Profiles

L.D. Britt, MD, MPH, D.Sc. (Hon), FACS, FCCM, FRCSEng (Hon), FRCSEd (Hon), FWACS (Hon), FRCSI (Hon), FCS(SA) (Hon) 

Dr. L.D. Britt, a proud native of Suffolk, VA, has strong southern roots and is the product of the public school system. He attended the University of Virginia and was named to the Dean's List each of the eight semesters. He received his Baccalaureate of Arts with Distinction. Dr. Britt, a graduate of Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, is the Henry Ford Professor of Surgery and Edward J. Brickhouse Chair in Surgery at Eastern Virginia Medical School. In 2021, Dr. Britt was chosen to receive the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to just five people in the organization’s 108-year history. He was also named EVMS Vice Dean for Clinical Affairs.

Dr. Britt is the author of more than 220 peer-reviewed publications, more than 50 book chapters and non-peer-reviewed articles and three books, including a recent edition of the highly touted Acute Care Surgery (Lippincott, Williams & Wilkens, Medford, NJ). He serves on numerous editorial boards, including the Annals of Surgery, Archives of Surgery, World Journal of Surgery, Journal of the American College of Surgeons, the American Journal of Surgery (Associate Editor), the Journal of Trauma, Shock, Journal of Surgical Education, the American Surgeon, and others. In addition, he is a reviewer for the New England Journal of Medicine.

Dr. Britt, a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, is the recipient of the nation’s highest teaching award in medicine – the Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teaching Award, which is given by the AAMC in conjunction with AOA. He was honored by the Association of Surgical Education with its lifetime achievement award – the Distinguished Educator Award – given annually to one person considered by his peers to be a true master. More than 190 institutions throughout the world have invited him to be their distinguished visiting professor. He was recently the William P. Longmire, MD, Visiting Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Dr. Britt is the past President of the Society of Surgical Chairs and the past Chair of the ACGME Residency Review Committee for Surgery. Also, he is past Secretary of the Southern Surgical Association, the past Recorder/Program Chair for the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, and past President of the Southeastern Surgical Congress, the Halsted Society, and the Southern Surgical Association.

Dr. Britt is the past Chair of the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons. He is also past President of the American College of Surgeons, the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, and the American Surgical Association.

At the inaugural presidential ceremony held in Washington, D.C., during the 96th annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, Dr. Britt was awarded the U.S. Surgeon General’s medallion for his outstanding achievements in medicine. The Honorable Regina Benjamin, MD, the 18th U.S. Surgeon General, presented this award at a formal ceremony.

Dr. Britt was also appointed to the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar Program National Advisory Committee. The National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Medicine (in collaboration with the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture) featured Dr. Britt for his contributions to academic surgery.

President George W. Bush recognized Dr. Britt’s leadership role in medicine and nominated him to the Board of Regents of the Uniformed Services University (confirmed by the United States Senate). At the end of his tenure, Dr. Britt was awarded the coveted Distinguished Service Medal.

The National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) also awarded him the Edithe J. Levit Distinguished Service Award.

An active participant in the community, Dr. Britt has received numerous awards for public service. Dr. Britt is the recipient of the 2010 Colgate Darden Citizen of the Year Award and the 2011 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Award. Ebony magazine has listed him as one of the most influential African Americans in the nation.

At the 2012 annual meeting of the American Surgical Association, Dr. Britt became the 132nd President of the organization. Dr. Britt was also elected to the position of Commissioner of the Joint Commission (formerly JACHO).

Dr. Britt was conferred an Honorary Doctorate by the President of Tuskegee University. In 2012, he was conferred an Honorary Fellowship in the French Academy of Surgery and the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa.

Having recently been awarded an Honorary Fellowship in the Royal College of Surgeons of Glasgow, Dr. Britt now has the distinction of receiving the highest honor given by each of the four Royal Colleges in the United Kingdom – England, Edinburg, Ireland, and Glasgow.

Dr. Britt, author of the term "Acute Care Surgery" and one of the principal architects of this emerging specialty, was the 2013 recipient of the prestigious Roswell Park Medal. He was honored for his major contributions to American surgery.

At the 2015 annual meeting of the Society of Critical Care Medicine, Dr. Britt was bestowed the coveted title of "Master of Critical Care Medicine" (MCCM) by the American College of Critical Care Medicine.

In 2015, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe appointed Dr. Britt to the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia. Also, the Southern Surgical Association awarded Dr. Britt the organization’s highest accolade – Honorary Fellowship – at its 2015 annual meeting.

In the spring of 2016, Dr. Britt was awarded the Urban League of Hampton Roads Professor Marian Capps Memorial Award for his accomplishments in community service through education. At the 148th commencement at Howard University, Dr. Britt was conferred an honorary doctorate (Doctor of Science). His co-honorees included President Barack Obama, activist and award-winning actor Cicely Tyson, and Ambassador Horace Dawson.

In 2016, Dr. Britt conducted his 200th visiting professorship at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, IL (where Dr. Britt completed his residency training). He was the inaugural John A. Barrett, MD, lecturer that kicked off the 50th anniversary celebration for Cook County Hospital Trauma Unit.

Effective October 1, 2016, Dr. Britt was elected to the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine). He is the first and only faculty member from his institution to receive this distinction – considered one of the highest honors in the field of health and medicine. In addition, Dr. Britt was recently awarded, as the Principal Investigator (PI), a multimillion-dollar NIH-R01 research grant (1 R01 MD011695-01).