Q&A with Dr. Andrew Schoenfeld, Co-Host of Your Case Is On Hold Podcast

OrthoBuzz recently launched the “Inside JBJS” series, introducing readers to members of the JBJS community. In this post, our featured guest is Dr. Andrew Schoenfeld, JBJS Associate Editor and co-host of the JBJS podcast Your Case Is On Hold.

Ahead, Dr. Schoenfeld discusses his work in orthopaedics as a surgeon, researcher, and educator; his path with JBJS; and connecting with the field and sharing innovative research through the podcast. In each episode, Dr. Schoenfeld and co-host Dr. Ayesha Abdeen offer their insights into the latest issue of The Journal, with an added dose of entertainment and pop culture. This Q&A was lightly edited for style and clarity.

Please share with readers your roles in orthopaedic surgery.

I am presently a professor of orthopaedic surgery and Vice Chair of Education in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Mass General Brigham, working at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Since 2015, I have been working in the orthopaedic spine space as a member of the Spine Division, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Brigham and Women’s, where I’m in a clinician-scientist role; I spend half my time treating patients and the other half doing research and also working administratively within the department, supporting faculty in their promotion process.

How did you first become involved with JBJS, and how has that expanded over time?

I first became involved with JBJS right when I was ending my training as a fellow in the Harvard Combined Program. The Editor-in-Chief at the time, Dr. Heckman, had seen a presentation that I had given and invited me to the JBJS headquarters in Needham. I met with him to learn more about the process, and he invited me to be a Reviewer. I began reviewing for JBJS, I believe, in 2009. I became involved in some different venues of JBJS—early podcast recordings, some commentaries. Separately, as I was working at the Spine Journal in an editorial capacity, I came to connect with Jason Miller, who would move to JBJS and eventually become the Chief Executive Officer at JBJS. So there was a connection there that also—through the work that I was doing academically, publishing in JBJS, reviewing at JBJS, becoming an Elite Reviewer at JBJS— allowed me to onboard in the end of 2016 as a Deputy Editor for Spine and at the same time, a Deputy Editor for Statistics and Methods. And I continue in that capacity up to the present, as Associate Editor for Methods. Starting in 2022, I stepped into the role as co-host of Your Case Is On Hold, which subsequently became one of the two main JBJS podcasts and continues up to the present.

What drew you to the opportunity to host Your Case Is On Hold, and what do you enjoy most about engaging with the orthopaedic community through the podcast?

I thought that Your Case Is On Hold was a really great way to connect with the community. And I have avocational interests in literature and history. I enjoy pop culture and movies, and it was a great way to allow me to have an outlet to apply that to the work that I do in orthopaedics and academics. It’s a way to communicate the great work that’s being published in JBJS, and allows it to be effectively disseminated to the community in a way that I find is engaging, memorable, and efficient, accommodating everyone’s short time and attention span, really.

When reviewing a new issue of JBJS, which studies stand out to you the most, and why?

Obviously, for Your Case Is On Hold, we get to see the lineup a little bit earlier than everyone else does. Certainly, again, based on my avocational interests in history and literature, I love to look at the humanities and other articles. The “What’s New” articles also are ones that I really like, just to reinvigorate what I may be missing in the orthopaedic landscape.

What conversations do you hope to spark around the research published in the journal?

I think that JBJS publishes some of the most compelling, practice-changing, and innovative orthopaedic research. So it is really great to get that into the hands of end users in a way that they can understand it, highlight the areas that can be immediately applicable to their practice, and then also contextualize it so that they can understand which areas need to be investigated further or what may not be ready to enter into practice.

What inspires you as an orthopaedic surgeon?

I really enjoy working with younger people in the field, helping people in their careers. Every day, I’m inspired by clinical interactions with patients and new research questions that excite me. And I still love getting a project started. I love writing the paper that results from the project. Then there’s nothing better than seeing that get accepted for publication and, ultimately, seeing it placed in a journal and accessible to others.

Outside of work, what are your interests and hobbies?

I really like college sports. I like reading and writing history. And I enjoy working out.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

It’s been a great decade working in various capacities with JBJS. I think it’s a great organization, with products on numerous different fronts, not just the production of research, but helping end users incorporate that research and also maintain their certification and proficiencies with the self-assessment exams, the Miller Review Course. I’m looking forward to further growth in this next decade of involvement with JBJS as an organization and with The Journal.

Thank you, Dr. Schoenfeld!

Up next in this series: Q&A with Dr. Ayesha Abdeen