It’s common for middle school students to begin to consider their possible professions, to try on ideas of veterinarian, race car driver, ballet dancer, astronaut, singer, or doctor. When Scott Hagen, MD, professor in the Division of Critical Care, was growing up in northern Wisconsin, he decided in middle school that he wanted to become a pediatrician. Unlike most middle schoolers, Hagen kept sight of his original idea; he let it eventually hook him and guide his path forward. “For a while I wanted to be a pediatrician,” Hagen said. “Then I wanted to be a pilot. But when I got to the Air Force Academy, I decided I wanted to be a doctor after all. I came to medical school here, UW–Madison, right out of the Air Force Academy in Colorado.”
Hagen spent 20 years in military service, both in the reserves and in active duty. The military supported him through his entire medical education. After earning his MD, he did a residency in pediatrics at a USAF Medical Center in Fairfield, California, and then put in a decade of service as a physician in military hospitals and health centers in Colorado, Alaska, California, and in England.
“There’s no free lunch getting a medical education through the Air Force,” Hagen noted. “But it was nice not having any loans, and I really enjoyed my time in the service, working with young and motivated people.” He met his future wife, Natalie, during this educational odyssey. They have been married 37 years and have three adult children.
An offer from the University of Wisconsin Department of Pediatrics to join the faculty in the Division of Critical Care in 2002 gave Hagen the welcome opportunity to move back the Wisconsin. Then, for three years, 2007 to 2010, he served in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit at Children’s Wisconsin in Milwaukee, before returning to Madison to continue his critical care service with the Department of Pediatrics in the American Family Children’s Hospital.
Hagen had very clear reasons for choosing pediatrics and critical care. “I chose pediatric critical care because I found that I just couldn’t choose one part of the body I wanted to specialize in. I like to say that I am a general practitioner for critically ill children,” Hagen explained. “I gravitated toward pediatric critical care because I could take care of kids with any problem. That is to say, I could take care of the whole child.”
He emphasized the importance of becoming involved with families. “Almost every parent has their child’s best interest in mind,” he said, “and they just need help navigating the decisions they have to make. Working with families was really important to me.”
Late in his career, Hagen became interested in bioethics; he eventually became an ethics consultant for the UW Hospitals and Clinics and the American Family Children’s Hospital in 2017. “Medical ethics really spoke to me,” he explained. “It’s an important part of my medical practice to help families make very hard decisions, with an emphasis on compassion rather than on technology — what’s humane in addition to what’s possible.”
In addition to his clinical work, Hagen focused on improving clinical education. His areas of expertise include didactic education and the use of simulation to teach clinical ethics, global health, and ICU pathophysiology.
He has been honored with many “Top Doctor” and “Top Teacher” awards throughout his career. “The idea of research appealed to me, but I felt that I would have a bigger influence in medicine by training the next generation of physicians,” Hagen recounted. “My impact would be much greater if I taught and mentored people and really enjoyed it — as I have. Also, when you teach, your students push you to really know what you are talking about. You also have to be confident enough to be able to say, I don’t know. It appealed to me to be pushed in that way.”
Hagen expressed deep gratitude for the support of his colleagues in the critical care division and the department throughout his career. “I really appreciate and enjoy working with all the people I’ve had the opportunity to work with and learn from,” he said. “It’s been a privilege to be able to work in such a unique place with such great people.”
Peter Ferrazzano, MD, professor and chief in the Division of Critical Care, called Hagen a “consummate educator and a model leader” who has made immeasurable contributions to the institution and the care of critically ill children.
“As an early medical director of our AFCH PICU, he helped establish most of its foundational systems and guidelines,” Ferrazzano stated. “Through his mentorship and teaching, he has helped to inspire and shape the careers of countless students, trainees, and junior faculty. And in his work as a clinical ethicist, Scott has helped navigate some of the most complex situations encountered in our PICU and throughout UW Health. Scott is just an incredible clinician who has a great ability to connect with patients and families.”
Hagen’s colleague Awni Al-Subu, MD, associate professor, Division of Critical Care, medical director of the PICU and pediatric respiratory care at American Family Children’s Hospital, offered his unqualified praise of Hagen.
“Scott’s pioneering work in establishing and developing our pediatric cardiac critical care service has set new standards of excellence for both UW Health Kids and our division,” Al-Subu said. “His leadership as a medical director locally and in the pediatric simulation world nationally has been nothing short of inspirational. Scott’s commitment to patient care, the well-being of families, and the mentorship of future generations has made a lasting impact. He is recognized as one of the finest pediatricians and pediatric critical care intensivists, admired for his dedication, honesty, and relentless pursuit of the highest standards.
“As my mentor, Scott was always there to support me personally and help me advance my career,” Al-Subu continued. “He extended the same dedication to many other students, trainees, junior, and even mid-level faculty over his career.”
Five Questions for Scott Hagen, MD
How has your career surprised you, compared to how you had expected it to develop when you began?
The clinical work itself didn’t surprise me, but I think I was surprised at how much positive feedback I received about teaching. The other thing was how close-knit the people who work in the pediatric intensive care unit are. Both were very pleasant things to find in medicine.
What do you consider to be your biggest achievement?
I am most proud of the impact I have had on learners, on the next physicians — and being recognized as a mentor and an effective teacher. It was one of the main things that really motivated me every day to come to work, knowing I was going to have an impact on the learners — and on the patients and their families.
What has been your largest obstacle to overcome?
One of the bigger challenges for me was 25 years ago when I left the military. The transition from the kind of medicine we practiced in the military to the kind in an academic medical center was surprisingly challenging. Basically, it was a shift from socialized to private medicine. Things were emphasized differently between them. The cost of medicine can affect families, and in the military, even though many families were not wealthy and some were quite poor, in my experience they never had to worry about their health care. That change was one of the harder things.
What advice would you offer to new physicians just starting out?
I would say, choose to do things that you really enjoy, because everybody works hard. It’s easy to get enamored by your title or your pay, but in the end, you want to do something that gets you excited to get up in the morning. You say to yourself, “I get to go to work!”
Also, it’s important to remember, as I do every day, that it’s a privilege to teach and a privilege to take care of other people’s children. You have to earn the respect of your patients, parents of patients, and your students.
Do you have specific plans for your retirement?
My wife recently retired as a physical therapist from the VA, so I’ll be joining her in retirement. We plan to spend more time with our three grown children, and we love to travel, riding bikes through different countries. I have two hobbies: I’m a woodworker, I like to make furniture, and I did become a pilot, but I fly little planes, not Air Force jets. I love to fly around Wisconsin, it has beautiful seasons and beautiful countryside to see. Giving back to our community is also very important to both of us.
Photo by Bob Gordon/Department of Pediatrics