Biomedical Sciences Corps wraps up appreciation week

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Chris Drzazgowski
  • 355 Fighter Wing Public Affairs
DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Staff from the Biomedical Sciences Corps ended their appreciation week with a luncheon here Jan. 31.

The purpose of the BSC appreciation week is to promote awareness of the many functions and capabilities between the different corps at the 355th Medical Group.

There are 15 biomedical science career fields practiced among the U.S. Air Force. Ten of them are represented at D-M to include pharmacy, aerospace physiology and bioenvironmental engineering.

Members of the different BSC Air Force Specialty Codes at D-M met with other BSC officers to shadow their line of work from Jan. 28 to Jan. 30.

1st Lt. Sean Dyson, 355th Aerospace Medicine Squadron bioenvironmental engineer, explained how AFSC shadowing is advantageous to the BSC's mission.

"This week allowed us the opportunity to take four to five hours out of the day to visit another duty section to ask questions and see what they do," said Dyson. "Flight commanders and squadron commanders will need to have a pulse on what the other squadrons and sections are responsible for."

Dyson gave an example of a personal experience gained from the appreciation week.

"I learned that the lab tests more than 3,000 specimen samples per month," Dyson said. "I would have never known that their workload was that heavy."

Lt. Col. Theresa Medina, 355th Medical Operations Squadron Commander bioenvironmental engineer, highlighted the cohesion gained between the different corps at D-M after the appreciation week.

"I received some great feedback from the different AFSCs," said Medina. "They gained a much better awareness of what each other's duties are in other functional areas."

Within the BSC it is a rare opportunity to be able to step outside one functional area to another.

"If you work in the pharmacy you never really leave the pharmacy," Medina said. "Even though we all work in the same clinic, you don't really get the opportunity to see what someone else is doing in another section. So not only did we get to know each other, but now we have an awareness of the day to day difficulties that are encountered in different sections. This understanding helps you become more effective at your job."

The BSC participated in a pizza luncheon followed by a game of Jeopardy, which concluded the appreciation week. Some of the topics included were U.S. Air Force history, Arizona history and Biomedical Sciences Corps knowledge.