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Fred Paustian, M.D., and his wife, Mary Ann |
Teacher. Mentor. Problem solver. Clinician. Master diagnostician. Leader. Competitor.
And, oh yeah, add one more to the list – legend.
After an illustrious career spanning nearly 40 years at UNMC, Dr. Paustian and his wife, Mary Ann “Maisie,” will formally be honored today at a campus celebration in the Durham Outpatient Center atrium at 10:30 a.m.
Thanks to a major gift by two of the Paustians’ very good friends – Ruth and Bill Scott of Omaha – the Paustian name will join the ranks of other UNMC legends by being placed on three major facilities on campus.
The gift from the Scotts will name the two primary amphitheaters in the Michael F. Sorrell Center for Health Science Education after the Paustians – the Frederick F. Paustian, M.D., Amphitheater and the Mary Ann “Maisie” Paustian Amphitheater.
In addition, one-half of a floor in the second research tower will be named the Frederick F. Paustian, M.D., Gastroenterology Research Laboratories.
The Sorrell Center is scheduled for completion in April 2008 and the second research tower should be completed later in 2008 or early 2009.
A 1953 UNMC graduate, Dr. Paustian did his internship, internal medicine residency and gastroenterology fellowship at the Graduate Hospital, University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The fellowship was under the tutelage of the world-renowned H.L. Bockus, M.D.
Dr. Paustian was recruited back to UNMC by Robert Grissom, M.D., chairman of the internal medicine department, to become the first specialty-trained gastroenterologist in Nebraska.
“One of the Omaha internal medicine physicians told me, ‘You’ll never make a living doing GI. There’s not enough business.’ The reality of that thought lasted about two weeks,” he said.
Instead, Dr. Paustian turned gastroenterology into one of UNMC’s leading centers of excellence. He recruited Mike Sorrell, M.D., as one of his GI fellows, and later Rowen Zetterman, M.D. Both are now among the leading experts on liver disease in this country and were key elements in the formation of the liver research unit and liver transplantation team at UNMC under the direction of Dr. Sorrell in 1985. Now, more than 20 years later, UNMC has become one of the top solid-organ transplant programs in the country.
Much of the GI section’s success can be traced directly to Dr. Paustian, who worked tirelessly to build UNMC’s general GI program. A typical workday for Dr. Paustian would begin at 7:30 a.m. and end around midnight. During the day, he would perform his administrative and academic duties for UNMC and then he would spend his evening seeing patients and doing rounds in the hospital.
“Maisie was the backbone of our family,” Dr. Paustian said. “She was a stalwart in terms of support. She maintained the home and took care of our four children, which allowed me to make the commitment to medicine. Dr. Sorrell used to call me a prophylactic because there was no time for people working with me to have a child.”
Dr. Paustian never sought the spotlight. When asked if he would consider becoming a dean of another College of Medicine, he declined. “I enjoy problem solving,” he said, “but I don’t like problems that never end.”
If you ask people who knew him, you’ll find that Dr. Paustian is truly one of the most significant physicians to ever don a white coat at UNMC. The plaudits he received from his peers say it all.
“He was very decisive and had a great leadership style,” said Robert Wigton, M.D., associate dean for graduate medical education in the College of Medicine.
“He didn’t have the title, but he was the guy who knew everybody and could get things done.”
From Jane Potter, M.D., professor and chief of the section of geriatrics & gerontology: “It is unlikely that there has ever been a more clever and high energy teacher and clinician to walk the halls of UNMC.”
From his golfing buddy, Roger Jernstrom, M.D.: “He’s the most decorated physician in the state, but most people aren’t aware of it. He’s been honored by more societies than any physician in the state.”
One of Dr. Paustian’s major accomplishments was working with several other physicians to create the first medical practice plan at UNMC. It was a monumental task that took hundreds of hours of work. But it was instrumental in making UNMC an attractive place for academic-oriented physicians to practice medicine.
“We devised a plan for our physicians to receive a portion of their income from medical practice and to share the balance with their department and the College of Medicine through the dean’s office,” said Randy Ferlic, M.D., a current member of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents and one of the physicians who worked with Dr. Paustian on the medical practice plan. “It was very important, as it was necessary to enable the university to recruit physicians and then reward them for working long hours.
“The night before we finished the plan and got it ready to present to the Board of Regents we were at my house. We worked until about 3 o’clock in the morning, then everyone fell asleep for a couple hours on bean bags. It was a real group effort. I’ll never forget it.”
Dr. Paustian was named assistant professor in 1961, associate professor in 1963 and professor in 1967. From 1980 to 1995, he held the dual post of associate dean for graduate medical education and continuing medical education. Working with students was his passion. “I was interested in seeing students evolve into a finished product that was advantageous to themselves and the state of Nebraska,” he said.
To make a difference, Dr. Paustian became involved in a variety of local and national organizations, including the American College of Physicians, the American Society of Internal Medicine, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the Nebraska Medical Association and the Metropolitan Omaha Medical Society.
For 10 years, he was heavily involved in the assurance of quality in the internal medicine graduate education programs by heading the accreditation process for the programs. He was designated a master in the American College of Physicians, the highest honor awarded members of the college. In 1992, he was named president of MOMS, and two years later, he was elected president of the Nebraska Medical Association.
Earlier this month, Dr. Paustian and four other UNMC physicians were inducted as legends for the former University of Nebraska Hospital, which is now part of The Nebraska Medical Center, UNMC’s hospital partner.
Dr. Paustian was an important bridge between the private practice of medicine and the university. “There were town (private practice physicians) and gown (university physicians) animosities,” he said. “The private practice physicians weren’t excited about an institution funded by state tax dollars siphoning patients from them. We were able to reach an understanding, and now the private practice physicians recognize the value of an academic medical center and vice versa.”
In recent years, Dr. Paustian has battled Parkinson’s disease. He will turn 80 next month but continues to remain active and is still trying to play golf. Maisie, 77, fractured her left hip and suffered a stroke earlier this year. She is now residing in a nursing home but plans to attend today’s celebration at UNMC and hopes to return home in the near future.
During a moment of reflection on his career, Dr. Paustian indicated there have been several opportunities for him to pursue an academic career elsewhere, but all have been deferred. He said, “To me, there has been no greener pasture in which to work than right here at UNMC.”