Dr. Shelby K. Bailey was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in July of 1956. While growing up, his family moved several times until arriving in Alabama when he was in grade school. They moved again however, but Dr. Bailey eventually made it back to Birmingham, Alabama after graduating from high school in the Midwest.

Dr. Bailey attended Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, where he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry in 1978. He received his degree in medicine at the University of Alabama in Birmingham in 1983.

Following his medical degree, Dr. Bailey completed a five year residency in General Surgery at Carraway Hospital in Birmingham, finishing this in June of 1988. During this time, Carraway hospital operated a three helicopter emergency transport system and was one of the busiest surgical trauma centers in the entire state. Dr. Bailey has been in private surgical practice in the Shoals area since 1991.

He is board certified by the American Board of Surgery and also a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS). He is a member of the Alabama College of Surgeons and the American College of Phlebology.

When not at work, Dr. Bailey enjoys playing music and working with digital video editing. He is also an instrument rated private pilot and likes to take his wife and/or three children along on trips.