The Wagner way: How osteopathic medicine became a tradition in this family

One of the most memorable things Peter Wagner, DO, witnessed that influenced his later medical career happened in the early 1960s in Ohio. A family came to see his father, Walter Peter Wagner, DO, because several of its members were experiencing serious health problems. Dr. Peter Wagner witnessed his father, a family physician, taking them to the hospital. Afterwards, the family stayed at the Wagners’ house for a brief time.  

“Other times, patients stayed with our family because they didn’t have a place to go otherwise,” shares Dr. Peter Wagner.

These acts of kindness stayed with Dr. Peter Wagner, and he did not forget them when he became a physician.

Dr. Peter Wagner’s father, Walter Peter Wagner, DO, graduated in 1954 from A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM) in Kirksville, Missouri, and was the first physician in his family. He married his wife, Bernie, who worked at Lake Terminal Railroad, then transitioned to raising their 10 children. Dr. Peter Wagner was the Wagners’ first son. He graduated from ATSU-KCOM in 1982. Seven of the Wagners’ 10 children became DOs—six graduated from Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-HCOM), while one, Dr. Peter Wagner, graduated from ATSU-KCOM. Three of the 10 siblings are also married to physicians.

The Wagner physicians practice in different specialties, including family medicine (like their father) and orthopedic surgery. Also, other members of the family pursued different roles in health care, including nursing. One of Dr. Peter Wagner’s sisters, Wendy Ohliger, is a nurse practitioner who started a primary care model at CVS. Meanwhile, Dr. Mark Wagner works at urgent care in Southern Ohio Medical Center and is on the board of alumni at OU-HCOM. Dr. Cynthia Ochs, his sister, married Dr. Rudy Ochs, and Dr. Paul Wagner owns a large practice in Michigan, while Dr. Rudy Ochs and Dr. Paul Wagner are county coroners. Dr. Connie Strbich, who graduated from OU-HCOM, owns a family medicine in Florida, while Dr. Steven Strbich practices emergency medicine in Florida.

I talked with Dr. Peter Wagner and his younger brother, Tom Wagner, DO, to learn more about the family’s history.

“Family parties are crazy,” shared Dr. Tom Wagner. “When you get a group of this size together, it is a lot of fun!”

A father’s influence

After attending University Hospital—Richmond Heights for his family medicine residency, Dr. Peter Wanger worked on a Native American reservation, Tohono O’odham, in Arizona. Initially, he was hesitant to go; however, he says that people were so accepting, welcoming and appreciative, and they made him want to give more.

Remembering how kind his own father was as a physician, Dr. Peter Wagner prioritized going out to patients’ homes and group homes while he worked on the reservation.

“It’s a whole different world because you are practicing with family and friends, especially at the Gila River,” he said. “The people I have served there are positive, spiritual, kind and concerned about each other. It’s like a big family.”

During his time in the Indian reservations, Dr. Peter Wagner says he provided a lot of wellness visits, physicals and vaccines. He noticed that diabetes was increasing in the community, a change that he partly attributes to dietary changes, such as eating more processed and fast foods versus home-cooked meals.

Dr. Peter Wagner and his wife, Cindy, later started a practice in Chandler, Arizona, where Cindy was the practice manager. He now strictly does outpatient medicine.

When asked what he would do differently as a medical student or resident, he contemplates, “I’d do a different specialty because of how family medicine has changed. I love private practice, but because of how medicine is now, it is more difficult due to billing and computers.”

Dr. Peter Wagner also served as a physician for the Navy from 2003-2021 and was based in Landstuhl, Germany. There, he met young women and men in the military sent to Germany from Iraq and Afghanistan suffering multiple amputations from war and tried to find ways to help them heal. During these times, he also worked with Marines and higher-ranking officers.

Following the familial path

Along with Dr. Peter Wagner, Tom Wagner, DO, the youngest of the siblings, was also drawn to osteopathic medicine at a young age. When he was growing up, he had several older siblings who were in medical school.

“As a kid, I was their osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMT) dummy, and my siblings would pay me $5 to lay on the dining room table (to practice), so naturally I went into osteopathic medicine,” he said.

Dr. Tom Wagner graduated from OU-HCOM, then attended a family medicine residency at South Pointe Hospital in Ohio in 2001. His first job after finishing residency was on the eastern side of the state. He later realized it was better to be closer to family and that’s when he moved to the Cleveland area. He practiced hospital and ambulatory medicine, but with the emergence of hospitalists, he has become strictly outpatient.

“In family medicine, you are taking care of generations,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about how people come in for family visits and bring their newborns, but I also saw the patient as a newborn. They tell me, ‘You do realize you did the exact same exams 22 years ago.’ It makes you feel like, ‘Oh my gosh,’ and the comment is, ‘You’re not going to retire, are you?’”

He sees the patients’ parents and their grandparents, and he has now seen four generations. “Time passes by so fast,” he said. “It feels like I graduated yesterday and now I’m talking about the end of my career.”

Dr. Tom Wagner says he cherishes the special nature of these longitudinal, multigenerational relationships with patients.

“The first 5-10 minutes is how the family is doing, what is going on, any vacations,” he said. “The conversation before starting the medical portion is therapeutic. These conversations develop after a few years. You become a part of their family. I’ve gotten invited to so many high school graduations, birthdays and funerals.”

Dr. Tom Wagner says when a patient dies, he calls their family and offers condolences. “We end up talking about family members and laugh about the good times.”

He shares the importance of the work-life balance and that he chose family medicine for that reason, as it is unlikely to be called in for surgery at 3 a.m. He notes with joy that his nine other siblings are currently flying from Arizona and Michigan to Kentucky for his nephew’s wedding. Dr. Tom Wager advises other DOs who are seeking a better work-life balance to plan ahead of time and put your travel and other engagements on your calendar.

On his biggest inspiration, Dr. Tom Wagner shares that his siblings have inspired his lifestyle.

“You follow what you see firsthand, and I was seeing all my family members and how they’ve progressed with school, getting married and raising a family,” he said. “My dad passed when I was 13, and my siblings were the ones who guided me.”

He also shares a story of his uncle, Albert Evans, DO, who took over his father’s practice. He was from Middlefield, Ohio, and had served the Amish population. He had also built a birthing center for Amish patients and followed their guidelines, such as having gas lanterns in each room.

“When [Uncle Albert] first started practicing, it felt like he was doing health care delivery to each home by bringing the necessary medical equipment required to accommodate the needs of the Amish community,” said Dr. Tom Wagner, sharing how personable his uncle’s style of practicing medicine was.

Will the pattern continue?

When asked if he hopes his children will go into medicine, Dr. Tom Wagner states, “It’s definitely their choice. When I grew up, never once was I told I had to go into medicine. I was told to do what I enjoyed doing.”

Regardless of whether new generations of the family follow the family tradition of pursuing medicine, Dr. Peter Wagner shares the pride he feels in the service his family has been able to provide to their communities.

“We are not that unique,” says Dr. Peter Wagner. “Those in medicine understand the sacrifices we must make to enter and remain in this field. However, the help we provide to others makes the sacrifices worth it.”

Related reading:

Why physician empathy in health care delivery is so important

The sacrifices women physicians make: Balancing a medical career and family