Jim joined IOE after serving as the Chief Patient Safety Officer and the founding director of the National Center for Patient Safety at the VA Hospital system.

He is an engineer, a medical doctor and an astronaut. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Medicine, the Department of Defense Health Board/Trauma and Injury Subcommittee, and the NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Board.

Jim is the founding director of the Center for Healthcare Engineering and Patient Safety.