Michael Suk, MD, JD, MPH, MBA

Michael Suk, MD, JD, MPH, MBA, a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon who was first elected to the American Medical Association Board of Trustees in June 2019, was elected chair-elect of the AMA in June 2023. Throughout his career, Dr. Suk has been a vocal leader on public health issues, including the role and importance of organized medicine, resident work hours, social determinants of health and numerous other public health concerns.

An active and engaged leader from his earliest days in organized medicine, Dr. Suk, was the first medical student and first Asian-American elected to the AMA Board of Trustees in 1994. In addition, he has served on the AMA Council on Medical Service and as chair of the AMA Resident and Fellow Section where he led AMA efforts to create governance guidelines on resident work hours. In 2016, to help spearhead advocacy for the medical profession in Washington, D.C., Dr. Suk was appointed to the board of directors of the American Medical Political Action Committee. Additionally, reflecting his passion and expertise in the field of performance excellence, quality and safety, Dr. Suk was selected to the Board of Commissioners at the Joint Commission and currently serves as chair of the commission’s Finance Committee.

Dr. Suk is professor and chair of the Musculoskeletal Institute and the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the renowned Geisinger Health System based in Danville, Penn. Additionally, he serves as chief physician officer of Geisinger System Services, where he provides clinical leadership over the system’s $1.5B enterprise supply chain and pharmacy division.

Dr. Suk, who was selected as a White House Fellow under President George W. Bush in 2003 and as a Baldrige Executive Fellow in 2017, is widely sought after for his expertise in new models for health care payment and delivery, physician engagement, and leadership. In 2018, for example, he disrupted the dialogue on value-based care by developing and offering the world’s first “lifetime warranty” for total joint replacement. Dr. Suk is also one of the nation’s leading clinical voices for well-being through connections with nature, outdoor recreation and unstructured play.

He received a BA in African American history from Carleton College before simultaneously completing an MD at the University of Illinois College of Medicine and a JD/MPH with special certification in health care law at Boston University School of Law and School of Public Health. He later completed his orthopaedic surgery residency training at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, N.Y., and his fellowship in orthopaedic trauma at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. In addition, Dr. Suk completed his MBA at the University of Scranton.

Dr. Suk enjoys coaching innovative, entrepreneurial leaders seeking to cross traditional boundaries, all activities in the great outdoors, travelling with his family and playing golf and tennis. Dr. Suk and his wife, Jennifer, have three children.

2023–2024

Board of Trustees speaker request form

To request a member of the AMA Board of Trustees to speak at an upcoming event, please read the terms and conditions, complete and submit the form.