New Student Health Services director named

David R. McBride has been appointed the new director of Boston University’s Student Health Services (SHS), effective September 1. Formerly with Northeastern University’s Health Service, McBride is currently a staff/attending physician in the Tufts University Family Medicine Residency. He will succeed J. W. Taylor, the current director.

“Dr. McBride’s recent and extensive medical experience with students within a large urban university was a crucial attribute that significantly contributed to his selection,” says Peter Fiedler, the vice president of administrative services at Boston University.  “Combined with his leadership capabilities and management skills, he brings the ideal range of expertise needed to effectively serve our population.”

McBride, a Pittsburgh native, graduated cum laude from Ohio’s Miami University and earned his doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He completed his medical residency in family medicine at York Hospital in Pennsylvania.   

He served as a staff physician, then medical director of the Lynn (Massachusetts) Community Health Center, where he oversaw the development of an urgent-care clinic and led a session of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the independent organization that evaluates and accredits American health-care programs.

In 2000, he came to Northeastern, providing full-time patient care and serving as liaison to the athletic training department. During his five years there, McBride conducted research on nutrition and eating-disorder behavior in women athletes, providing clinical intervention and nutrition counseling.

Since joining the Malden Family Health Center in 2005, McBride has supervised outpatient primary care and inpatient care by Tufts Family Medicine residents at Malden’s Lawrence Memorial Hospital and Melrose-Wakefield Hospital. He has also been active in curriculum development.

McBride hopes to continue the process of integrating SHS into the larger BU community. “My goal is to build on the exceptional foundation that Dr. Taylor and the current staff have established,” he says. “I hope to build a strong link between the health service and family medicine department at the BU Medical Campus. I know that BU can have one of the best student health centers in the country, given the amazing resources that are available within the University community.” 

With this integration, he would like to see students develop a relationship with SHS that lasts for the duration of their time at the University, instead of using the clinic’s services only for emergencies. “My opinion, as a family physician, is that everyone can benefit from a relationship with a primary care provider,” he says. “I would like to see SHS take more of an active role in the ongoing care of college students in addition to providing the excellent quality episodic care that is currently delivered.” 

BU’s Student Health Services, visited by an average of 1,200 patients a week during the academic year, employs four full-time and four part-time physicians, six psychiatrists, five psychologists, and 20 full-time and part-time nurses. From September through May, the center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for medical and behavioral health patient visits, and care and advice are available 24 hours.