D1

Dr Richardson, never afraid to get his hands dirty.

Let me start by saying that he will cringe when he reads this. He has a hard time hearing nice things said about him, but as hard as I tried, I couldn’t think of one bad thing to say about the outgoing editor of the BCMJ—Dr David Richardson, Dave, DRR, D1. He is known by multiple variations of his name.

Dr David Richardson is an outstanding family physician to many fortunate patients. He is known by his patients to be caring, compassionate, and always punctual. In his usual self-deprecating fashion, Dave describes himself as being anal about time. In September 2008 the outgoing editor of the BCMJ at the time, Dr Jim Wilson, said it best when he described Dave, the incoming editor, as “a well-rounded, highly energetic, very intelligent, committed physician” with a “unique brand of humor.”

Dave is known to his friends and colleagues as one of the good guys. He is dependable and wise. He is very quick-witted. He is a legend in our medical community, known for his sharp sense of humor. He can also take a joke when one is played on him, but playing a joke on Dave comes with significant risk of being the recipient of one of his legendary practical jokes in return. He is a legend and the consummate practical joker.

I was recently told a story about when Dave worked in the emergency department of our hospital. He had to remove a nail from a patient’s leg, which had been embedded in the bone from a nail gun. After successfully freeing the nail, using a variety of the patient’s own tools in the process, he emerged from the cubicle brandishing a claw hammer and an axe. He looked around at the other patients in the area and said, “Next?”

Years ago, Dave blessed me with a classic piece of his wit. After introducing my new resident to him, Dave said to me with a straight face, “Dr Chapman, I didn’t know that they were allowing you residents again since the incident!” My resident, who didn’t know Dave and his sense of humor, looked like the proverbial deer in the headlights.

DRR has authored approximately 150 editorials for the BCMJ (we used to sign our editorials with our initials). He was appointed editor in 2008 by the outgoing editor, Dr Jim Wilson, as was the custom in those days. DRR modernized the process midway through his term by putting in place a selection process for the new editor, and it is through this process that Dr Caitlin Dunne was nominated as the next editor of the journal. During his tenure, DRR not only shaped the Editorial Board into being more diverse and representative of our readership, but also strengthened its healthy and respectful culture. I don’t mean to suggest that it was previously unhealthy or lacked respect, but I want to underline how comfortable it has been under his watch to be a member of the Editorial Board. As acting editor of the BCMJ for the past few months, I have tried to emulate DRR’s sense of respect and love for our Editorial Board colleagues, BCMJ staff, and readers.

For the last 4 years, there have been three Davids/Daves on the Editorial Board. To avoid confusion, D1 assigned call signs to the Davids/Daves. As editor and longest-serving member of the Editorial Board, he, of course, became D1. He called me D2, and when Dr David Esler joined the Editorial Board in 2018, he became D3. Even though D1 has retired from the Editorial Board, the remaining Davids/Daves are still referred to in our meetings as D2 and D3. Out of respect and love for our outgoing editor, the Editorial Board decided to retire Dr Richardson’s number—there will only ever be one D1.

Thank you, Dave, for your wisdom, wit, and friendship. We will miss you on the Editorial Board. I look forward to continuing our friendship in the years ahead.
—David B. Chapman, MBChB

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