Increasing your Knowledge in the Medical Field: Colin Aliff

Colin Aliff is an established figure in the medical community in the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area. He attended medical school in Augusta, Georgia, graduating from the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine in 1997. He moved away to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he completed his residency, focusing on family medicine.

Colin Aliff’s first appointment was as an attending physician at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center is in Fort Gordon, Georgia. While he was there, he worked in the emergency department. Following his position at the Army Medical Center, Colin Aliff took an appointment as the medical director of the emergency department at Washington County Regional Medical Center in Sandersville, Georgia.

He also became the medical director of the Washington County Georgia EMS.

Colin Aliff finds it important to stay at the top of his field by completing further training and certifications. In his time as an attending physician, he maintained certifications in the following: Certified Basic Life Support, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support, and Advanced Trauma Life Support. These certifications ensure that Colin Aliff is always aware of current procedures in emergency care services.

His progress as a physician and dedication to public service helped him to advance to the position of medical director, and Colin Aliff maintains the importance of staying current with all of his certifications as an upper level manager within regional medical centers.

Colin Aliff also uses his medical training to work as a Certified EMT-Tactical provider. He has been doing this since 2007. Not only does it require thorough medical knowledge, it requires the ability to react quickly to sometimes hostile and dangerous situations that extend far beyond typical civilian emergencies. Colin Aliff enjoys the law enforcement element of Tactical-EMT work since tactical paramedics frequently work on law enforcement teams. 

Why Being A Physician is a Great Job: Colin Aliff

Colin Aliff has been a successful attending physician at the Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Fort Gordon, Georgia for the past seven years. In that time, Colin Aliff has seen his career grow in countless directions, and he has been incredibly pleased that he decided to follow his passion for medicine.

Colin Aliff initially thought he would be more interested in pediatrics, and while he does love working with children, he eventually found his way into working at the emergency department of an Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area hospital. Colin Aliff appreciates how mentally challenging work can be in the emergency room. While the pressure can sometimes get to be really intense, Colin Aliff thrives under pressure.

Another thing that can be incredibly attractive about being a physician is that salaries are typically high paying. While Colin Aliff didn’t get into the medical field so that he could make lots of money, he does admit that it’s a major perk of the job.

What really makes Colin Aliff happy about his job is knowing that he is helping so many people to recover from major traumas in their lives.  It is always sad to lose a patient, but knowing that you saved somebody from a situation where they nearly died is priceless. Colin Aliff’s success providing emergency care services has helped him to get his current position as a medical director at a regional medical center.

Through his interest and involvement in medicine and public safety, he has been able to combine his two interests by becoming a Certified EMT-Tactical provider, allowing him to work as a law enforcement officer. Colin Aliff describes working as a tactical provider as similar to being constantly in danger while needing to be available for emergency medical services. It takes the duties of an attending physician to a whole new level since it involves this sometimes threatening and unfamiliar component of law enforcement.

Colin Aliff: What Do EMT-Tactical Providers Do?

When people think of paramedics, they typically associate them as emergency support that comes when someone calls 9-1-1. There are other paramedics involved in more dangerous situations, and these paramedics, such as Colin Aliff, provide emergency medical services to law enforcement groups. For instance, tactical paramedics may work alongside law enforcement agencies such as SWAT teams.

Colin Aliff has been a certified EMT-tactical provider since 2007. Not only does his work require his medical training, but it also requires him to act as a certified law enforcement officer. Law enforcement agencies note how important it is to have trained medical staff as parts of law enforcement teams because it often increases the success of tactical operations.

During emergency situations, Colin Aliff must be able to deal with the fact that there may be very limited resources and supplies to work with, so it requires him to be able to make fast, useful, and efficient decisions about the proper medical care. Perhaps most difficult of all, tactical paramedics such as Colin Aliff must perform their duties despite being in a dangerous and hostile environment.

Colin Aliff, who is an experienced physician that has worked in the emergency department at the Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Fort Gordon, Georgia, began his involvement in tactical operations when he assisted with the Drug Enforcement Agency and major drug trafficking investigations.

During his time as a physician and tactical provider, Colin Aliff has also been a certified peace officer in the state of Georgia, an associate member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and a member of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators.

Among the medical community, there aren’t many physicians who also work as tactical paramedics, so Colin Aliff is definitely unique with his strong medical background and law enforcement training. 

Contributing to Criminal Investigations with Colin Aliff

Not only does Colin Aliff work in the medical field, he has also made significant strides within law enforcement groups. Previously, Colin Aliff worked at the Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Fort Gordon, Georgia, in the emergency department as an attending physician from 2005 to 2012. After that, Colin Aliff took on an upper level management role and became the medical director of the emergency department at the Washington County Regional Medical Center in Sandersville, Georgia. He also became the medical director of the Washington County Georgia EMS.

Colin Aliff became involved with law enforcement when in 2002 he became a certified peace officer in the state of Georgia. While he was working as a peace officer, he helped investigate felony drug offences as a deputy sheriff/investigator. He also worked with the Drug Enforcement Agency when he contributed to cases involving major drug trafficking.

