Michael Abernethy, MD, DRTM
Credentials: Professor Emeritus
EDUCATION
BS: The Ohio State University, Metallurigal Engineering
MS: The Ohio State University, Electrochemistry and Metallurigal Engineering
MD: University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Residency: University of Chicago Medical Center – Chief Aeromedical Resident
DRTM: Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
Michael Abernethy, MD, is a professor emeritus in the BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He retired in 2026 after 34 years with UW Emergency Medicine and UW Health Med Flight.
Dr. Abernethy joined UW in 1992 as a Med Flight physician and emergency department attending. He transitioned to a full-time faculty appointment in 2008 and served as chief flight physician, helping shape Med Flight’s clinical practice, education, and international reputation. His academic interests included helicopter emergency medical services utilization, procedural and behavioral sedation, and emergency airway management.
With more than 30 years of continuous flight experience and thousands of patient transports, Dr. Abernethy became one of the world’s most experienced helicopter flight physicians. A widely recognized educator, he lectured at emergency medicine, EMS, and air medical transport conferences across the United States and internationally, including in Canada, Cuba, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
In addition to his certification in emergency medicine, Dr. Abernethy was named a Faculty and Fellow of Sports and Exercise Medicine by the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. He was the first American to earn a Diploma in Retrieval and Transfer Medicine from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, and later became the first American examiner for its Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care. He was also elected a Fellow of the Faculty of Trauma and Critical Care through the Royal College of Surgeons of England and The ATACC Group. He has also served as a faculty instructor with the United Kingdom-based Anaesthesia, Trauma and Critical Care Group since 2016.
Dr. Abernethy’s varied professional and life experience also included work as an emergency medical technician, steelworker, and metallurgical engineer, as well as service as a military aircrew member and flight surgeon.