Photo By Tech. Sgt. Ariana Freeman | U.S. Air Force Col. Jim Avery, flight surgeon with 126th Air Refueling Wing poses for...... read more read more
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Illinois— When being asked what some of the most important jobs are, some might say a lawyer, physician, politician or a pilot. For one flight surgeon, he would simply say his job is an occupation just like any other.
Meet Lieutenant Colonel Jim Avery, Chief of Aerospace Medicine of the126th Air Refueling Wing, and flight surgeon with the 126th Medical Group.
These days Avery wears a few hats, which change depending on where in the world you might find him.
“Dr. Avery is the poster for what a guardsman brings to the larger Air Force enterprise,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Troy Compardo, 126th Medical Group commander. “Avery’s military career has a foundation built upon multiple capabilities and expertise from his civilian career.”
Avery’s foundation, however, is not the traditional route some may think. The Ballwin, Missouri native and son of a shoe salesman took his thirst for science to the University of Tennessee, where he would earn his first of many titles; a first-generation medical school graduate. Avery practiced medicine full-time as a civilian for 20 years prior to bringing his knowledge and expertise to the Illinois Air National Guard in 2010, earning his “wings” and the title of flight surgeon four years later.
When serving as a traditional guardsman, Avery provides preventative maintenance and deployment health services by assessing the unit’s members and providing direct patient care.
“We have a need for more coverage in our medical group,” said Avery. “So, in the Guard, we don’t just see flyers. We see everybody, which is great.”
He describes his primary goal as keeping the Airmen of the 126 ARW medically ready to support the global air refueling mission that is anchored around the operations of the KC-135 Stratotanker.
In June, Avery, along with other members of the 126 MDG, took to Naples, Italy for their annual training tour.
“Our job on this trip is to establish the ability to work interoperability and identify places where there are missing links,” said Avery. “This is the time, as opposed to a real-world contingency environment, to identify the gaps and fill them in.”
While in Italy, Avery provided direct patient care for the members on and surrounding the Naval base, clearing multiple backlogs of patients waiting to be seen by a medical provider.
“We were calling patients in who were weeks out from their visit and getting them in sooner,” said Avery. “It allowed for one of the flight surgeons to take three days of leave in which he hadn’t had the chance to do in some time. So, it gave this full-timer a great chance to rest and be with his family.”
During this tour, Avery also pulled from his expertise as a Washington University trained metabolic bone specialist to provide hospital staff, of the U.S. Naval Hospital, a lecture on the primary care of osteoporosis.
“The Navy hospital was very interested in that,” said Avery. “So, I gave a lecture called ‘grand rounds’ where essentially the entire medical staff was invited.”
The lecture included the epidemiology of osteoporosis, diagnosis and treatment of bone disease that was relevant to U.S. Naval medicine.
Avery joined Washington University’s Bone Health Program at the Center for Advanced Medicine in 2011, where he became a board-certified internist.
“I work in the University’s division of bone and mineral diseases where I take care of complicated bone diseases,” said Avery.
Overall, Dr. Avery describes his experience at U.S. Naval Hospital Italy as, “the ability to demonstrate the interoperability of our joint forces in an environment where our nation’s defenders whether Sailors, Soldiers, or Airmen can get consistent and exceptional care. We are showing how the ANG can be a force multiplier across the Department of Defense and Defense Health Agency network.”
When Avery isn’t working as a bone specialist at Wash. U’s Division of Bone and Mineral Diseases, or serving his one weekend a month at his guard unit, he can be found at the 375th Medical Group where he works as a full-time provider on Scott Air Force Base. Much like his job in the Air National Guard, when working with the 375th Medical Group, Avery works within the construct of the Air Force Surgeon General and Air National Guard Medical Service’s standards of providing exceptional service and care to our nation’s defenders.
“During the week, I do the exact same as my traditional flight surgeon job,” said Avery. “I’m Title 5 acting in a civilian role, so I just wear more comfy clothes.”
Avery’s many hats don’t end there. He also supports a corporate health practice with Nestle Purina, a Fortune 500 company that is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. At Nestle, he provides care and services to the executives and corporate pilots of the organization.
“I run their executive wellness programs,” said Avery. “We do physicals, screenings and we also have an on-sight urgent care solely for employees where I work with the full-time Nurse Practitioner.”
Finally, when he’s not seeing patients, Avery is an independent contractor where he serves as an expert witness in medical litigation cases. When called upon, he provides his years of expertise to evaluate the standard of care regarding medical malpractice for cases across the country.
Avery continues to serve in the military because he believes the reward is big, the impact is bigger and there’s no civilian equivalent of what the military flight surgeons do.
“I enjoy all my jobs.” said Avery. “But if you ask me on the street, ‘what do I do?,’ Im a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force.”
| Date Taken: | 08.04.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.04.2024 15:52 |
| Story ID: | 477751 |
| Location: | SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 367 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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