Tippecanoe Thanks Lindley Too

It's appropriate that Dr. Lindley Wagner's hobby is playing percussion instruments, because during his 36-year medical career he's hardly missed a beat. His tempo has been fast and steady as he's juggled numerous responsibilities.

Dr. Wagner's tenure with the School of Medicine began as a medical student (Class of '59), resident and a fellow in gastroenterology. He went on to a career as a clinical instructor with the School and as a gastroenterologist practicing in Lafayette.

After Dr. Wagner served on a subcommittee of the Governor's Commission on Medical Education in 1969, he was encouraged to apply for the directorship of the Lafayette Center for Medical Education. He was awarded the post and in 1970 began the program with six first-year students. It expanded in 1980, adding the second-year curriculum, with 16 students in each class. From the beginning, Dr. Wagner believed students should learn clinical skills early in their education. At first, his students learned history taking and diagnosis skills by interviewing his own private practice patients. Later, volunteer physicians and the local hospitals helped provide patients. Now, students attend patient rounds once a week at the Indiana Veterans Home in Lafayette.

Citizens living in and around Tippecanoe County have also benefitted from Dr. Wagner's pioneering approach to health care. Whenever the Purdue University football team draws crowds to its stadium, fans needing emergency medical care are treated through a medical response program created by Dr. Wagner. The Tippecanoe County emergency medical service and the Lafayette Crisis Center are also his products. One of his biggest accomplishments, however, was to coordinate all the continuing medical education (CME) courses offered for local physicians, which led to his appointment as director of CME at both Lafayette hospitals and to his creation of the Lafayette Medical Education Foundation.

His secret to success seems to be his ability to evaluate a problem or program and develop ways to improve the situation. Dr. Wagner doesn't disagree, and he credits his upbringing. "With seven kids in my family, there was always a job for everyone," he says. "In school, I continued to be active and involved. Fortunately, my teachers recognized my leadership abilities and helped me develop them further."

And so this part-time percussionist, full-time physician and educator has been more of a conductor than a member of the band during his career. He retired on March 31 and was honored by friends and colleagues at a retirement dinner. Now his seven-year-old granddaughter wants to teach him to play the piano. It should make for a great encore in the life of Lindley Wagner.