“I grew up in the hospital; I was always going to be a doctor,” says Patricia (Tricia) Wessler, MD, associate program director of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)/Riverside Family Medicine (FM) Residency Program, and family physician at Riverside Brentwood Medical Center, Family Medicine Clinic.
Wessler’s mother, a single parent at the time and a neonatal nurse practitioner at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, took Tricia to work when she had no babysitter. Until she was eight, she slept in the residents’ call room.
Wessler earned her Bachelor of Science degree in biology from The College of William & Mary in 2000. She met husband, Jacob, a commissioned officer in the United States Air Force and pediatric hematologist-oncologist, on their first day of medical school at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.
In 2005, Tricia and Jacob were living in Grand Bay, Alabama, and halfway through their residencies, when Hurricane Katrina damaged their residency facilities. Riverside adopted Tricia and she completed her training in Family Medicine at the VCU/Riverside Family residency program in 2007. Tricia returned to the program as a faculty member in 2011.
As associate director of VCU/Riverside FM Residency program, Wessler oversees/teaches resident physicians training in family medicine. She lectures and guides in residents’ patient interactions/care, both in the Brentwood FM clinic and at Riverside Regional Medical Center (RRMC). She writes and supervises rotation curricula, advises/mentors resident physicians, supervises residents during global health rotations/medical brigade trips and sees her own primary-care patients.
“Dr. Wessler is a committed personal physician and an inspiring mentor to our residents,” says Beth A. Klug, MD, MS, FAAFP, program director of Riverside/VCU FM Residency Program. “Her exceptional leadership and unwavering pursuit of excellence set the standard for our faculty.”
From prenatal care to hospice/palliative care, Brentwood residents train in nursing home care, home visits and hospital patient rounds. As full-spectrum family medicine specialists, these doctors know patients’ backgrounds, social situations, griefs, successes, family members names, sibling dynamics, etc.
“There’s that whole social determinant of health that makes a difference in how you receive care,” Wessler says.
One week every few months, Wessler oversees hospital residents’ service, seeing patients with interns, second-year and third-year residents. “My job is to train residents to get through family medicine, take their board exam and be board-certified family medicine doctors,” she says.
“Dr. Wessler holds resident physicians to high standards in medical knowledge, procedural skill and professionalism,” says Kristina Silverman CMP, administrative assistant, of Brentwood FM Residency. “She challenges them to grow continually and dig deep to make diagnoses and treatment plans.”
Among her responsibilities, Wessler tracks residents’ schedules and adjusts to accommodate people’s needs and training. She manages the faculty development series, curating learning opportunities to stay current and engaged.
“I try to keep people grounded and avoid burnout,” she says. “Our profession expects 24/7 engagement. I work hard for my own work/life balance of family, interests and work.”
In 2003, one of Wessler’s medical school rotations was in Russia with physician Patch Adams and 40 clowns from around the world. “We went to orphanages, hospitals, rehab facilities and homes,” Wessler recalls. That trip sparked her continued efforts in global health.
Annually, she leads a Medical Brigade group on a one-week clinic in San Jose, Costa Rica, serving Nicaraguan refugees. She takes some of her residents, medical and college students with her as a rotation.
“She gives me the space to find my confidence and develop important skills on my own, always providing unconditional support,” says Julia Carter, Christopher Newport University (CNU) student, and vice president of the Hampton Roads chapter of The Simple Sunflower and Medical Brigade member.
“The experience gives so much perspective,” Wessler says. “I want to be the doctor who treats people no one else will.”
Out of the nature of residency programs, VCU/Riverside FM Residency serves people with no or low insurance (Medicare/Medicaid/Tricare). “I find it stimulating and interesting and incredibly rewarding to be able to offer our patients care,” Wessler says.
Wessler is president of the Hampton Roads chapter of The Simple Sunflower. With a large volunteer base including CNU and W & M students, floral donations and vases from weddings, funerals and churches are delivered to RRMC’s volunteer services department, where they are reconstructed into smaller bouquets by Simple Sunflower volunteers and distributed to patients.
Wessler is head coach of Girls on the Run at Trinity Lutheran School, where daughter, Ellie (11), attends. The program teaches confidence, wellness, healthy body image and gets the third through fifth grade girls moving. She also volunteers alongside Graham Thatcher, school athletic director; Tina Melusky, her Trinity Lutheran Church pastor; Angel Cottom, science teacher; and her daughter, Abbi (16).
An avid gardener, knitter, walker, cook and baker, Wessler also loves to travel. “We visited France this past year, and did an overnight train trip to Chicago in a sleeper car,” she says.
“We love it in Hampton Roads,” Wessler says. “It’s so concentrated with active and ex-military who understand military service life, are well traveled and cultured.”
As for her medical career, Wessler says, “When you feel you’ve learned everything you need to know to practice medicine, you are officially too dangerous to practice medicine. You are a lifelong learner.”
TO THE POINT:
Patricia Wessler, MD, associate program director
VCU/Riverside FM Residency Program
Address: 10510 Jefferson Ave., Newport News, Va 23601
Phone: 757-594-3800
Email: patricia.wessler@rivhs.com
