July 26, 2022

This week’s Up-and-Comer is Dr. Ashley VanDyke, a family physician who also provides obstetrics at Avera Medical Group and physician director of the Avera Medical Group LIGHT program.

Name: Dr. Ashley VanDyke

Age: 39

Hometown: Spencer, Iowa

What brought you to Sioux Falls?

I moved here in 2014 after I completed residency training in Des Moines. Growing up in northwest Iowa, I wanted to find a job where I could stay closer to family. Sioux Falls and Avera were a great fit. Sioux Falls is big enough that it offered plenty of things to do, like restaurants, shopping and more, but it’s still easy to navigate and has a smaller-town feel. Avera’s mission to our community and approach to health care appeals to me. I truly appreciate the fact we prioritize patients and communities in the ever-changing landscape of health care.

What keeps you in Sioux Falls?

I am married and have a young family. Sioux Falls has so much to offer for kids’ activities and still feels small and safe. Given our location and our airport, it makes traveling easy too.

What’s your favorite thing about your job?

I am a family medicine physician, so I provide full-spectrum family medicine — from the cradle to the grave, as some say. It is truly an honor to be invited into families’ lives. I get to be part of their drive for overall wellness, working through illnesses or injuries. And I even get to celebrate with them when I deliver their baby! Every day is different, but that’s what keeps it new and exciting.

How did you get connected to your industry?

I have always wanted to be a physician, and thankfully, things worked out. Recently, I became the physician director for Avera’s provider wellness program, LIGHT. My role in the program is to support our providers and to implement ways to improve their lives. I hope I can help them find professional fulfillment and avoid workplace burnout. Over the last couple years in the face of the pandemic, I feel our work as physicians and providers has become more important than ever. I am looking forward to this opportunity.

Describe Avera in three words.

Evolving, rewarding, mission.

What is something someone might be surprised to learn about you?

I love doing jigsaw puzzles. My family jokes because they know that when I am doing a puzzle, this is an independent activity for me, and I often don’t let them help. It is my way to wind down and relax but also see progress and achievement in a task.

What’s your favorite way to give back to your community?

I think my approach to giving back to my community is in the work I do and the interactions I make with others. Life is hard and seemingly is not getting easier. I think if we all extend a little more grace and kindness to others, that would go really far. When my patients enter my exam rooms, I want them to feel welcomed — just as they are. I want them to know I am trying to understand the challenges they may be facing, and together we can try to help make things just a little bit easier for them.

What’s one business you’d like to see in Sioux Falls that isn’t here now?

I would love to see Ikea come to the area. It seems like there is always something you “need” when walking through that store, and I know I come home with many additional finds.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I will be in Sioux Falls with my family. I fully expect to still be working with Avera. I am sure my kids will be involved in activities and busy with school. I want to keep my focus on work-life integration and, when I can, just slow down. It’s important to take in each milestone and memory, and to enjoy the journey rather than rushing through it.