Medical professionals nail six AFSPC awards

By Airman 1st Class Emerald Ralston, 341st Space Wing Public Affairs Office / Published February 09, 2007

MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, MONT. -- Six members of Malmstrom's Medical Group won 2006 Air Force Space Command Air Force Medical Service Awards.

Lt. Col. Edward Farley won the Maj. Gen. Barbara Brannon Nursing Leadership Award; Maj. Troy McGill earned United States Air Force Field Grade Physical Therapist of the Year; 1st Lt. David Ferguson was named Group Practice Manager of the Year; Master Sgt. Aaron Skrok achieved Outstanding Bioenvironmental Engineering Senior Non-commissioned officer of the Year; Airman 1st Class Rebecca Smen took USAF Physical Medicine Apprentice of the Year; and Airman 1st Class Timothy Warden won Public Health Airman of the Year.

Leadership, charisma and forward thinking are among the reasons Colonel Farley won his award.

"I was truly honored to win this award. As a chief nurse it is my privilege to take care of the people that take care of the patients," said Colonel Farley. "To be recognized for doing this well is an incredible compliment. It makes me feel proud that my people consider me a mentor."

Staying on top of new ideas in the practice helped keep his staff ahead of the game in the medical field.

"To keep our nurses and medics up-to-date on the latest trends in the profession, both in the Air Force and in civilian practice, I had to stay engaged and expose my staff to new ideas," Colonel Farley said. "I brought in a lot of students from the universities and taught at the college downtown. The introduction of people fresh from the academic setting and my interaction with other professors ensured that Malmstrom's nursing practice would remain state-of-the-art."

Concise, accurate assessment and treatment strategies helped earn Major McGill the title of Field Grade Physical Therapist of the Year.

"We have strived to rapidly identify the correct treatment based on individual patients' signs and symptoms," said Major McGill. "One of the extremely prevalent problems with providers today in treating patients with spine and joint pain is they are all treated the same. All patients are not the same. If the patients' signs and symptoms can be mechanically assessed and understood, correct treatment can be offered. The patient return-to-duty rate is excellence and we have maintained an outstanding recurrence rate of less than eight percent."

Along with plenty of hard work on his part, Major McGill credits some of his success to his staff.

"It is always nice to be recognized, but the medical group and physical therapy staff here are excellent and they have been very supportive in the various studies and projects I have been involved with," Major McGill said.

Being dedicated and knowledgeable helped earn Lieutenant Ferguson Group Practice Manager of the Year.

"Winning the award was a great tribute to all the doctors, nurses and medical technicians I worked with," said Lieutenant Ferguson. "It was through their hard work that I was able to succeed at my job. Secondly, it was my mentors who showed me how to effectively accomplish my job tasks."

Ensuring safety and knowledge for many members of Team Malmstrom secured Sergeant Skrok Outstanding Bioenvironmental Engineering Senior Non-commissioned Officer of the Year.

"I feel honored that I was selected by my peers to represent the medical group as their SNCO of the year," said Sergeant Skrok. "I feel that everyone in my office won this award, not just me, because we work well as a team. I have some very hard working Airmen and two fine officers who love their jobs and do them well. They make coming to work very enjoyable and my job much easier."

Airman Smen was awarded partially as a result of her leadership ability in taking on the role of non-commissioned officer-in-charge as a senior airman in May.

"My supervisor retired in May and left the operation of the shop to me and Major McGill. I took on all NCOIC duties as well as my own normal duties," said Airman Smen. "I worked hard, but I was just doing my job the way I thought it had to be done."

Support from staff and co-workers helped Airman Smen on the way to getting this award.
"I had lots of help from other NCOs around the clinic as they knew my situation and I thank them all for the support they gave. I work with wonderful people and I would not have been able to do any of what I did without them."

Airman Warden received Public Health Airman of the Year due to outstanding competence on the job and ability to perform duties otherwise completed by an NCO.
"I was truly honored to win this award," said Airman Warden. "It is validation for all the hard work I put in throughout the year. I think the main thing that won the award for me was the fact that I was doing the job of an NCO from the day I arrived here. I was in charge of the deployment medicine program in Public Health and that is usually reserved for a staff sergeant or above."

While going above and beyond in the office, Airman Warden also enjoys doing his part in the community.

"What I'm most proud of is my community involvement. Coaching for the Special Olympics was my favorite out of all that."

"My Airmen are fantastic" said Col. Bradley Herremans, 341st Medical
Group commander. "I credit these awards to the first-line supervisors who take the time to mentor their Airmen and give them the skills to do their jobs.

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