As a doctor, Colin Aliff has the advantage of having more knowledge about prescription drugs and the ways in which people abuse them. This has been greatly beneficial to his work as a peace officer because he brings a unique background to the investigation. Colin Aliff perhaps knows which drugs might be in greater demand and what to look for.

Through his work with law enforcement agencies, Colin Aliff has not only served as a peace officer but has also become members of various law enforcement agencies. Since 2004, Colin Aliff has been a member of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators. The goal of this association is to increase knowledge to combat prescription drug abuse. Since 2007, Colin Aliff has been an associate member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Similar to the challenges of working in the emergency department, Colin Aliff enjoys how challenging criminal investigations can be and how much thinking is required.

Why Does Colin Aliff Thoroughly Enjoy Working in the Medical Field?

Ever since he was a little boy, Colin Aliff wanted to be a doctor. From an early age, he wanted to help people and to be of great use to them when they needed the most medical attention.  After excelling in high school science courses, Colin Aliff went on to study medicine in college and was able to volunteer at the local hospital. It became even more evident to him then how much he wanted to work in a hospital setting to help save people’s lives.

By the end of his junior year in college, Colin Aliff had already taken care of most of the requirements for his medical school application, and was on his way to applying. He got in to the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine and had a great experience. The program was very intensive and challenging, and Colin Aliff really had to push himself to succeed.

It was when he was completing his residency at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Chattanooga, where he specialized in family medicine, that he came to be increasingly passionate about saving people during their moment of need. This steered him back to the emergency department at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Fort Gordon, Georgia.

There were times when Colin Aliff felt completely overwhelmed working as an attending physician in the emergency department. The environment frequently feels chaotic because each case is so different, and you have people who have a variety of conditions from asthma attacks to heart attacks to major traumas like car accidents. It requires a vast knowledge of medical expertise, and Colin Aliff appreciates how intellectually stimulating the work can be.

While he now works as a medical director at a regional medical center, he still finds his daily job to be stimulating and demanding. 

The Importance of Public Safety to Colin Aliff

Even though Colin Aliff has led an established and successful life as an emergency physician at the Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Fort Gordon, Georgia, he has also worked as a certified law enforcement officer. In fact, Colin Aliff’s work as an investigator with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office was what brought Colin Aliff back to Georgia after his brief stint in Tennessee, where he completed his residency.

Throughout his medical career and during his time as an investigator, Colin Aliff has maintained his desire for cooperative efforts towards public safety improvements in Washington County, Georgia.  Colin Aliff currently works in Washington County, at the Washington County Regional Medical Center in Sandersville, Georgia. He hopes to bridge the gap between law enforcement, hospitals, paramedics, firemen, and other government agencies in the county to promote public safety.

Colin Aliff has established his interest in public safety in the past several years as he has joined multiple organizations. He became a member of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators in 2004, and remains an active member. The National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators is a non-profit group that promotes cooperation across multiple players involved in prescription drug industries and law enforcement to inhibit criminal activity related to distribution of prescription drugs. In particular, it fosters relationships between law enforcement, the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, and governmental agencies to deal with the drug trafficking of prescription drugs.

Colin Aliff’s participation in the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators successfully combines his interests in law enforcement, the healthcare field, and public safety. In particular, it addresses his desires to lessen criminal activity related to prescription drug abuse. While it is very important to have law enforcement involved in drug trafficking cases, Colin Aliff believes that it is incredibly important to get healthcare professionals involved and to educate medical personnel about patient risks to prescription drug abuse. 

Colin Aliff Makes Transition From Attending Physician to Medical Director

After seven years working as a successful emergency physician, Colin Aliff is now working as a medical director at two regional medical centers. Previously, Colin Aliff worked at the Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Fort Gordon, Georgia, in the emergency department. His colleagues commented on his superior skills an emergency physician, and this no doubt led to his subsequent positions as medical director.

Currently, Colin Aliff works as the medical director in the emergency department at the Washington County Regional Medical Center in Sandersville Georgia. In addition, he was recently appointed as the medical director for the Washington County Georgia EMS. It was fairly easy for Colin Aliff to make the transition from an emergency physician to a medical director.

Typically, medical directors are former physicians who have worked in hospitals for a number of years. As opposed to working as direct health-care providers, medical directors oversee more of the direction of a medical center. Colin Aliff works in several settings as a medical director. As director of the Washington County Georgia EMS, Colin Aliff is responsible for the quality assurance and the organization and leadership of paramedics and EMTs in Washington County. His training in emergency medicine makes him well suited for this role. 

His role at the Washington County Regional Medical Center is a bit different from his role as medical director at Washington County Georgia EMS. While Colin Aliff is still heavily involved with the paramedics working with the medical center, he is also responsible for helping to effectively manage the regional medical center. Since he already had seven years of experience working as an emergency physician, Colin Aliff was knowledgeable about emergency protocols at medical centers, and he was incredibly well organized and a good communicator, so it was a logical step for him to become a medical director.