Peter Coggan, Rural News Participant

Peter Coggan, M.D.
Physician, Chief  Academic Officer (ret.)

Dr. Coggan received his medical degree from the University of London (England) in 1969 and a master’s degree in Medical Education from the University of Southern California in 1990. He is an experienced educator and administrator who has been director of a regional medical student teaching program while at the University of Washington, an assistant and then Associate Dean for Medical Education at the University of California – Irvine, an Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and the founding Chief Academic Officer at Trinity Health System.

While medical student education was his focus early in his career, he subsequently transitioned to graduate medical education (GME). His roles in GME include Director of Medical Education at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit where he had responsibility for a large house staff of more than 600 residents and fellows, and coordination of clinical teaching programs for 500 medical students annually. Subsequently he was recruited to the role of President and CEO of Grand Rapids Medical Education Partners (GRMEP). This organization, working closely with the new Michigan State University campus in Grand Rapids, was responsible for 16 residency and fellowship programs, a large continuing medical education program, and clinical placements for MSU medical students and other health professions students. During his tenure in Grand Rapids he held a faculty appointment at MSU as Professor of Family Medicine and was also Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education.

In 2013, Dr Coggan was appointed as the founding Chief Academic Officer for Trinity Health, one of the largest health systems in the US with more than 90 hospitals and clinical facilities in 21 states. There he established corporate level support for the system’s residency programs; a systemwide accredited Continuing Medical Education program, and corporate oversight of research conducted within the Trinity Health system.

Dr. Coggan is a family physician who has been active in his specialty’s academic professional organization – the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM). 1990 he was elected to the STFM Board of Directors as Member at Large and in 1994 received the STFM Recognition Award for service to the organization.  He served as a board member of the STFM Foundation for eight years and completed a two-year term as President of the Foundation.

Dr. Coggan’s national activities also include appointment to several committees of the National Board of Medical Examiners and as Western Regional GEA representative to the Association of American Medical Colleges.  In 1998, he was appointed as a consultant to the Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME – a Congressionally mandated advisory group) and is co-author of the 13th Report to Congress – “Physicians for a Changing Health Care Environment”. He has been a Board member of the Alliance of Independent Academic Medical Centers and was elected to a two-year term as its President.  In 2011, received the Ethel Weinberg award for contributions to the organization. In 2014 he completed a six-year term as a member of the Board of Directors of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education.

Upon retirement to Washington State from his full-time position at Trinity Health, Dr.Coggan joined the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education as a part time member of their field staff, conducting accreditation site visits to ensure quality education for physicians in specialty training programs in the US and internationally. He retired from this position in 2017 to spend more time with his family and enjoy boating in the San Juan Islands.