"Hey Doc, Memoirs of a Rural Family Physician
Author: James R Damos, MD
BIOGRAPHY
James R. Damos, MD, was born in Waukegan, Illinois, in 1947. His extended family lived above the family restaurant in apartments connected by hallways. They were a Greek family, and the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" reminds the author of his upbringing.
In addition to being a good student in school, Jim was interested in sports and played baseball as a shortstop and second baseman through the years. He played Peanut League, Little League, Pony League, American Legion ball, Chicago Shoreline ball, High School ball, and a brief stint at college ball. He had an opportunity to play semi-pro ball one summer for nominal pay, but he knew he was not good enough for the major leagues. His path in life took him to medical school. His favorite movie is "Field of Dreams" as he can relate to Moonlight Graham, who also played baseball and was not good enough for the major leagues but became a small-town physician.
In the book "Hey Doc," Memoirs of a Rural Family Physician, Dr. Damos provides a glimpse into the exciting challenges small-town doctors face today. Damos also describes his family's health challenges, detailing their struggles with childhood cancer and Alzheimer's disease. These traumatic events and others described in this heartfelt memoir drive home the benefits of a close-knit community. From the viewpoint of a doctor, a husband, and a father, Jim Damos illustrates how genuine personal relationships and connection with others are sometimes the best medicine.
One will enjoy his storytelling as his narratives are famous among medical students, interns, residents, physician colleagues, and the lay public. He has received local, state, national, and international recognition. His medical career spans rural, urban, academic, and private practice. With his colleagues and the American Academy of Family Physicians, he participated in developing the now international Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) provider and instructor courses. Like the airline industry trains pilots for emergencies in simulators, the ALSO course trains physicians and nurses how to manage childbirth emergencies in the delivery room using workstations and mannequins. As of 2023, the ALSO course has trained over 180,000 maternity care providers in 82 countries. Following the ALSO course development, he and his colleagues developed the University of Wisconsin - Baraboo Rural physician training program that is now nationally recognized. Both projects focused on rural access to healthcare.
Dr. Damos was recognized as the Wisconsin Family Physician Educator of the Year in 1995. In 1996, he received the Patient Care Award for Innovation in Family Medicine Education at the National Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) in San Francisco, California, for being the co-concept originator and first editor of the Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) course. In 1997, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the Wisconsin State Medical Society, and he accepted the Rural Health Award from the Wisconsin Rural Health Cooperative in 2005. His patients nominated him, and he accepted the Wisconsin Family Physician of the Year Award in 2006. Finally, he received the Wisconsin Idea Award presented on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus in 2014 for his contributions to rural Wisconsin health.
Dr. Damos is now retired from the practice of medicine. He cared for his wife, Linda, who had Alzheimer's disease, for nine years. She died on June 23, 2020. Her legacy lives on with beautiful memories left behind.
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