Meet CAPT Jim Dowdy: Commissioned Corps Champion
Today we begin the first of an occasional series on members of the Commissioned Corps, their experiences, memories and advice. First up, Jim Dowdy, MBA, CAPT, USPHS.
 |
| “The ‘power of one’ would be my motto for the Corps,” says Dowdy. “All it takes is one Corps officer to believe in himself/herself and to believe in the mission of the Corps enough to offer advice, direction and counsel and ultimately affect the lives and careers of other officers.” |
Dowdy is Senior Advisor to the Director, NCCDPHP, and also serves as a primary
Commissioned Corps contact with the CDC Office of Commissioned Corps Personnel
for Corps-related issues. In addition, he is a mentor and advisor to over 90
officers within NCCDPHP and sits on Center and Agency promotion boards and
assimilation boards. In addition to these local responsibilities, Dowdy has
often been called upon by the Office of the Surgeon General and the Chief Professional
Officers to serve on various committees, for example, transformation of the
Corps, specialty pay committees and national resolution committees.
“
Anyone who works with Dowdy respects his sound judgment, can-do attitude, and
ability to bring people to a unified decision. Dowdy is open and honest, and
always willing to help colleagues understand and work with a process to avoid
problems and get the best outcome,” says Mike Parvin, MBA, new CMO for
the Coordinating Center for Health Promotion.
“ He always says ‘we are here to serve.' Very inspirational,” says Roberto Ruiz, MPA, Deputy Chief, Program Services Branch.
Path to Public Health
Dowdy was commissioned as a PHS Officer in May 1979. “My appointment and first assignment were mailed to me during April 1979 while living in Augusta, Georgia. My previous four-year tenure as a US Army Captain (Pharmacy Officer) and my Vietnam service at the 5th Field Army Hospital in Bangkok were contributing factors toward a smooth, rapid Corps application process.
“ My first assignment was with the Food and Drug Administration in Rockville, MD. The move from Augusta, Georgia, with my wife and two young sons to the Washington, DC, area was an ominous move. But without a doubt, this was the best decision my family and I have ever made. After 24 years of PHS active duty and four years of active duty in the Army, I am very grateful that I have had the opportunity to be a PHS officer.”
 |
| “Dowdy serves as the Senior Advisor to the Director, NCCDPHP. |
United States Public Health Service Offers Variety
According to Dowdy, his Washington and Rockville public health activities, including OTC drug evaluations with the FDA, provided him validation and a firm basis for his decision to choose a career in the Commissioned Corps. He extols the flexibility of PHS assignments, the tremendous value of the services offered and the quality of the officer coworkers. He highlights three of his assignments:
PHS Regional Office Assignment: Technical Assistance to the Community
“ I spent over eight years working in the Atlanta PHS Region IV Office, as a Special Assistant to the Executive Officer, as the Executive Officer, and eventually, as the Deputy Regional Health Administrator. The practice of public health doesn’t come any finer than that office and the people who support its mission. I observed and worked with PHS officers and civil servants (often very long hours) to provide states and communities with grant dollars and to provide technical assistance in applying those dollars to the public health tasks for which awarded. It was all exciting, rewarding, challenging, fulfilling, valuable, never-to-be forgotten work.”
Hurricane Andrew
“ Secondly, I vividly remember the devastation of Hurricane Andrew and the PHS support function provided by the Secretary and office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH) to the Region IV PHS Office. I remember discussions with the Florida Governor’s office and VADM Mason’s office regarding provision of public health staff, housing, grant dollars, and every conceivable type of supply item (food, clothing, water, hygiene products, etc.) for the tens of thousands of hurricane victims who were homeless. We established a PHS support function at the FEMA Regional Operations Center (ROC) in Atlanta and staffed it 24/7 for over 6 months.” According to Dowdy, PHS officers participated from all over the country with the regional center but also with the operation at FEMA headquarters in Miami which operated in excess of one year. PHS commissioned officers worked on 12, 14, 16, or 18 hour per day shifts.
 |
| Dowdy and Tracy Ransome work together on the Extramural Program Management Team. “Life’s journeys are exciting and taken to discover what you don’t know, to accomplish what is yet to be accomplished, or to meet those who you have yet to meet,” he says. |
“ I remember having dinner at 12 or 1 o’clock in the morning with other officers, such as Frank Young, MD, PHD, RADM USPHS (former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration), Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness and the National Disaster Medical System, who had just completed their work shifts. I remember the difficulties of the public health issues that had to be addressed-housing for thousands of people, sanitation, potable drinking water, mental health, animal control (thousands of pets were without homes), tent cities, crime and drugs in these tent cities, and not the least of which was the direct patient care required for thousands of injured people and cared for through the Disaster Medical Assistance Teams. Many additional injuries occurred after Hurricane Andrew struck, i.e., people breaking bones when falling off houses while trying to remove trees, chainsaw accidents, houses collapsing on individuals, people cutting or injuring themselves on debris, animal bites, etc.”
