James William Barber, MD, FAAOS
Orthopaedic Surgeon
Southeastern Orthopaedics
Douglas, GA
Member Since: 1996
How has the AAOS helped you throughout your career?
As a rural physician, I have relied upon AAOS to keep me informed, networked, and skilled. However, AAOS is bigger than that. I believe orthopaedic surgery should be more than a job -- it is a calling to service and to serve more than just patients. In addition to providing patient care, we should serve the public and our profession. AAOS has given me many opportunities to do exactly this, beginning with the dearly departed Leadership Fellows Program, and numerous committee opportunities.
As an Active Fellow Member, which AAOS resources do you use most and why?
It is very difficult to pick just one, as I’m proud of so many AAOS resources. Perhaps Advocacy is the most crucial to me. There are plenty of other groups advocating against us, so it has been clear to me that we need AAOS to advocate for us. I am thankful for the strong emphasis and opportunities such as NOLC as an example.
What’s the best advice you were ever given? Who was it from?
From my father -- the value of trust. “Son, trust is hard to earn and easy to lose” which he solemnly said to me after I had made a bad choice as a teenager. And from my mom – the value of empathy by “walking in another’s shoes”.
What’s your go-to productivity trick?
I’m a zealot for following rules in meetings. Some critics see parliamentary procedure as an unnecessary speed bump, and it is true that a dictatorship is much more efficient than a democracy. But I have witnessed many meetings turn into chaos when rules aren’t enforced, and a few examples include not maintaining focus on action, not requiring meeting participants to be prepared, and not enforcing the rights of the majority and minority.
What’s one thing you’re currently trying to make a habit?
Better time management. Since time is a fixed quantity, I’m learning that every time I say “Yes I can” to something, I am really saying “No I can’t” to something else (for example – family time).
What hobbies do you enjoy in your spare time?
I love traveling with my family. At home, most people in my community hunt, fish, or golf. I don’t enjoy any of these. But I do love organized medicine and managing debates. I’m the Speaker of the House of the Medical Association of Georgia, and it’s really fun to enforce the parliamentary process, giving me a front-row seat when doctors are boxing.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself that not many people know?
My path to orthopaedic surgeon was atypical. I am the first physician in my direct lineage. However, I never considered medicine as a career until after completing my undergraduate degree in computer science. I am fluent in 6 languages but unfortunately, they are all computer programming languages. I wanted to be a pediatric general surgeon and had no interest in orthopaedics, but my dear friend in medical school thought it would be cool if we both ranked one orthopaedic residency. And by the grace of God, I somehow matched ortho.
Also, I can ride a unicycle and juggle – at the same time. It would probably be for the best if my small community did not find out about this latter skill.