IN REMEMBRANCE
IN REMEMBRANCE : J . DAVID RICHARDSON , MD 5 / 7 / 1945-9 / 7 / 2021
Physicians are shaped and molded by many different people during medical school , residency and throughout their career , be it private practice , academia or industry . I count Dr . David Richardson as one of these influential people in my professional life . I first encountered David during my third-year general surgery rotation in medical school back in January and February 1977 . Picture the historic Louisville General Hospital shrouded in knee-deep snow and with bitterly cold temperatures during one of Louisville ’ s worst winters ever . I began that surgery rotation experience with fear and trepidation , having heard countless ghoulish tales of surgery attending monsters who grilled medical students mercilessly on rounds , yelled at them in the OR and brought them to tears with impossibly difficult oral examinations . Admittedly , some of those stories I later found to be true . But Dr . Richardson was a stark contrast . He had begun his academic career at the University of Louisville only a few years before . What I observed was a calm , confident young surgeon , and someone who had the respect not only of the surgery house staff and his fellow attendings , but also the nurses , patients and all the hospital personnel from the pharmacy techs , and LPNs right down to the cleaning crews . He treated all with respect and courtesy , including even me , a lowly third-year medical student . My interactions with him affected me profoundly , so much so that for a while I thought of doing a surgery residency after graduation . However , my interests in internal medicine later took me down a different path . Dr . David Richardson was one of a handful of clinical professors who demonstrated to me what was of paramount importance in being a good physician - always putting the patient first , being respectful and using not only your head but
also your heart in carrying out your duties .
After returning to Louisville in 1983 following completion of my fellowship training , I joined a well-known practice in downtown Louisville that had a very active presence at Norton Hospital . David , as well as many other UofL surgery faculty members , were vital members of Norton ’ s active medical staff at that time . My practice partners and I regularly consulted them in the care of our patients . I ’ ll always remember David with a flock of anxious medical students and tired surgery residents making rounds at Norton . He had a swagger that I loved to watch as he sauntered down those corridors sharing his medical and surgical wisdom . I asked for him quite often to see my difficult patients , and his opinions and surgical expertise were highly sought not only by me but my partners as well . It was during many doctors ’ lounge conversations at Norton back then that I first learned of David ’ s love and knowledge of horses and the racing industry . I loved listening to tales of his own horses as well as those of his cousin , famous trainer Woody Stephens .
About five years ago , David and I were both in Washington , D . C . at the same time , attending meetings of our respective medical / surgical societies . I was fortunate to share the flight back to Louisville with him , and as we were delayed in departing Reagan , we had a chance to have a relaxed chat . That pleasantly warm Sunday afternoon , sitting on the tarmac at the airport , we talked about many things , including how much medicine and surgery had changed over the years . At that time , I recall that David was quite alarmed at persistent staffing shortages at a local hospital , and he shared details with me that I had not been aware of . He later went on to compose an op-ed which alerted our community of the serious threat
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