Built for This.
In More Ways
Than One.
Dr. Graham has been building things with his hands his entire life — cars, home additions, patients' livelihoods, and (briefly, spectacularly) the University of Florida's game-day enthusiasm. Board certified. Fellowship trained. Gator national champion. It's complicated.
Who He Is
More Than a
Surgeon.
Most physician biographies read like a résumé with a headshot. This one is going to be a little different — because Dr. Graham is a little different. He's the surgeon who guides every treatment plan personally. He's the one his patients describe as having "an injection of humor" alongside their clinical care. He's the one who shined the University of Florida President's bald head at a baseball game and didn't realize it until afterward.
He's fellowship-trained in hand and microvascular surgery, board certified in orthopaedic surgery, and deeply serious about the work he does with his hands — which, as it turns out, has always been the point.
The person who grew up rebuilding car engines, wiring AC units, and adding rooms to his own house is the same person who chose a surgical specialty that is, above all, a doing specialty. Tangible. Macroscopic and microscopic. Physical. You can fix things with your hands. That is a very good feeling.
and still counting
(it's a long story — see below)
Kid
needles are for patients. ask him about it.
the fishesif you know what that means.
"Dr. Graham treated me with honesty, an easy to understand diagnosis, and an injection of humor to ease my nerves!"
Rear Main Seal
Replaced his own. Not a metaphor.
AC Evaporator Coil
Changed out the coil on his home unit himself.
Home Addition
Built one. With his actual hands.
Carpentry
One of his listed hobbies. Also clearly a lifestyle.
Complex Fracture Reconstruction
The same patience, curiosity, and mechanical aptitude that drives a person to rebuild an engine is what drives a surgeon to reconstruct a shattered wrist with subspecialty hand and upper extremity precision.
The Philosophy
He Fixes Things
the Right Way.
Long before he was a surgeon, Dr. Graham was the person who didn't call a repairman. He learned how things worked, figured out what was wrong, and fixed it himself. That instinct didn't go away when he went to medical school — it became the foundation of how he practices.
Orthopaedic surgery appealed to him precisely because it is a doing specialty. When a patient presents with a problem, a tangible, definitive, macroscopic treatment is available. You can actively participate. You can see and feel the result. That matters to someone who is wired to build and repair things.
This background in mechanical thinking — in understanding function and mechanics before attempting a fix — directly informs how Dr. Graham approaches complex surgical cases. A wrist fracture with ligament involvement isn't just a broken bone. A failed prior surgery isn't just a complication. They're problems with structure, mechanics, and context that need to be understood before they can be solved.
"When I come upon something I don't know how to fix, I take the time to learn the proper function and mechanics of the item. This insight allows me to perform the proper repairs."
— R. David Graham, MD, on fixing things (generally)The Journey
A Life Built
on Doing
Eagle Scout to the operating room. The path was never in question — only the specific ways he'd use his hands along the way.
Montréal, Québec
University of Florida
National champion.†
Summa Cum Laude, Honors Program.‡
Outstanding Senior.§
Morsani College of Medicine
Residency · SIU
& Microvascular Fellowship
Institute
* Division I athlete designation is technically accurate and subject to ongoing debate. † University of Florida won the BCS National Championship with Tim Tebow in 2009. Dr. Graham has the ring. ‡ Graduated summa cum laude from the University of Florida College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Honors Program. § Outstanding Senior Award, Nutritional Sciences — earned alongside the mascot duties and the occasional televised wardrobe malfunction. []
The Formation Years
Two Years as
Albert the Alligator.
Ten Lessons That Stuck.
Before the operating room, there was the stadium. For two years, Dr. Graham was the official University of Florida mascot — spending game days, charity events, hospital visits, and parades inside a seven-foot alligator costume, stepping outside his comfort zone in front of crowds of 90,000. It shaped him more than almost anything else.
"Being Albert was no easy task."
It took months of practice and training to correctly communicate Albert's unique personality. And many times, interacting with the crowd and fans, Dr. Graham found himself well outside his comfort zone — which turned out to be exactly the point.
The Florida Gators won the BCS National Championship with Tim Tebow in 2009.
Dr. Graham has a national championship ring.
He will tell you he was a Division I athlete if given any opportunity.
He also visited patients in Children's Hospitals and VA facilities as Albert — an experience that, in retrospect, previewed exactly what kind of doctor he would become: someone who shows up, makes people feel better, and isn't above making them laugh if that's what they need.
Beyond the OR
A Doctor Who
Shows Up.
