Andrew Chen ’93 didn’t initially plan on becoming an orthopedic surgeon, let alone one that specializes in treating professional skiers.
But after earning his MD from Johns Hopkins in 1997, he decided to pursue a fellowship in sports medicine with Richard Steadman, one of the world’s foremost orthopedic surgeons at the time, and Richard Hawkins, a giant in the field of shoulder injuries, in Vail, Colorado—the unofficial skiing capital of the United States.
Many prospective and current U.S. Olympic ski team members train and undergo medical procedures at the Steadman Clinic (formerly the Steadman-Hawkins Clinic). “That’s where I got interested in working with elite skiers,” says Chen, BS ’93, MA ’94 (WSE), MD ’97 (SOM), who since 2020 has been the chief medical officer for USA Nordic Sport, an organization overseeing Nordic Combined and Ski Jumping athletes.
Olympic-level Care
Chen’s fellowship gave him significant training and experience in treating common ski-related surgeries—rotator cuff problems, shoulder instability, ACL reconstruction—and introduced him to the importance of the work.
“The Olympic movement is the purest form of sport,” he says. “Olympians do it for the glory of the sport and take it to the highest level for the knowledge that at some point in their lives, they were the best in the entire world.” The athletes’ purposes became his. In taking care of them, he wanted to help them realize their ambitions.
Chen would go on to work with many professional and Olympic skiers, as a team physician for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, head team physician for the U.S. Ski Jumping Team from 2008 to 2020, and as a member of the United States Olympic Committee during the Vancouver (2010), PyeongChang (2018), and Beijing (2022) Olympics.
By protecting our young athletes, their home hills, and clubs, I know that despite the fact that the vast majority will never make it to the elite level, we are promoting their safe participation and the future of Team USA for generations to come.”
—Andrew Chen
The stakes could often be extremely high, he says, with surgeries sometimes meaning the difference between a successful Olympic career or one cut short. For Chen, it became a calling. He would give patient athletes his email and cell number, telling them to contact him anytime— even if they were competing in a different time zone that meant he was answering calls at 3 a.m.
He says he experienced a similar sense of purpose at Johns Hopkins. He initially enrolled as a dual major in biomedical engineering at the Whiting School of Engineering, and in biology at the Krieger School. But he became interested in medicine when he collaborated with Johns Hopkins orthopedic surgeon David Hungerford on developing a laser-based, quality control system for the manufacturing process of hip replacements. Their project was eventually purchased by a major manufacturer.
The experience kindled Chen’s interest in orthopedic surgery and gave him a taste of something else. “It was an almost existential moment where I thought, ‘I can actually have some impact on this world,’” he says.
Helping Progress Safety Standards
Chen went on to earn a master’s degree in science and engineering, then his medical degree. “Hopkins was very comprehensive. My educational experience prepared me to do essentially anything in medicine that I wanted to do,” he says. “It prepared me for the rigors of my career, especially in orthopedics.”
In recent years, especially with USA Nordic, Chen says his work has evolved. During the pandemic, for example, he turned to policymaking, contributing to what organizational measures should be put in place to keep skiers healthy and safe.
“What I am most proud of is actually in progress,” Chen says. “I am leading the charge to establish nationwide medical safety standards for our ski disciplines at the club (development) level. By protecting our young athletes, their home hills, and clubs, I know that despite the fact that the vast majority will never make it to the elite level, we are promoting their safe participation and the future of Team USA for generations to come.”
