As a member of PNWU’s inaugural Class of 2012, and founding president of PNWU’s Alumni Association, Dr. Keith Petersen was thrilled to learn about the resurgence of the tightknit alumni group – which now has over 1,300 members.
Now a Core Faculty Member at Madigan Army Medical Center Family Medicine Residency, Dr. Petersen connected to talk about his immediate connection to PNWU, his early days as a pioneering student, and the “people first” PNWU spirit that drives his work.
“To be honest,” laughed Keith Petersen, DO, “sometimes you just don’t know what you don’t know. Looking back, it probably was more adventurous than I knew at the time…”
Reflecting on his first visit to campus in 2008, Dr. Petersen is kind to use the word “small” to describe PNWU. In reality, when he signed on to join the mission-focused programs inaugural class, he was committing to something that had never been done before.
A creation of local community leaders – who had joined together to improve access to quality healthcare for themselves and their Northwest neighbors – PNWU was unproven, under construction, and still unbelievable to some. From day one, however, Dr. Petersen and his pioneering Class of 2012 classmates knew they’d come to the right place.
“PNWU mission is one that all of us bought into,” explains Dr. Petersen. “It is why we came here. Upon arriving, however, it was the people they had hired, and the vision we all shared – a vision of truly putting people first – that really resonated with me.”
Today, Dr. Petersen is passing that “people first” approach on to a new generation of family physicians.
A core faculty member at Madigan Army Medical Center Family Medicine Residency in McChord, WA, Dr. Petersen works to prepare future family physicians to provide comprehensive and continuous primary care in both military or civilian settings. “People and continuity are huge drivers of satisfaction for me,” he explained. “My job offers me both, as I watch residents grow over their three years and go on to provide amazing care to people.”
Reconnecting with PNWU’s Alumni Association, Dr. Petersen was excited to learn more about his alma maters continued growth and catch up with some of the graduates he’d started his journey with.
“I loved the community and the mission of the school,” said Dr. Petersen. “I was part of the first class, and that showed me what an ideal experience could be like. We were able to impact so much of the culture and policy, and it’s amazing to see how PNWU has grown.
“I hope to see the Alumni Association grow into a strong network of PNWU graduates that can help each other and extend their experiences to others,” he added. “Healthcare is hard, long, and ever changing, but if you want to care for others and put people first, you can do that at PNWU.”
