James P. O’Neal

Institute for Disaster Management, Health Policy & Management,

Clinical Professor

Institute for Disaster Management, Health Policy & Management,

Dr. James Patrick O’Neal, MD is a clinical professor at the University of Georgia’s (UGA) Institute for Disaster Management. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Davidson College and received his doctorate from Tulane University School of Medicine. He went on to work at Providence Hospital and went through flight surgeon’s training with the United States Air Force.

Dr. O’Neal is a Vietnam war veteran. He was a flight surgeon and flew F-100s with the United States Air Force. He then went on to work at multiple hospitals throughout Georgia. He was at Dekalb Medical Center from 1973-2002 where he was a staff physician in the emergency department and then the director of emergency medicine. In 2002, Dr. O’Neal began working for the Georgia Department of Public Health. He was the Georgia EMS Medical Director and became the commissioner in 2017. In 2019, he retired from the Georgia Department of Public Health. Dr. O’Neal became an instructor at IDM in 2020. He was at Dekalb Medical Center from 1973-2002 where he was a Staff Physician in the emergency department, Director of Dekalb EMS and the Director of Emergency Medicine.

Dr. O’Neal has received many honors and awards throughout his career. He was awarded a Bronze Star and the Pacific Air Forces Flight Surgeon of the Year award in 1971. He also won the Governor’s Public Safety Award, the Career Achievement Award, and many more.

In his free time, he loves to travel and was a Trauma System Consultant in Riyahd, Saudi Arabia in 1983. In his free time, he teaches as Dr. Doom, Professor of Apocalyptic Studies.