Dr. Barker bows out of medicine after 36 years

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Dr. Richard Barker.
(Photo: J.D. Pooley/Sentinel-Tribune)

For the first time in 36 years, Dr. Richard Barker is turning in his scalpel for a book that’s not a
medical journal.
Barker said he’ll still work in the wound care center at Wood County Hospital, but he retired this week
from Bowling Green Orthopaedics, the practice he built at home in BG, where there hadn’t been one
before.
After beginning to study biology at Bowling Green State University, Barker had doubts about whether he
really wanted to be a marine biologist, an early aspiration of many science-lovers.
Medicine became an option after considering it with professors and advisers. Barker still pictured
himself in science – he marveled at "the wonder" of the things that make up life.
"I realized I loved science and I loved to be around people. I didn’t want to be stuck in a lab, so
it seemed to be a natural thing to do."
So Barker went to his family doctor in Bowling Green and asked, only half-joking, if he was smart enough
to be a doctor.
"He said all you have to do is just work really, really hard. And I thought, ‘Well yeah, I can do
that.’"
After doubling back for more chemistry courses, with a double major when he earned a BGSU degree, Barker
opted for medical school at the University of Cincinnati over Case Western or Ohio State.
The first two years were classroom-heavy as Barker tested the waters in different areas of medicine. He
chose surgery over general medicine because he saw the potential to improve the condition of people’s
lives "rather immediately."
Still, the first time Barker performed an operation was perhaps more nerve-racking than exhilarating, at
least at first.
"The first time you lay a scalpel on somebody’s skin, it’s quite a feeling," he said.
Barker flirted with the idea of going into emergency care and moving to California. His roommate did just
that after matching for a residency at UCLA, and Barker still chuckles recalling his friend bragging
about running into Elizabeth Taylor in the hospital.
But the enduring memory for Barker is being coached through his first surgery as a fourth-year med
student, told he could fix a broken kneecap.
"I was hooked from them on," he said. "There was no doubt in my mind I wanted to do
orthopedics."
By the time he finished residency in Cincinnati, Barker had a young daughter, and he reconsidered going
westward.
"I started thinking I wanted her to have a good relationship with her grandparents, and that if we
moved to somewhere else, she wouldn’t be able to get that. That’s a special relationship that kids
should have."
When he left for medical school, Barker didn’t think he would move back to Bowling Green. But that family
dynamic, along with a job offer to be the team physician for BGSU athletics, prompted him to do just
that in July of 1978.
"(BG) was my home, and I have been a Falcon fan my whole life."
There had never been a practicing orthopedist in town. People suffering from broken bones or joint pain
had to go elsewhere with those problems until Barker opened Bowling Green Orthopaedics, then just an
office with a few clerks to handle billing and reception.
"I tell everybody I was the best orthopedist on my block," he joked.
Barker wonders at the developments in the field, emphasizing just how much surgery has changed over the
last 30 years. Amazing tools have been developed by bioengineers working alongside surgeons, and many
injuries can now be fixed with just a few small incisions.
"I’ve never been sorry I went into orthopedics, because it is just so cool the things we can do now
for people," he said.
"The only limitation is the imagination of the surgeon."
Barker said his perspective on the impact of his work grew after he suffered brain injury six years ago.

"That had a profound effect on me," he said.
Not only does he more greatly appreciate how much he can help people, but it also changed the outlook
that Barker, now 66, has on his own life.
"I was lucky I woke up a few weeks later. And when I did, over time now I’ve realized that family
and friends are way more important than how many books you read or what your work is."
Barker admitted to mixed feelings about retirement, but he wants to read more science fiction, travel
with his wife, and spend time with their children and grandkids.
He also admits to feeling "an innate sense of work ethic and responsibility" over his career,
though it’s softened knowing that there are three other doctors to take the reins of his practice.
"Your whole life, work is your main thing. I realized it shouldn’t be that way, I don’t think. I’ve
changed my mind."

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