Disclaimer from Dr. Hall:
I’m putting this page on the website only because people keep asking me for my credentials, which I don’t think mean much. There are Harvard-educated MDs and PhDs with impressive credentials who have written reams of nonsense, and there are people like James Randi who didn’t go to college but whose writings are consistently reliable, rigorously researched and based on fact and reason. I hope no one accepts anything I write just because I’m an MD. Writing should be judged on its own merits, not on who wrote it.
Harriet A. Hall, MD
Harriet A.Hall was born July 2, 1945, in St. Louis and grew up in Seattle, Washington. Living in Puyallup, Washington, since 1987, Dr. Hall is married to a retired Air Force officer and has two grown daughters.
- Graduated Roosevelt High School, Seattle, 1962
- Junior Year in Spain, New York University, 1964-5
- Graduated, B.A., magna cum laude, Spanish language and literature, University of Washington, 1966
- Graduated, M.D., University of Washington School of Medicine, 1970
- Completed Rotating “0” internship with rotations through major specialties including internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics and OB-Gyn plus electives such as orthopedics, dermatology, neurology and ENT, David Grant USAF Medical Center, Travis Air Force Base, California, 1970-71
- Licensed to practice in Washington State since 1971
- Family practice residency, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, 1977-79
- Board-certified in family practice 1979
- Aerospace Medicine Primary Course (training to be a flight surgeon), Brooks Air Force Base, Texas, 1979
- Air Force officer 1969-89, various positions at Air Force bases in Spain and in the US, including General Medical Officer, Chief of Aerospace Medicine, Chief of Aeromedical Services, Chief of Clinic Services and Director of Base Medical Services. Retired as a full colonel in 1989
Dr. Hall’s writing career started in 2002; her first article was published in 2003.
- Regular column “The SkepDoc” in Skeptic magazine
- Contributing editor, Skeptic magazine
- Contributing editor, Skeptical Inquirer magazine
- Monthly column “The Health Inspector” in O, The Oprah Magazine from January to June 2010
- One of the editors of The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine
- Science-Based Medicine Blog, editor, one of five founding MDs, author of an article every Tuesday
- Medical Advisor and author of articles on the Quackwatch website
- On the faculty of The Skeptic’s Toolbox annual workshop since August 2009
- A Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and a member of the Executive Council
- Founding fellow and board member emeritus of the Institute for Science in Medicine
- Editorial review board, Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database
- Member of Friends of Science in Medicine (FSM)
In 2010, Dr. Hall was presented with an award for Outstanding Contributions to Science and Skepticism from the Independent Investigations Group.
More information about her career and her life can be found in her book Women Aren’t Supposed to Fly: The Memoirs of a Female Flight Surgeon.