ABEM and the Emergency Medicine community mourn the loss of J. David Barry, M.D., who died tragically on September 2, 2022, while surfing in Southern California.
Dr. Barry was elected to the ABEM Board of Directors in 2020. He was Chair of the Continuing Certification Committee and appointed as Liaison to the Medical Toxicology Subboard. He also served as a MyEMCert editor. Dr. Barry was first to volunteer for projects and to call ABEM-certified physicians who had questions about the Board.
Dr. Barry graduated from the Uniformed Services University and completed Emergency Medicine training at the Brooke Army Medical Center. He then completed a fellowship in Medical Toxicology at the University of California, San Diego, and became board certified in Medical Toxicology.
ABEM thanks Dr. Barry for his 25 years of service in the United States Army following residency with multiple wartime deployments throughout his military career. While in the Army, he served as residency director at the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth (yes, an Army guy selected to run a Navy program!). During his last deployment he continued his work as a program director, conducting resident interviews from Afghanistan.
After retiring as a Colonel from the military, Dr. Barry went on to expand his graduate medical education service as Assistant Chief at the Long Beach VA as its Director of GME. He also held a faculty appointment as Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of California Irvine School of Medicine.
Dave was a thoughtful and compassionate leader who wanted only the best for those who served under him and for the future emergency medicine residents he trained. He was a passionate surfer and outdoor enthusiast who lived life to the fullest with his family (wife Megan and sons Collin and Cameron). He proudly owned a vintage VW microbus and loved participating in VW bus shows, most recently in Huntington Beach earlier this year. He was a foodie who sought out new aspiring chefs in local restaurants when traveling.
All of us at ABEM will miss Dave dearly but are so honored to have had him as a Board member. Our lives are better because we knew Dave.
If you wish to honor Dave, consider supporting these programs, both of which he was very passionate about.
