B. James McCallum MD, FACP

In this executive leadership role, he provides strategic leadership and clinical oversight for the medical staff and health care services that support Veterans across a 36-county region spanning the Upstate, Midlands, and Pee Dee areas of South Carolina. He is responsible for planning, organizing, and refining the comprehensive delivery of care to ensure Veterans receive high-quality, patient-centered medical services.

Prior to this appointment, Dr. McCallum served as the Associate Chief of Staff for Education beginning in 2015. In that role, he provided clinical oversight of the Columbia VA’s Academic Affiliations programs and played a key role in the development and mentorship of residents, fellows, and trainees within the Graduate Medical Education program. His leadership strengthened partnerships with academic institutions while ensuring a strong culture of clinical excellence, research, and professional development.

A proud son of a Vietnam Veteran, Dr. McCallum began his VA career in 2004 as the Academic Hospitalist for the William Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Medical Center’s Department of Inpatient Medicine after completing his Internal Medicine residency at Palmetto Health Richland. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and was elected to the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society the same year he joined VA. In 2007, he became a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and holds clinical faculty appointments with the University of South Carolina School of Medicine and the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Dr. McCallum earned his Doctor of Medicine degree cum laude from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in 2001. He is also a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology.

Throughout his career, Dr. McCallum has contributed extensively to national and local initiatives supporting clinical quality and medical education. He has served on the National Hospitalist Field Advisory Committee, the National Antibiotic Stewardship Task Force, and the National Non-Profit Oversight Board. Locally, he has supported Columbia VA’s Research and Development Committee and Institutional Review Board, and chaired the Office of Academic Affiliations’ David M. Worthen Awards Committee for several years.

A highly respected educator, Dr. McCallum has received numerous teaching honors, including the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Faculty Member of the Year, the Prisma Health Internal Medicine Residency Full-Time Teaching Award, the Prisma Health General Psychiatry Residency Teacher of the Year, the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine Preceptor of the Year, the O’Neill Barrett Excellence in Teaching Award, and the Prisma Health General Internal Medicine Residency Faculty Physician of the Year.

He has also served as a “String of Pearls” Lecturer and spent nine years on the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Alumni Association Board of Directors, including serving as President in 2014. His distinguished service has been recognized with the USC School of Medicine Dean’s Distinguished Service Award in 2013 and the South Carolina Chapter of the American College of Physicians James A. McFarland Award in 2024.

Nationally recognized for his work in the prevention and management of disruptive behavior in clinical environments, Dr. McCallum also serves on the Board of Directors of the Dorn Research Institute and participates on both the Physician Assistant Sub-Committee and the Medical Disciplinary Committee of the South Carolina State Board of Medical Examiners.