Dr. Flaherty received a BS from Tufts University and his MD from Tufts University School of Medicine.  Upon graduation from medical school he entered the Army and completed general surgery residency at Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Augusta, GA and trauma/critical care fellowship at Boston City Hospital/Boston University Medical Center.  He retired from the United States Army after 22 years of service and now lives in El Paso, Texas where he continues service as Medical Director of the Trauma System Support & Consultation Branch of the Joint Trauma System of the Department of War.

Dr. Flaherty is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and maintains membership in the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma and the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma.  He served on the Committee on Trauma of the American College of surgeons at the national level from 2010 to 2016.  He served as a general surgeon during Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Joint Forge.