 Phelps was appointed in 1885 to the chair of orthopedic surgery at the University of Vermont and in 1887 to the chair of orthopedic surgery at the New York University School of Medicine.He was in 1894 President of the American Orthopaedic Association and in 1900 President of the Medical Society of the State of New York.Upon his death he was survived by his widow and two daughters.