Page 11 - Regions Annual Report 2021

Emergency Medicine Residency 2021 Annual Report | 11
FACULTY SPOTLIGHT
Peter Baggenstos, MD
JENNA WILKINSON, MD
If you recall, what attracted you to doing your residency and fellowship training at Regions Hospital?
I decided on emergency medicine pretty late in medical school, so I didn’t have a lot of time to research different away rotations and needed to
take what I could get. I asked the program director at Iowa for help with deciding on where to apply and he mentioned Regions Hospital. He had
a lot of great things to say about the program, and thought I would be a good fit. I really enjoyed my time at the interview and dinner and though I had never been to the Twin Cities before, I thought it would be a nice place to live, so I ranked it number 1. I did my fellowship here because Sam Stellpflug told me to. I joke, but it’s kind of true. I knew I wanted to be in academic medicine and teach, loved toxicology, and there was a spot for me. Everything just worked out.
Congratulations on being named the program director for the HealthPartners Institute Medical Toxicology fellowship! What drew you to that role, and what plans do you have regarding any changes, innovations or growth for the program over the next five years?
Thank you. Sam Stellpflug and I had been talking about it for years
and I started to take on program director roles naturally. It was an easy transition. I have always focused on the education side of the fellowship curriculum. We are constantly changing it to meet the needs of fellows and I hope to make the education more streamlined so that each learner gets a similar experience with each rotation. It’s been hard to do since Kristin Engebretsen and it’s still a big goal of mine.
Congratulations on winning the residency faculty teaching award in 2021! Can you share with us your teaching philosophy, and what you enjoy most about teaching in a residency and fellowship?
Thank you. It was honestly the biggest accomplishment of my career thus far. It means a lot. I think my philosophy is hard to describe. I give the residents a lot of autonomy, but make sure that they don’t hurt anyone and ask them a good amount of questions just to understand their reasoning behind the decisions they make. If they can give logical and evidence-based answers to the questions, I usually let them practice how they want in their second and third years. First years, I sometimes will hide from them if they’re not making decisions just to force them to do so. I’m always there if they really need me, though, and try to let them know that. I’m also really vocal at conferences because if I sense residents have knowledge gaps, I think it’s my job to push them and fill them in a bit. I don’t believe in being quiet to spare their feelings. I think it’s our job to do so.
Anything else you would like to share with us about life, your job, etc.?
I’ll just say that I can’t imagine a better job. I’m really grateful to all who make it fun and rewarding.