Davis Bradford, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of General Internal Medicine, is the junior faculty winner of the Dean's Excellence Award in Service.
During undergraduate medical training at UAB, Bradford was dedicated to vulnerable patients through clinical work at Equal Access Birmingham and scholarly work surrounding service learning in medical education. After Bradford completed his initial medical training at UAB, he completed his residency at Boston University.
Bradford returned to UAB after his residency and joined the Division of General Internal Medicine to serve as an addiction specialist, general internist, and clinician educator. Since his return, he has re-designed the inpatient addiction consult service, resulting in a tripled consult volume. Bradford also facilitated the development of multiple templates in the electronic health record that ensure faster, evidence-based care for hospitalized patients with substance use disorders.
As the future of addiction care depends on growing the skills of primary care and hospital-based physicians to recognize substance use disorders, start pharmacotherapy, and refer to more specialized treatment, Bradford's educational efforts are dedicated to incorporating addiction medicine into undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education.
He has given lectures across UAB, including for Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Infectious Disease, Internal Medicine, the School of Nursing, and the College of Arts and Sciences. His lecture topics include harm reduction, management of co-occurring stimulant and opioid use disorders, and transitions in care for justice-involved patients. Bradford also participates in research related to improving care for hospitalized patients with infectious complications of intravenous drug use.
According to Rebekah Weil, M.D., assistant professor of Medicine and Director of the Health Disparities Curriculum in the Tinsley Harrison Internal Medicine Residency Program, "Dr. Bradford’s most outstanding quality is his ability to remain calm and compassionate in the most challenging of situations. He is an unwavering source of positive energy, despite challenges in clinical situations."