Christopher Dodson ’99 MD’03 sat down toward the end of a whirlwind day, near the end of a whirlwind month, to jumpstart what will likely be a whirlwind year. Dodson, the head orthopedic surgeon at The Vincera Institute in Philadelphia, had a late addition to his schedule—a high school athlete who had suffered a dislocated kneecap. His mother joined via Zoom from California. Both were nervous.

That’s when Dodson’s training kicked in. Not his medical training—that would come later. It’s the thing the Program in Liberal Medical Education alum says was the most valuable lesson from his time in Providence: bedside manner.

“There’s a reputation sometimes that surgeons can have bad bedside manner, but that was an emphasis during my time at med school,” Dodson says. “I remember being a first-year medical student and going to the hospital, and one class was just about bedside manner. I didn’t know anything, I knew nothing about the pathology, I knew nothing about what patients had. But I learned how to talk, to sit next to patients and just listen.”

The news was good for this young athlete; no surgery was required. Not everyone is so lucky. But whether that patient is a high schooler, a weekend warrior, or one of the top athletes in the world, it’s the ability to connect and to listen that becomes paramount.

Dodson has seen athletes of all ages and ability levels in his prodigious career. He has worked with every major professional sports franchise in Philadelphia—the Eagles, 76ers, Flyers, and Phillies—and is on the National Hockey League’s approved list of surgeons whom athletes can consult for second opinions. These athletes are extremely well compensated by teams that expect them back as soon as possible.

Dodson says those discussions are a good example of what you don’t learn in medical school. His post-op conversations include spouses, agents, general managers, training staff, and even team owners. They all want to know the same thing—when will this athlete return to play?

“A lot of what you learn is how to communicate to the athlete in a way that they understand,” he says. “Sometimes they don’t want to hear that it’s going to take six months to recover, but as you get more confident, you can be more honest, and they appreciate it.”

Dodson has seen it all working with his professional athletes, but they represent a small percentage of his clients. Pennsylvania’s bustling high school and collegiate sports scene means no shortage of work for Dodson, who saw his most anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions ever in 2025—240 in total. He says his surgeries have become more efficient—less invasive, more finely tuned, and done in less than 40 minutes.

But he’s aware of the rampant rise in these injuries, which he attributes to a variety of factors including number of athletes, volume of play, and even field conditions such as artificial turf; he saw ACL injuries much less frequently during his playing days on Brown’s soccer team, when turf was rarer.

Still, Dodson’s expertise has led to great strides in the recovery period. An ACL injury was long regarded as a near-death blow for professional athletes, with a year or more anticipated lost. Now those same athletes try to return in half the time. Dodson says he’s actually lengthened the anticipated return to action, citing studies that suggest the sweet spot for ACL recovery is about nine months.

It’s still a long road back, but there’s a reason why some of the nation’s top athletes have sought out Dodson’s expertise. He loves getting videos of pro athletes, collegiate stars, and casual hobbyists back doing what they love.

“It’s tremendously gratifying to help people return to form and return to their activities,” he says. “That’s what makes this so cool for me to do, and that’s why I constantly try to get better and refine my techniques. I’m obsessed with people who were injured getting back to where they want to be.”