President's Page

President's Page
January 2006

David M. Bookout, MD
New DCMS President for 2006

by David M. Bookout, MD
2006 DCMS President

David Michael Bookout was born in Dallas on Nov 15, 1937, just a few minutes after his wife-to-be, Betty Irion, was born in Houston. Dr Bookout’s early years were complicated by World War II. Collin W. Bookout, his father, was in the Armed Services Medical Corps and served in Europe. During this time, Dr Bookout primarily lived with his grandparents in Sherman. Life was simple. For example, their phone number was 1741. Because their home was near Robert E. Lee grade school, two years before starting school, he routinely attended all the recesses to play with the other children. By the time he was old enough to start school, he knew all the teachers.

After the war, his parents sought to start their careers. The family spent time in a number of small Texas towns, including Athens and Tulia, before moving to Dallas in 1952. Dr Bookout’s father was a hospital administrator at Swisher County Hospital in Tulia. He finished his career as vice president for reinsurance with Republic National Life Insurance Co. His mother, Dorothy, worked many years with Drs Alexander, Fuqua, Ware & Hurt in Dallas.

The family’s move to Dallas was a big change from Tulia. The move actually was to Oak Cliff, and Dr Bookout lived near the current Dallas County Medical Society office. He attended Adamson High School.

High school sports were important even in that era. He was influenced by his teachers and coaches, particularly Tom Chandler, the baseball coach, who stressed work to achieve success and the importance of ethics. During that time Dr Bookout was a member of Cliff Temple Baptist Church, which had an active youth group. He spent many evenings at church playing table tennis or basketball.

In 1956 he enrolled at Southern Methodist University and gave up athletics to concentrate on academics. However, intramural sports gave him an opportunity to relax and enjoy competition. Because he lived at home during college, he joined Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) fraternity, which provided an avenue to involvement in campus activities. Some of his best friendships remain from that membership.

During his first year at SMU, Dr Bookout met his future wife, Betty Irion, from Beaumont. They married in 1959. Because of “study dates,” his grades went up, and hers went down (but not by much). He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in chemistry.

One of his most influential professors was Harold A. Jeskey, PhD (1994 recipient of the Heath Award). Dr Jeskey often said that his real contribution to medicine was the students in his Organic Chemistry class whom he steered away from medicine and into other careers.

Dr Bookout earned his medical degree in 1964 from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. During that time he spent summers and nights working in surgery at St Paul Hospital. The exposure to the operating rooms and surgery convinced him that he wanted to be involved in a surgical specialty; however, he was undecided about which subspecialty. Drs Jack Pritchard, chief of obstetrics & gynecology, and Charles Gregory, chief of orthopaedics, both suggested a medicine internship. Both said medicine would be important to patient care and their residencies would provide adequate time to learn surgical techniques. Both were correct.

The medical internship at Dallas VA Hospital was challenging and career defining. First, Dr Bookout decided that men were not good patients, and that death and dying were emotionally difficult for him. These realizations clarified his choice of obstetrics & gynecology as a specialty. Second, the exposure to two excellent clinicians with opposite approaches to medical diagnosis was enlightening. Ben Friedman, MD, who was the chair of the department, was a bedside physician. He believed that most diagnoses could be made at the bedside with the history, a physical examination, and minimal lab evaluation. He taught this well. Then there was Don Seldin, MD, who seemed to say, “Show me the lab results and tell me the history, and I will make the diagnosis.” This created a wonderful learning experience.

Next came the ob/gyn residency at Parkland from 1965 to 1968. Dr Pritchard and Dr Paul MacDonald were instrumental in generating Dr Bookout’s special interest in reproductive endocrinology. Dr Bookout was the chief resident in his last year in the program. On the first day of the residency, he met Henry Estess, MD, with whom he practiced ob/gyn from 1970 until Dr Estess retired in 1997.

Good residencies such as those at Parkland were difficult to obtain without a draft deferral. The Berry Plan allowed physicians to finish their residency training if they agreed to spend two years practicing in that field in the armed services. Dr Bookout was in the plan, and he spent 1968 to 1970 in the US Air Force at Langley Air Force Base. It was a wonderful experience and gave him a chance to hone the skills he learned as a resident. Even more important was the opportunity to spend time with his family.

Dr Bookout returned to Dallas in 1970 and began practicing ob/gyn with Dr Estess at Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. The group grew with the addition of Drs Jack Caskey, John Bertrand, James Richards, Jeffrey Thurston, Bernadine Bank, Jane Nokkelberg, and Julie Haygood. Over the years Dr Bookout has served on many committees at Presbyterian Hospital. In 1991–1992 he was president of the Medical Staff, and in 2000 he became chairman of the Presbyterian Dallas Ob/Gyn Department.

In 1984 Dr Bookout and Dr James Madden developed the Presbyterian Assisted Reproduction Department, and he remains an active participant in this endeavor. They have extended this service to Presbyterian Plano and Harris Methodist in Fort Worth with the cooperation of an excellent core of embryologist and reproductive endocrine associates.

Dr Bookout has been active in local ob/gyn societies, and has served as president of the Southwestern Gynecologic Assembly and the Dallas-Fort Worth Ob/Gyn Society.

Dr Bookout’s wife, Betty, has had varied interests through the years, and is past president of Medical Center Woman’s Club, Bent Tree Women’s Golf Association, and Central Texas Women’s Golf Association. She also is a past chairman of the Administrative Board of First United Methodist Church, Richardson, where she and Dr Bookout have been active members for more than 40 years.

Their son, Randal, is married to Michelle and is a professional photographer. Randal and Betty own a portrait studio and photographic lab. Dr and Mrs Bookout have three wonderful grandchildren, Astin,13; Piper, 11; and Halle, 7.

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