About Brett Hendel-Paterson

Dr. Brett Hendel-Paterson wears several varied professional hats. He is board-certified in internal medicine, pediatrics, and palliative care. He is a med/peds and palliative care hospitalist at HealthPartners Regions Hospital in St. Paul, MN. He also has tropical medicine training with a CTropMed® from the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (www.astmh.org), where he is a counselor with the clinical group. He is an assistant professor of internal medicine and global health at the University of Minnesota (www.globalhealth.umn.edu), and he is a codirector of the University of Minnesota Global Health Course. His professional passions and interests span medical education, palliative care, health disparities, internal medicine, tropical/travel medicine, and immigrant/refugee health. When he is not attending he is active working with the global health track in the University of Minnesota internal medicine residency. He received his undergraduate degree from Grinnell College, attending the University of Minnesota-Duluth for medical school, and the University of Minnesota for his med/peds residency. Outside work, he spends his time chasing down his two sons in elementary school, enjoying the outdoors, exercising, cooking, and music. His recent diagnosis of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia in the summer of 2013 has required some significant work/life rebalancing and has underscored the importance of caring for patients in an empathic and kind manner in times when many are feeling particularly vulnerable.
Pulling the Welcome Mat Out from Under Our Colleagues
March 1, 2017 |  0
We sat in the living room at a colleague’s home, drinking beer, wine or sparkling water, eating desserts, and talking. Talk started with residents comparing notes about clinical sites or rotations, worries about being prepared for boards, congratulations on fellowship matches, and discussions about trying to decide what to do post-residency. “How are you doing?” […]
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Finding Hope When There Is None
April 12, 2016 |  3
Young and in pain, she came to us from another country for a repair of a fracture. It wasn’t repaired at home because of the complexity of the fracture. There was some question that it may be a pathologic fracture due to a cancer, but nothing definitive. There were two biopsies in-country. One that was […]
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Maintaining Balance
January 6, 2016 |  2
I’m not much for New Year’s resolutions. They seem to be too easy to break and lead to disappointment. But my birthday and New Year’s are close together, and they do provide convenient markers to reflect on life, health, and balance. Every day I round in the hospital I find myself discussing healthy lifestyle habits […]
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The Pendulum
December 10, 2015 |  4
People ask me periodically how I am doing with my Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). Sometimes the question is easy and quick (last hemoglobin was 14.6, WBC 5.8, Platelets 124). Sometimes I am asked how I am balancing work, family, health/illness, etc. This one is harder. People seem to be looking for words of wisdom. I […]
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What do we do when we can do better?
October 20, 2015 |  0
As hospitalists, we talk a lot about improving quality and patient experience. These are two things that are considered points of emphasis for us. Maybe even points of pride when we point out successes. Unfortunately, sometimes we are just not at our best. Sometimes we are not as connected with our patients as we should […]
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The Return of the Death Panel?
September 24, 2015 |  2
Few media flaps have left me as disappointed in us as a country as the vortex we allowed ourselves to be swept into around the “death panel” debate in 2009.   Initially I watched in stunned disbelief, later in anger and frustration as a logical and patient-centered proposal was slandered to the point that it was […]
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