Dr. Richard Hamilton is board certified in emergency medicine and medical toxicology and is a retired U.S. Navy Captain as well as a former Naval Flight Surgeon. He has been the Department Chair since 2006.
Dr. Richard Hamilton is a Philadelphia native. He was a Benjamin Franklin Scholar as an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania and received his medical degree from Hahnemann University. He started his medical career as a US Naval Flight Surgeon, and received his Wings of Gold in 1989. From there he went on to be the Chief of Medical Operations at the Naval Air Development Center, where he was responsible for aeromedical physiology research and the development of ChemBio warfare gear for fighter pilots. He went on to complete his emergency medicine residency at Jacobi/Montefiore Albert Einstein College of Medicine and then went on to his medical toxicology fellowship at New York University/Bellevue.
Dr. Hamilton was recruited to join the Medical College of Pennsylvania as the Director of the MCP Emergency Department in 1997. He soon became the Program Director for the medical toxicology fellowship and then the emergency medicine residency. When Hahnemann University Hospital combined with Medical College of Pennsylvania, he assumed the role of Emergency Medicine Service Chief. In 2004, Dr. Hamilton was recalled to Navy Active Duty as a reservist, and was assigned to the Naval Hospital at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. Upon his release one year later, he resumed his duties at Drexel University College of Medicine. In 2006, Rich was named Chair of Emergency Medicine.
Dr. Hamilton is the editor of books (Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopeia, Adult Emergency Handbook, Occupational Industrial and Environmental Toxicology), numerous peer reviewed publications, and has led a number of successful translational research programs. He is the recipient of Coulter Grants, clinical trial support, and research and educational contracts. In addition, he has led the Department’s expansion to affiliate hospitals, overseen the development of a Violence Intervention Program, the Philadelphia Sexual Assault Response Center, and the EM Simulation Center. In addition to the 45 EM Residents and 4 Medical Toxicology Fellows, he has added fellowships in Medical Simulation and Violence Intervention. He is the Chief Medical Officer for the NASTAR Center (www.nastarcenter.com) and spearheaded the training of a number of astronauts as well as the Virgin Galactic Founders. In 2011, he was the recipient of a Distinguished Alumni Award (Research) from DUCOM. He currently podcasts and tweets about EM and Toxicology at www.emtoxcast.com and @rjhamiltonmd.