Catch up with Marcus Torgenson, MD
I was a general surgery resident at the University of Utah from 2003-09. I grew up in southern Utah, attended the University of Utah for undergrad, and went to medical school at Washington University in St. Louis. After four years in the Midwest, my desire to return to the mountains was strong, and I was fortunate to match at Utah when I completed medical school. As has been said in previous updates, despite the fact a couple of decades have passed since I started my intern year, the memories are as clear as if they happened last month. What first comes to mind when I think of my time as a resident are the other residents whom I trained with during my 6-year tenure. We all know how much we rely on our peers during those exciting (and stressful) years, but I was lucky to have a group of supportive co-residents whose camaraderie offered a reprieve from the demands of a general surgery residency. I stay in close contact with many of them and continue to rely on their friendship and advice. In addition, I was fortunate to be trained by a group of talented and knowledgeable attending surgeons who mentored me from a wide-eyed, inexperienced, left-handed intern into the (still left-handed) attending surgeon I am today. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of a lesson learned in residency, and I frequently hear the words of some of those same attendings echoing in my head when I am in the operating room or clinic.
After residency, I joined another University of Utah Surgery graduate (Dr. Phil Kladar) in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho where I have been in private practice as a community general surgeon ever since. I am currently serving as the Chairman of the Department of Surgery and am the Medical Director for our hospital-owned practice. The administrative responsibilities can be “interesting” at times, but what I really enjoy is the surgical management of patients. Fortunately, my practice exposes me to a broad spectrum of general surgery, which is perfect since the variety that comes with general surgery was part of the allure. I like it so much up here, in fact, that I convinced one of my co-residents (and best friends) Dr. Heidi Jackson to move her family to north Idaho as well and join the practice. Between Heidi, Phil, and a number of other Utah graduates in various specialties at our hospital, we spend a lot of time regaling our coworkers with stories from our time at “the U”.
Being a surgeon is great, but time spent with family is where I find true joy and fulfillment. I met my wife, Sara, at the University of Utah when I was an undergrad. We reunited when I was a 3rd-year resident (as a result of a chance encounter on an elevator at the Huntsman Cancer Hospital) and we have been married for 17 years. We have two wonderful children, Caleb (15) and Anna (12). Caleb enjoys cross country and theatre. Dr. Courtney Scaife will be happy to know that Caleb also likes baseball, and (despite the fact he does most everything left-handed) he bats and throws right-handed…likely a direct result of the gift she got him after he was born: a RIGHT-handed baseball glove…a shot across the bow at his left-handed father. She obviously enjoyed operating “backwards” while I was on her service. Anna is the family Swiftie, is in choir, plays the clarinet in the middle school band, and plays the piano. My family and I love the outdoors and have been able to enjoy countless boating/camping/fishing/hiking outings in and around the inland northwest. We definitely do everything we can to take advantage of all this part of the country has to offer.
As I reflect on my time in residency, I can’t help but be overwhelmed by gratitude to the faculty who trained me to be the surgeon I am today and the residents I shared the training experience with. I wish I could list you all by name, but you know who you are, and I hope you also know the profound impact you had on my life. I hope the faculty reading this can take some satisfaction in knowing I am in a place that I love, doing what I love, surrounded by the people I love. I am grateful to the University of Utah for helping make that happen.
