August 13, 2025

By Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science staff

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Mayo Clinic alumni across the years reflect on their education at Mayo Clinic and how it has impacted them over the years.

Stephen Wisniewski, M.D. (PMR ’06, SPMD ’07) is chair of the Division of Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He shares his experience as a resident and fellow at Mayo Clinic, and his thoughts on how Mayo Clinic values taking the time to focus on teaching and listening to trainees amid patient care.

Mayo really prides itself on an unhurried clinical encounter, with a significant amount of time during patient care visits so the patient can feel heard. We frequently hear, “I have never had someone listen to me like you have,” and “I’ve never had someone do such a thorough physical exam.”

As a resident and then as a fellow, that meant that I usually wasn’t rushed and truly could take significant time listening to the patient, thereby improving my history-taking and physical examination skills. I was also able to take time to discuss cases with my supervising consultants.

The dedication of the consultants I worked with to teaching was remarkable. They would always find time for education before, during and after the clinic day. They would discuss and demonstrate important physical exam findings, review imaging studies and discuss an expanded differential diagnosis. This allowed me to quickly grow and develop as a physician.

I tell medical students interviewing with our residency program that I think that’s one of the things that really stands out about Mayo Clinic training. We have time during the day while we’re seeing patients to go the extra step and review things on a deeper level than if you’re just trying to work through numerous patients and get through your day, so to speak. Those days certainly can happen and of course we have busy times, but we’re really fortunate that this is really something that’s valued, Mayo Clinic-wide..

This and other alumni stories originally appeared in the 2025 issue 1 of Mayo Clinic Alumni Magazine.