Thomas Magnuson, M.D., doesn’t see many patients at his office. Instead, the UNMC assistant professor of psychiatry travels the area to treat patients in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, even their own living room.
Dr. Magnuson is one of a handful of physicians who makes house calls for about 10 percent of his geriatric patients who have physical or psychological disabilities.
“It’s easier to see them at home and it is a helpful teaching tool,” Dr. Magnuson said from his office on the Richard Young Center campus. “People present different in their own home than in a synthetic environment, like a clinic, so it gives you a lot of information in a short time.”
In January, Dr. Magnuson received the Chancellor’s Gold “U” Award for his outstanding care and commitment to geriatric patients and their families.
His goals for each patient, he said, are simple: “To have the best outcome they can hope for.”
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That, however, intrigues Dr. Magnuson, who says combining medicine and psychology was “a good fit” for the boy who grew up near Omaha’s Hanscom Park.
“Meeting these people is incredible,” he said. “It’s a responsibility and privilege that people will tell you things they don’t tell anyone else. You can make a difference in someone’s life so they are feeling better or become more functional. Meeting these people is just fascinating — it’s a new experience everyday. After awhile it becomes like a fabric, woven together by the experiences of all the patients and their families.”
Dr. Magnuson no longer sweats the small stuff — not since he’s diagnosed and treated patients with such mental illness as Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder. “Your life seems tremendously manageable after seeing what some people go through,” he said. “Your own problems don’t seem very big at all. You realize life is pretty fragile and you never know what tomorrow will bring.”
Dr. Magnuson didn’t know taking a psychiatric tech position at the Nebraska Psychiatric Institute in 1984 would lead to a career. At the time, he was finishing his master’s degree in history at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and had no experience in psychiatry. “It was a brave new world,” he said.
As a psych tech or nurse’s aide, Dr. Magnuson spent much of his time with individuals in the inpatient psychiatric unit. “I learned a great deal about a person’s day-to-day experience living with mental illness,” he said. “That has been invaluable to me as a psychiatrist.”
After three years at NPI, he spent two years in a more traditional nurse’s aid position on the Geriatric Rehabilitation Unit on campus. He had even more direct patient contact, handling such tasks as bathing and helping nurses with dressing changes.
“That experience, combined with the later mentorship of Drs. Jane Potter in geriatric medicine and William Burke in geriatric psychiatry, solidified my decision to choose to practice among geriatric patients,” he said.
The influence of Brenda Keller, M.D., an assistant professor in geriatric medicine and Dr. Magnuson’s wife, also played a role. “Her enthusiasm for this population was evident,” he said. “Now I know why.”
Dr. Magnuson graduated with distinction from UNMC’s College of Medicine in 1995, and then completed his residency through the Creighton-Nebraska Department of Psychiatry Program and his geriatric fellowship in the Section of Geriatric Psychiatry.
“Dr. Magnuson practices medicine the old fashioned way – he takes time to care for his patients. Often surprised by the time and care they have been given, patient families are quick to commend Dr. Magnuson for his care and attention to their aging parents,” one nominator said.
“Dr. Magnuson goes above and beyond expectations daily,” said another nominator. “He is one of only a handful of physicians who still makes house-calls on a regular basis. He also is one of a few who does most of his own call-backs when patients call with questions instead of having his nurse / secretary handle it for him. Dr. Magnuson is an outstanding role model and inspiration for the students. He teaches in a very non-threatening manner, is thorough and thoughtful. His insight into mental illness and its treatment is impressive.”
Dr. Magnuson hopes to see a cure one day for Alzheimer’s disease because the most frustrating aspect of his job is “that we can’t cure the continued deterioration,” he said. “Research is ongoing, but it takes time.”
Until then, he will continue to travel to patient’s homes, assisted living facilities, the Douglas County Hospital and nursing homes as far away as Aurora, Osceola and North Bend, to help patients and their families.
The next step is to extend that reach all the way to Valentine, Neb., through telemedicine consultations, he said. “The five or six geriatric psychiatrists in Nebraska are in Omaha and Lincoln so there is a huge need outstate for geriatric psychiatrists,” Dr. Magnuson said.
Besides Dr. Magnuson’s inpatient, outpatient and nursing home clinical duties, he teaches at UNMC and has research interests in rural geriatric psychiatry, nursing home psychiatry and movement disorders in the elderly.
The Omaha native and his wife enjoy spending time with their son Paul, 11, and daughter, Ellen, 9. Dr. Magnuson also enjoys reading, going to movies, visiting minor league ballparks every summer and spending quiet afternoons on his father-in-law’s farm.