A 96th Medical Group Airman recently won the 2021 Outstanding Family Medicine Resident of the Year award Oct. 22.

The American Osteopathic Foundation and the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians recognized Capt. Joshua Herring for his efforts in the stand-up of Eglin hospital’s new Complementary Alternative Medicine Clinic.

The AOF/ACOF award recognizes osteopathic doctors who distinguish themselves through clinical promise, leadership, their ability to think outside the box and show commitment to their patients and their profession.

"Dr. Herring’s impressive start in the resident program and history of teaching and mentoring made him the best choice to be the chief of our new CAM clinic," said Lt. Col. James Arnold, 96th MDG director of medical education, who nominated Herring for the award.

Herring was instrumental in combining the osteopathic manipulative treatment clinic, which provides manual body manipulation of the spine, bones, muscle and soft tissue, with the acupuncture clinic. He also helped develop and plan the CAM clinic processes and operations. The only 15-month-old clinic had 600 patient encounters under his guidance this past year, according to Arnold.

“Hard work and dedication to something you are passionate about can have rewards beyond the satisfaction of improving a process or helping a patient,” said the 28-year-old Virginia native, who credits the hospital and staff for helping him reach this accomplishment. “The award is an homage to projects I'm working on, as well as the services we provide to our patients.”

Herring’s dedication to his patients and clinical accomplishments did not end there.

Additionally, he researched and found eight proven techniques to improve breastfeeding and latch through the application of gentle osteopathic manipulation to a newborn’s skull, neck, and body. To ensure each newborn receives the same effective treatment, Herring developed a step-by-step method osteopathic doctors assigned to the newborn clinic now follow.