Page 22 - Demo

Dr. Karen Quaday retired in early 2025, and with that in mind we wanted to highlight her incredible career at Regions Hospital and share some fun memories that have made Dr. Quaday one of our best educators for the EM residency program!Dr. Quaday (aka KQ!) completed her combined residency training in Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine at Henry Ford in Detroit in 1988, and joined the group at Regions in 1988. Over her career at Regions Dr. Quaday has been a clinical superstar both in Emergency Medicine and Palliative Care (Mpls/St Paul Magazine Top Doc 12 times, Minnesota Monthly Top Doc 5 times) a key leader for the operational success of our ED and the hospital (ED Director of Operations since 2011, Hospital Chief of Staff in 2006, Regions Board of Directors 2006-2016), and one of our best educators (Faculty Educator Award 2004 and 2023).To celebrate her career as an educator, here are some representative comments from residents and faculty she has worked with over her career at Regions:I loved working with Dr. Quaday! I knew I had to be on my toes to keep up with the %u201cgames%u201d we played %u2014 estimate the patient%u2019s weight, observe something interesting during physical exam, etc., and I always felt well supported as we were taking care of patients together. She taught me to be a more observant and precise clinician. Thank you Dr. Quaday!Katie Brooks (%u201811)I%u2019ve never walked out of a shift with Karen without learning something. Her experience and insight in the department are invaluable, and she is an outstanding teacher. Karen leads by example, effortlessly extends kindness and compassion to her patients, and works well with everyone. I hope one day I%u2019ll be half as good as she is.Will Bleifuss (%u201824)One of my favorite memories of Dr. Quaday is when she would make us focus on our examination skills on shift. The game consisted of each of us asking the other about a small or obscure exam finding on each patient and see if the other noticed. One day we had a patient who was a chronic meth user (standard day in the ER), and Dr. Quaday asked me what I had noticed about his belt. In true intern fashion, I had not noticed the patient was wearing a belt at all. After going back to see the patient, I noticed that the buckle was on it%u2019s tightest setting. Each of the subsequent buckle holes were worn and the patient had been progressively tightening his belt as he had been losing weight with his stimulant addiction. It was a tiny observation, but Dr. Quaday%u2019s teaching had prompted a brief glimpse into the patient%u2019s personal life with their chronic drug addiction. It was a good reminder that our patients are human and they have lives outside of the ER that we often overlook. Peter Coenen (%u201817)Faculty spotlightKaren Quaday, MD22 Emergency Medicine Residency 2024 Annual Report