Doctor Farmer is a critical care physician and Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. He serves as Associate Chair for Education, Department of Medicine, and Associate Director for Education, Program in Translational Immunovirology and Biodefense. He served as the Supplements Editor for the journal Critical Care Medicine and is disaster medicine section editor for the European journal Critical Care. He is an editorial board member for other disaster medicine journals as well. In the U.S., Doctor Farmer holds several national leadership positions related to critical care medicine, medical education, and physician certification. He is the editor and author of numerous books related to critical care, education, and disaster medical response. He previously served as Associate Dean, Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education.

Doctor Farmer also serves as a senior health care management expert, assisting academic and other medical centers with strategic planning, personnel management, quality improvement program development, programmatic education initiatives, resource utilization-efficiency, service line development, and fiscal management. He is also recognized as a disaster response planning and education expert, and serves in these areas as well.

Doctor Farmer is a retired Air Force Colonel with over 20 years of military healthcare experience, including as a senior physician executive in the hospital, health plans-insurance, supply chain management, and homeland security sectors. He is also experienced in health care services research, medical preparedness, ICU casualty transport, and medical education. While in the Air Force, Doctor Farmer served as Chief of Inpatient Services at Wilford Hall, the largest Air Force academic medical center, and as Chief Medical Officer for TRICARE Southwest, a multi-state Federal HMO. Doctor Farmer also served as the Special Assistant to the Air Force Surgeon General for Homeland Defense and Medical Preparedness.

Doctor Farmer has received numerous national awards and citations as an internationally recognized educator and leader in critical care medicine. He has also been recognized nationally for his contributions as architect, catalyst, and implementer of the current Department of Defense global critical care casualty transport system.