Page 17 - Regions Annual Report 2021

Emergency Medicine Residency 2021 Annual Report | 17
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Peter Baggenstos, MD
PRIYA SURY, MD, PHD CLASS OF 2019
If you recall, what attracted you to doing your residency training at Regions?
A few factors drew me towards Regions:
• True diversity of patient population. Regions Emergency Department
cares for a real variety of patients across the spectrums of socioeconomic backgrounds, cultures (including many immigrant and refugee groups), and rural and urban communities. Layered over this diversity in the Regions ER patient population are the diverse medical needs of the patients ranging from the sickest trauma and medical conditions to the social issues that often drive patients to the emergency departments. Regions is well-resourced in caring for many different types of patients.
I wanted to learn how to take care of many types of patients well, in order
to be comfortable in any environment after training.
• Faculty. During my medical school rotation in the Regions ER, I felt the
faculty were smart and approachable. The department felt very resident- focused and faculty clearly cared about resident training. This was a very valuable element of training at Regions. I still feel comfortable reaching out to attendings about medical, career, and personal questions and I’m really grateful for the opportunity for life-long mentorship and safety net this affords.
• Curriculum. Each rotation seemed designed to further a necessary competency in Emergency Medicine practice. Busy work was minimal. When something about a rotation wasn’t working, leadership took measures to change it.
• Location. My family is in the Twin Cities and it was important for me to have family and social support during the rigors of training.
Tell us about your leadership role with EPPA surrounding diversity and inclusion work.
I serve as the Director of Health Equity at EPPA. This work stemmed from our group recognizing our responsibility to address the health disparities our patients in the Twin Cities are facing. Some of our efforts include:
• Operationalizing better outcomes for underserved patients
• Gaining a clearer understanding of patient perspectives
• Creating high-impact clinician resources around cultural competency, health equity, and social medicine • Connecting with local and national efforts in these areas
Specific to that role, tell us what you are most passionate about and your plans for the next few years.
I am really proud of the steps my partners and I are willing to take to be the best doctor we can be for ALL patients. Sometimes we think of Emergency Medicine as this adrenaline-soaked trauma-fest but in reality, community emergency medicine is just as often social issues, issues of societal injustice manifesting as physical and mental health needs. The more we can understand about the person in front of us, the more we can do to truly alleviate the suffering that they are going through. I am proud that we are willing to learn about the ways in which the care we provide to different patients is not equal, for a large number of reasons, and willing to take the steps needed to provide excellent care for each and every person who entrusts us.
What else would you like to share about life after residency?
Life since residency has been interesting. A few months into my job with EPPA, COVID hit. That allowed for some opportunities for deeper reflection on our jobs and how we truly are the safety net for so many people when systems are stretched thin. The pandemic has illuminated and exacerbated the many cracks in our healthcare systems and make it clear that many of our status quo operations are not working to optimally serve patients. Patients and clinicians alike are desperate for new solutions that allow for deep care of patients, and it is exciting to imagine and work towards this.
Personally, COVID involved some new local hobbies (Enyioma Okechukwu and I took cross country ski lessons)
and downhill skiing. I spent a lot of time walking down by the river and learning about and nature and how our health connects to nature and our environment. My husband and I continue to live in the Seward neighborhood with our cat, Harold.