David VanBuskirk
1933-2019

May I be alive when I die

D.W. Winnicott

 

---

​David VanBuskirk MD, a beloved member of VPSG, passed away on November 4th, 2019.  Less than three weeks earlier, he had attended the VPSG 10th Anniversary Soirée, delighting in the occasion, the topic, and his colleagues.  Vibrant as ever, he asked a thoughtful and thought-provoking question to the speaker, revealing the wisdom of a seasoned clinician.  Dave was a deep thinker and a humble soul who enjoyed sharing his ideas and expertise as much as he did learning from others. 
​
Brief Biography
Dave graduated from Yale University and Harvard Medical School.  He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital from 1957 to 1959, then was assistant and chief resident in psychiatry at Massachusetts Mental Health Center from 1962 to 1964.  He completed psychoanalytic training at the Boston Psychoanalytic Institute, graduating in 1971.  He was associate professor of clinical psychiatry at Tufts Medical School, 1968 to 1978, and served on the faculty of Boston Psychoanalytic Institute and at Dartmouth Medical School.  

Dave was a nationally recognized expert on intensive services for seriously emotionally disturbed children.  He joined the faculty of the UVM Medical School in 1991 where he added a psychodynamic perspective to the child and adolescent psychiatry department.  He shared his knowledge, scholarship, experience, and compassion with medical students, residents, colleagues and countless others through his many programs, seminars and publications.  His collaborations with (and advocacy for) the Vermont Department of Health and the Vermont Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, amongst other providers of mental health services for children, was greatly appreciated.  

 

Dave, the photographer, on Machu Picchu.  Dave was a masterful photographer who spent time over the course of decades  supporting traditional textiles and weaving as an economic boost for a remote Peruvian village. 

Dave's photograph of an Inca child.