In high school, Dr. Jeanne Gengerke went to the local hospital for “Take Your Daughter To Work Day" — and watched her mom, a labor and delivery nurse, help bring a baby into the world. "From that day on, I admired what my mom did for her profession," she says.
As a microbiology major, Dr. Gengerke worked in a lab during college. She thought about doing research for her career but found lab work too isolating. "I like to interact with people during the day," she says. "I was able to shadow some physicians and saw how they connected with their patients and made a difference for them. And I continued to think about the experience I had at the hospital with my mom, back in high school, and finally realized that medicine was where I belonged.”
Dr. Gengerke says she "fell in love" with ob/gyn during her medical school rotation: "Caring for women during their pregnancies and then delivering their babies was an amazing experience. I also enjoyed the opportunity to provide gynecologic care for women throughout all stages of their lives.”
During residency, Dr. Gengerke had an experience that remains an inspiration to her. “We had a patient who was bleeding heavily after a Cesarean section. We performed many conservative measures to stop the bleeding but could not get it to stop. We performed an emergency hysterectomy, which saved her life,” Dr. Gengerke remembers. “Most of the time, childbirth is uncomplicated -- but occasionally complications can arise, and that’s why we’re there.”
Today, Dr. Gengerke says she enjoys the daily patient interactions the most. "I like the relationships I'm able to form with my patients. I enjoy getting to know them as people, not just as patients," she says. "It’s important to identify with them, to listen to their stories and to put myself in their shoes. The technical skills are important in being a physician, but I think having a good bedside manner is equally important."
Dr. Gengerke says a perfect day off includes time spent with her husband, Todd, an emergency-medicine physician, and their young son. She's an "outdoors person" who likes to run, camp, canoe, and walk their Golden Doodle (Lola). She’s also a "huge Vikings fan!"
She came to Southdale Ob/Gyn after completing residency in 2009. "We provide a very comfortable atmosphere for our patients and provide the highest quality of care," she says. “We always do the right thing for the patient. Knowing that we can make a difference for people — that's why we do what we do."