The roots of Pete Iwen’s teaching styles lay in a triangle of influences from his upbringing in Arthur, N.D., a small farming community about 30 minutes northwest of Fargo.
Dr. Iwen’s high school graduation class consisted of only 36 students with many as friends since elementary school. In this small school atmosphere, Dr. Iwen saw time and again how teachers interacted individually with students to help them understand concepts, using whatever approach was needed to get the message across.
On April 25, Dr. Iwen will be honored with an Outstanding Teacher Award for 2006 during the chancellor’s annual faculty meeting.
As a descendant of three generations of pharmacists – father, grandfather and great grandfather – science was in Dr. Iwen’s blood. He particularly remembers his grandfather’s appreciation of the natural environment during “nature walks” as a young child. He also recalls watching his father compound solutions and his explanation of the mysterious properties of all those powders and liquids that were used.
A third influence was his association with the Good Samaritan Home for the Elderly in Arthur. His hometown was the birthplace of the first Good Samaritan Home in the United States. This facility grew into a franchise that became a template for the first generation of professional nursing home facilities in America. His mom was director of nursing at the Arthur facility and Dr. Iwen spent many hours interacting with the residents. This activity from childhood to young adult instilled in him an enjoyment of listening to stories and life lessons from the elderly.
Dr. Iwen learned early that — with a little determination — no one is too young or too old to learn – a fact Dr. Iwen himself proved as a “non-traditional” student who worked fulltime and raised a family while completing both his master’s degree and doctorate.
“Many students do not have much of a background in microbiology when they come into my classroom,” Dr. Iwen said. “Some see this class as a ticket they need to punch on the curriculum and they just want to get the credits completed. My goal is to give them a genuine appreciation for microbiology. I try to instill in the students the fact that we eat, sleep and live microbiology and that they need to understand that microbes directly impact their everyday lives.
“I certainly try to inject humor in my classroom – no subject needs to be serious every minute. I want students to leave my class not necessarily memorizing a bunch of facts and trivia, but gaining the knowledge to be able to find the facts necessary to care for their patients. Although there are numerous interesting historical facts about microbiology, I try to keep the learning process fluid since many of the fundamentals of microbiology are constantly changing.”
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“Pete Iwen teaches at several levels, including medical, pharmacy, physician assistant, medical technology students; pathology residents and residents and fellows in the section of infectious diseases in internal medicine,” said Samuel Cohen, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the department of pathology and microbiology. “Pete consistently prepares materials targeted at the level of student he is teaching. This requires extraordinary effort given the range of people he instructs.
“Pete’s abilities in education have also been noted by individuals nationally in the microbiology field, as well as more recently in bioterrorism preparedness. He has developed several continuing education activities, including computer-based programs. He was one of the individuals instrumental in preparing the education materials on bioterrorism preparedness that are widely utilized in clinical laboratories nationwide.”
In fact, when UNMC was awarded the Bioterrorism/Public Health Emergency Curricular Enhancement Grant, Dr. Iwen provided extensive content expertise in the development of three of the eight course modules, including the content on surveillance, epidemiological investigation, bacterial and viral agents.
“Over the years, UNMC has given me many chances to better myself and to grow professionally,” Dr. Iwen said. “The concept of engaging in a life-long learning process is something I have tried to live up to. Being a student myself just a few years ago while working on my doctorate helps me to remember how challenging student life can be. I believe this gives me a unique prospective in my interaction with the students.
“It is human nature for students to moan and groan about how tough course work can be. However, I like to remind the student that if studying medicine were easy, everybody would be doing it. UNMC students are learning to become professionals in some of the premier careers in the world. I want students to recognize me as more than a teacher – a mentor and counselor as well. I want them to succeed and will do what I can to assist them understand how a general concept of microbiology will help them in the future.”
Dr. Iwen has lived about three miles from campus ever since he began working at UNMC. He has been married to his wife Bev for almost 30 years and has raised four children. He walks to campus with the determination of the proverbial mailman – neither rain, sleet, snow, heat nor other inclement weather make him drive his car. His daily walks remain a source of exercise, mental energy and reflection.
“On the way to work, I think about my activities for the day and make many mental notes,” Dr. Iwen said. “I do not wear headsets because I love listening to the natural sounds and concentrating on the activities that are going on around me. On the way home, whereas others may jump into a car and in minutes be home still buzzing with the day’s stress, I’ve had the opportunity to decompress and enter my home ready to shift gears and enjoy my family.
“I try to teach my students that no matter your chosen profession, you need to have balance in your life. UNMC has given my life stability that allows me to maintain a great balance of family life with my professional career. Teaching is a rewarding experience and it’s a wonderful feeling to know that by just being myself, I have had the opportunity to not only help a student learn, but have also gained a colleague that I can interact with in the future.”