Farewell to Dr. Mary Wagner and Congratulations on her Retirement

Congratulations and farewell to Mary Wagner, MD, who will retire at the end of March 2021.

Dr. Wagner started with the University of Minnesota Methodist Hospital Family Medicine Residency in 2001 and was associate program director from 2003-2016. She did a lot of work around the importance of fostering clinician resiliency and preventing burnout and would teach and remind the residents about this often. She's done so many great things and has made a huge impact and helped make the program what it is today. When we asked her what she will miss most, here is what she shared with us:

"Twenty-five years ago, I started at Creekside as a community preceptor and learned that it's really fun to teach smart, eager young physicians. In 2001, I joined the core faculty group at the UMN-Methodist program. I've learned to give (and receive!) feedback, design curriculum, create evaluations, present scholarly work, chair meetings, and deal with problems of space, time, and staffing. Through it all, I've been honored to share the journey with remarkable colleagues in the program and at the department, who've generously given of their expertise and resources. Over time, my initial hunch that I'd enjoy teaching has repeatedly proven true.

"A few things I'll miss include being surrounded by curious, kind people who are smarter than me; mentoring and being kept up to date (both professionally and, more importantly, culturally) by totally cool residents and other learners; Jeremy Springer saying 'Hey, they're doing this new thing (writing objectives, creating courses, staffing a free clinic, starting a rural residency....) Don't you want to be involved?'; and the patients—the incredible honor of being part of their stories.

"I'm excited to see what retirement holds; after a thoroughly planned adulthood, an unscheduled time for spontaneity is appealing—and also a bit intimidating. I'm taking with me the spirit of enthusiastic inquiry, which has been fostered so well in this career. Thank you to all who have been part of this adventure with me."

We thank Dr. Wagner for her years of service and wish her all the best in coming years.