When asked what he thinks of rotating off his ABR Trustee spot after two terms and eight years this October, Brian Davis, MD, PhD, turned to the world of music and movies for a reply.
“Well, what is the song? ‘Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.’ That’s one,” he said. “Then there’s the line from ‘A League of Their Own.’ ‘There’s no crying in baseball.’ There’s no crying in rotating off the ABR, either. You have to bring in new people.”
Dr. Davis is one of four Trustees who will be ending their terms at the conclusion of the fall board meeting. A radiation oncologist, he said he didn’t often think about being offered a spot on the Board of Trustees (BOT) even as he worked his way up from committee assignments.
“I never had aspirations or expectations to move up the ladder within the ABR,” he said. “I just thought that I would do the work. If something comes of it, that’s great. If not, I’ve made my contribution.”
His contributions include 23 years of volunteering for the ABR. He started as an oral examiner in 2002 when pressed into service after one of his colleagues suffered a knee injury and was unable to participate.
It was a quick turnaround and the beginning of many years serving his specialty by ensuring that candidates are qualified to practice independently.
“I was asked and I really hadn’t done anything for the ABR up until that point,” Dr. Davis said. “I thought it was a great experience, professionally, by helping people and learning from other examiners.”
Dr. Davis has seen the oral examiner role evolve, most notably when the process went remote four years ago. He believes the exam is fair to candidates, especially because multiple examiners have the chance to weigh in on their performances.
“I think we’ve worked through the years to see that the examiners are fair and well-versed but also are not outliers in terms of their pass rates,” he said.
As the ABR’s associate executive director for radiation oncology, Michael Yunes, MD, has had the opportunity to work with Dr. Davis for the past two and a half years. Their collaboration has gone beyond BOT tasks, including presentations to associations and societies. Dr. Yunes said Dr. Davis has excelled in the role.
“It has been a pleasure and true honor to get to know Brian as a person, professional, collaborator, and often a sounding board for the many difficult decisions that the Board of Trustees debates on behalf of the ABR,” he said. “He has been a consummate professional, placing the best interests of the ABR at the lead of any discussion or presentations. It has been my pleasure to work with him, and I consider him a very good friend.”
Dr. Davis’ original career plan was to become an engineer. He enjoyed math and science in high school and college. He worked for a while in the nuclear power field before a slip on the ice in Illinois caused him to rethink his plans.
The mishap sent him to physicians who couldn’t diagnose the issue. He eventually went to an orthopedist who discovered he had sustained a herniated disk. The frustrating process convinced him that he should make a career switch.
“I don’t know how the other doctors missed it,” Dr. Davis said. “I decided to make the change to medicine.”
Becoming a physician has proven to be the right choice. He finished his residency at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in 1996 and earned ABR certification the following year.
Dr. Davis has been affiliated with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota for almost 30 years and serves as radiation oncology professor at the institution’s college of medicine and science and as an attending physician. Seeing patients, doing procedures, and working with trainees gives him great satisfaction. He sees many productive years ahead.
“This continues to be a very fulfilling career,” he said. “We’ll keep going.”
