ASPS Names New President

by Alexandra Kilpatrick

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons named Pennsylvania surgeon Robert Murphy, M.D., its new president in mid-October.

Assistant chief medical officer at Lehigh Valley Network in Allentown, Pennsylvania and professor of surgery at Morsani College of Medicine at the University of South Florida, Murphy took office at the Society’s annual meeting in San Diego and plans to serve for one year.

“As president, I will work to ensure that ASPS continues to serve its members’ needs by offering the best educational programs, federal and state advocacy efforts, public education tools and practice management services – all designed to deliver value to members in providing patients with the highest standard of care,” Murphy told Market Wired.

“With the unique challenges the specialty is facing, from non-board-certified practitioners to the corporate practice of medicine, I hope to ensure that the overwhelming advantages of seeking a board-certified plastic surgeon are appreciated by the public and that the value of belonging to the world’s leading plastic surgery society is well-recognized by its members.”

An ASPS member since 1991, Dr. Murphy has also served on several ASPS committees, working in public education, patient safety, government affairs and quality and performance measurement. Before being named ASPS president-elect in 2012, Murphy served as vice president of health policy and advocacy. The physician also serves as a senior guest examiner for the American Board of Plastic Surgery and a member of the American Medical Association, American College of Surgeons and the Pennsylvania Medical Society.

Dr. Murphy is also committed to helping wounded veterans in need of reconstructive surgery. He both helps with the Comprehensive Aesthetic Restorative Effort, also known as Project C.A.R.E. and serves on the board of directors for the Lehigh Valley Military Affairs Council.

Murphy graduated with a medical degree from New York University in 1982, completed his internship and junior residency in general residency at Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital at Harvard Medical School, completed his senior residency at New Jersey’s Morristown Memorial Hospital and finished his plastic surgery training at New York’s Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1988.

Murphy completed a one year fellowship in hand surgery at New York’s Bellevue Hospital and New York University Medical Center in 1989, earned his certification from the American Board of Plastic Surgery in 1991 and holds a certificate of added qualification in hand surgery. He later received a master’s degree in health evaluation sciences from Pennsylvania State University in 2003.

The plastic surgeon also maintains a renowned clinical practice in cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery and serves as a section editor of the online journal ePlasty.

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