies, Dr. Schafer sits on the Academy’s Board of Directors and is a member of the Chicago Medical Society, the American Medical Association, the Scoliosis Research Society, the Illinois State Medical Society, the American Orthopaedic Association, the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and the Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society.

In addition to publishing more than 30 peer-reviewed scientific articles and book chapters, Dr. Schafer has received numerous honors and awards, including the 2008 William W. Tipton, Jr., MD, Leadership Award given by the AAOS and the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation and the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Outstanding Teacher Award. Serving on several committees and advisory boards, Dr. Schafer also is a peer reviewer and associate editor for Spine, the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery and AAOS Now.

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