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Since graduating from the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1977, James H. Brien, DO, FAAP, FPIDS, Colonel, US Army Medical Corps (Retired) has done remarkable work in the profession and for that, he was honored with the Award for Lifetime Achievement in Pediatric Infectious Diseases Education during the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference & Exhibition. Brien is the 20th recipient of the award but the first osteopathic physician to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.

“I was very surprised that I was picked for this award,” said Brien. “The first recipient of this honor was 20 years ago and all of the names since then are people I would consider to be a who’s who in the profession. It’s an honor to receive this.”

Brien was part of the fourth graduating class from TCOM in 1977 and after a distinguished 20-year career in the Army, he began working in the profession in Temple at Baylor Scott White Medical Center.

In 1988, while at Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Dr. Brien began publishing a monthly magazine column called “What’s your diagnosis” in Infectious Disease News. The column was a monthly case presentation that was a popular quiz, that included diagnostic and treatment tips as well for readers. Brien’s column ran for 36 years in print and online, and published over 400 columns.

Brien fondly recalls his time at TCOM, and at the Fort Worth Osteopathic Hospital, where his son, now a Urologist, was born while he was on rotation at the time.

“It was a very austere time and I still have very great memories of TCOM,” said Brien. “TCOM had very high standards and they held us to those. So many people at the school treated us like family, Ray and Edna Stokes deserve a lot of credit for keeping our morale up, and Billie Westbrook was like a mother to all of the students. Most of the people in my class did really well.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Infectious Diseases presents the Lifetime Contribution award to recognize a health professional who has devoted lifetime efforts to the postgraduate education of physicians, specifically those who have participated in the education of members of the AAP, an organization of over 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists.

Brien, who grew up in Calvert, Texas, spent much of his over-20-year military career teaching at the hospital bedside and clinic as a pediatric hospitalist and infectious diseases specialist. During his last five years of active duty, Brien served on the faculty and The Admissions Committee of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine in Bethesda, MD, as well as a member of the National Advisory Child Health and Human Development Council, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services.

Near the end of his active-duty career, he also served as The Pediatric Consultant to The Army Surgeon General, and subsequently The Surgeon General’s Tertiary Care Staff Officer at the Pentagon, Washington, DC. He retired from practice a few years ago and is now an emeritus professor at McLane Children’s Hospital in Temple.

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