Michael Magoline ’89 to Speak on Experience as an Orthopaedic Surgeon in a War Zone

By Julie Cline
March 10, 2017

Michael Magoline, an orthopaedic surgeon, will give a lecture at Washington and Lee University as part of the Borders and Their Human Impact series. It will be on March 22 at 5:30 p.m. in the atrium of the Ruscio Center for Global Learning.

Magoline will speak on “From Lexington to Afghanistan, My Tribute to Washington and Lee.” His talk is free and open to the public.

“This discussion focuses on how my education and experience at Washington and Lee profoundly shaped my life and career,” said Magoline, “from dealing with the adversity of operating in a war zone far away from home, to treating patients from all walks of society. The lessons I learned in Lexington prepared me for life’s many challenges. This talk highlights my experience in Afghanistan as an orthopaedic surgeon and the education at W&L that I fell back on to help guide me during a difficult time.”

A member of the W&L Class of 1989, Magoline graduated from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and served his fellowship in arthroscopic surgery and sports medicine at Orthopaedic Research of Virginia.

He served in the U.S. Army and was a flight surgeon for the 159th Group 18th Aviation Brigade at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He served active duty in Afghanistan in 2004.

Magoline specializes in sports medicine and total joint replacement surgery with an interest in arthroscopic and minimally invasive surgery and shoulder, knee and elbow reconstruction surgery.

He has earned numerous honors and awards and has authored and co-authored a number of research papers and presentations. He is a member of several state and national medical societies. He is a former associate team physician for the Pittsburgh Steelers and has been a physician since 1993. He currently is the physician for St. Vincent–St. Mary High School.

Borders and Their Human Impact is a two-year faculty colloquium sponsored by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The colloquium addresses the concept of borders and border crossings from a variety of perspectives that tie humanity to political, geophysical, physiological, epistemological and spiritual borders.