Rexburg doctor receives prestigious medical award

A doctor in Rexburg is this year’s recipient of the Idaho Academy of Physician Assistants “Supervising Physician of the Year” award.

Dr. Andrew Bradbury was nominated for the annual award and received it on Friday, April 17, 2015. Currently Bradbury works at Brigham Young University’s student health center. He’s also a colonel in the Idaho Army National Guard. With nearly 30 years under his belt in the military, Bradbury says the guard has influenced him a lot.

“It’s taught me not to pre-judge and to be prepared,” said Bradbury. “You can’t take what we have for granted.”

Bradbury’s served four different tours in the Middle East and many of the experiences he had there, had a profound influence on his life.

“We had a situation in Iraq at a little outpost. A man brought a bundle up to the front gate, which was incredibly heroic for him to do, because it looks very dangerous to walk up to the front gate with a wrapped object,” said Bradbury. “It was a baby that a had a very severe infection in the chest. The guards were able to bring him in and we were able to get a helicopter to take the baby to a hospital after we performed some initial care.”

With those kind of experiences, a lot of people in the medical community have respect for Bradbury, and what he’s done abroad and here in the community.

“I’ve worked with physician assistants since the 1980s,” said Bradbury. “We’ve always had a very good team spirited relationship and I like to feel that I’ve made a difference. So it really touched me that I won the award. It meant a lot.”