Dr. Graham's involvement in organized medicine isn't a line on a résumé. As Speaker of the American Medical Association Medical Student Section — the governing body for all U.S. medical students — he presided over the national assembly, served as American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Resident Assembly Vice Chair overseeing resident leadership across the country, testified before Congress as an American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Congressional Ambassador, and spent years on the ASSH Business of Hand Surgery Committee advocating for the profession.
The through-line — from Eagle Scout to AMA Medical Student Section Speaker to American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Vice Chair to the Jacksonville Beach clinic — is a person who believes that showing up and contributing is how things actually get better. For patients. For the profession. For the community.
That same instinct shapes how he approaches every patient interaction — with the care and attention he'd want his own family to receive.
American Medical Association Medical Student Section Speaker
The Medical Student Section is the governing body representing all medical students in the United States. As Speaker, Dr. Graham presided over the biannual national assembly — eight convention committees, full parliamentary authority. He was in his last year of medical school.
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Resident Assembly Vice Chair
Served on the executive committee of the resident leadership body of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, overseeing special projects and representing residents nationally.
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Congressional Ambassador
Directly engaged with Members of Congress on healthcare and orthopaedic policy. Developed sustained advocacy relationships. One of the few residents in the country doing this level of policy work.
Eagle Scout
The highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouts of America. The beginning of a life of service, leadership, and always being prepared — including, eventually, for a wardrobe malfunction on national television.
When He's Not Operating
Jacksonville Beach
Is Home.
Dr. Graham didn't land here by accident. The beach, the outdoors, the community — this is where he chose to build his life and his practice.
Devoted Husband & Father
Dr. Graham describes himself first as a devoted husband and father. He took the summer of 2020 off — in the middle of a global pandemic and fresh out of fellowship — to travel with his family and settle in Jacksonville before starting at JOI. That order of priorities has not changed.
Hunter · The Kids Come Too
Dr. Graham is an avid hunter who enjoys taking his children along — including gator hunting, which is perhaps the most on-brand hobby imaginable for a former University of Florida Gator mascot who now operates in Jacksonville Beach. He has not been asked to comment on this irony.
Fishing, BBQ & Gator Football
His listed hobbies are spending time with family, BBQ'ing, carpentry, fishing, and all things Gator athletics — which is a perfect summary of Jacksonville Beach, built into one surgeon. The carpentry and the fishing aren't just hobbies. They're the same instinct as the surgery: do things with your hands, do them well, and enjoy the result.
The Part He Doesn't Always Mention
Two Years in
Montréal.
Between earning his Eagle Scout and arriving at the University of Florida, Dr. Graham spent two years on a self-financed voluntary mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Montréal, Québec, Canada. He volunteered weekly with community organizations, worked across multiple languages, and engaged with people across a broad range of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.
He doesn't lead with this. But it explains a great deal about how he approaches patients — with genuine curiosity about who they are as people, patience for the ones who take some warming up, and the conviction that showing up and serving matters more than making it look effortless.
The People Around Him
A Surgeon Is Only as Good
as His Team.
This is literally true. The clinical team at JOI Jacksonville Beach is one of the strongest he's worked with — and they're a direct part of why his patients do as well as they do.
— photo coming soon —
John works alongside Dr. Graham as a full clinical partner — seeing patients, assisting in surgery, and administering local anesthesia for in-office procedures. When patients ask who they'll see at their visits, the honest answer is: sometimes Dr. Graham, sometimes John, and always a team that talks to each other. Every treatment plan is guided by Dr. Graham.
— photo coming soon —
Before joining the JOI team, Mickey worked with the Philadelphia Phillies organization. That background is a genuine differentiator for athlete patients — especially those with acute injuries, return-to-sport concerns, or sport-specific rehabilitation needs. Mickey understands what it means to need your body to perform.
— photo coming soon —
Kali is frequently the first person a patient speaks to — setting the tone for everything that follows. The warmth and efficiency that patients experience from the moment they call or walk in starts with Kali. That first impression matters, and Dr. Graham pays attention to it.
Patient Experiences
In Their Own Words
“Dr Graham performed an elbow replacement in October 2025, with wonderful results, pain relief! He has great bedside manner. I would highly recommend Dr Graham!”
“I highly recommend Dr. Graham. He performed surgery on my elbow (ulna break and displaced). He is very knowledgable, friendly and explained the surgery and recovery process in a caring manner.”
“Dr. Graham basically made me a new thumb. After a freak accident playing ultimate frisbee in September of 2022, the lower joint on my left hand needed to be reconstructed. I had never broken anything in my life.”
“The surgery was a very successful and, on the evening after the procedure, Dr. Graham took the time to call me to see how I was doing. In all our meetings Dr. Graham answered my questions and was very polite. I would highly recommend Dr. Graham!”
Common Questions