On Thursday, December 19, 2013, Rep. Mike McIntyre presented David Simel, MD, professor of medicine (General Internal Medicine) and vice chair for Veteran's Affairs, with a Congressional citation for outstanding service to the VA medical system.
Congressman McIntyre's tribute to Dr. Simel, as noted in the Congressional Record, reads as follows:
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a truly outstanding doctor, loving father, and exceptional North Carolinian, Dr. David Lee Simel of Durham. Dr. Simel was raised in Greensboro before attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After graduation, he completed medical school and an internal medicine residency at Duke University. He is now a professor of medicine and vice chair for veterans affairs at Duke. And he has dedicated himself wholly to our veterans, serving them across our great State of North Carolina. The influential book of which he was coauthor, ``The Rational Clinical Exam,'' is a comprehensive guide for patient exams and has become a powerful reference tool for those in the field of medicine. Dr. Simel's enduring commitment to his family, his students, his patients, and to our veterans make him an exemplary citizen. His passion for medicine and improving the health of others will continue to benefit our veterans and North Carolinians for years to come. Indeed, we should honor those who serve our veterans and set an example, like Dr. Simel has done. And we also honor him for his intelligence, compassion, and selfless dedication. We pray that he and his family will receive God's richest blessings, and we are thankful for role models like Dr. Simel, who serves those who served our country.Photo by Linnie Skidmore, courtesy of the Durham VA Medical Center