Pharmacy Student Rotation
Dowdy fondly remembers working to establish the CDC/ATSDR Pharmacy Student Rotation Program in December 1998 with Mercer University Southern School of Pharmacy. Even though there were no resources; he felt strongly that other pharmacists could benefit from being exposed to the mainstream of public health (CDC/ATSDR). So he developed a syllabus for a pharmacy student rotation program, marketed the benefits of these rotations to CIOs, secured their support and oversaw the students.
“ Throughout the years since inception, the program has accepted in excess of 100 students for rotation through various offices at CDC and ATSDR, e.g., the Office on Smoking and Health (NCCDPHP), the Division of Adolescent and School Health (NCCDPHP), the Drug Information Service (NCID) and the Division of Toxicology (ATSDR). Eight students have joined the PHS Commissioned Corps during the life of the rotation program and the interaction and feedback from the students has been the best part. I personally have had mentors and others who offered me a helping hand during my career development and I don’t hesitate to offer similar assistance to others, especially students,” says Dowdy. He recalls one student who, during a five-week rotation through the Office on Smoking and Health, quite enthusiastically participated in high-level government meetings concerning the state tobacco settlements. Upon graduation, she joined the PHS Commissioned Corps.
The Uniform
Dowdy views the uniform as a positive, unifying feature of the Commissioned Corps. He fondly recalls that on occassions it even forms bonds with strangers.
“ Without question, the uniform is a symbol of great pride and distinction for me. It is a testimony to all PHS officers and to the people whom we serve; people who invariably speak to me and offer warm conversation simply because they see the uniform. On one occasion, while attending a COA Annual Conference in San Francisco, I took the city bus several times from the convention hotel to my hotel. The bus took a route through Chinatown and, not once, but EVERY time I took that bus to and from the convention center, someone would introduce himself or herself. Often the person did not speak English but would rise from their seat to shake my hand.
“ On another occasion (here in Atlanta), I was at a restaurant and was ordering when the waitress told me to order whatever I wanted; my bill was being paid by the people sitting in another booth!”
Dowdy also strongly believes that for the Corps to continue to thrive and expand, officers must be readily identifiable to each other and to the public and recognized as peers by sister services. He advocates wearing the uniform full-time.
 |
| “Without question, the uniform is a symbol of great pride and distinction for me,” says Dowdy. “It is a testimony to all PHS officers and to the people whom we serve…” |
Mentors
Dowdy is grateful to his mentors and tries to do the same for younger people now. “I was fortunate in my early Corps career to have a mentor, William Lyons, Executive Officer, PHS Region IV. In addition to his parents, Dowdy credits Lyons with teaching him much. Describing Lyons as a kind, compassionate, wonderful individual with admirable traits of honesty, truthfulness, fairness, he recalls one occasion when the entire payroll for the Regional Office was delayed four or five days and staff became quite upset. “Bill came up with his own solution. He went to the Credit Union and took out a $40,000 personal loan and provided small loans to all the staff (200+ people) that needed funds until the paychecks could be received.”
“As time progressed, Bill retired, and I assumed his position as Executive Officer, albeit his were impossible shoes to fill,” says Dowdy. However, he does try to be a mentor himself and his enthusiasm for the Commissioned Corps has not faltered. “as a PHS Commissioned Corps mentor for the past 10 years, I usually find myself talking more than I should-my enthusiasm concerning the Corps seems to take over. If there are better career opportunities in public health than the Commissioned Corps, I’d really like for someone to enlighten me. The Commissioned Corps is a cadre of professionals who help people, who improve quality of life, who research and discover cures for diseases, who lessen the burden of morbidity, and, who genuinely make a difference in public health!”
Dowdy has a vision for the Commissioned Corps: “to foster an environment that attracts and retains the best, the brightest and most creative officers available; encourages, empowers and utilizes the talents of these individuals to improve the health of the American People; and, to foster an environment that is marked by unparalleled accomplishments built upon a foundation of credible leadership, honest, integrity, and teamwork.”
He believes that communication is key. “I firmly believe that expanded use of electronic communication devices and networks, extended use of mentoring networks, utilization of the CC retirement pools, CPO envisioned messages/discussions, extensive CPO site visits, broadcast e-mails, newsletters, regularly faxed and/or mailed information; and increased meeting, conference and board participation with sister services and educational institutions and professional organizations – these are the cornerstones of communication and subsequently, an improved Commissioned Corps. I believe that visibility through personal contacts with other uniformed services is critical. Likewise, communications with colleges/universities, foundations, and professional organizations are critical to the continued success of the Corps.”
“ The ‘power of one’ would be my motto for the Corps. All it takes is one Corps officer to believe in himself/herself and to believe in the mission of the Corps enough to offer advice, direction and counsel and ultimately affect the lives and careers of other officers.”
Article Appeared in CDC Connects, June 9, 2005.Reproduced with permission.