My name is Brian Hagan and I was raised in Maine, graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a BA in English Literature, and went to medical school at the University of Vermont.

I spent the 8 years following college working as a carpenter, commercial fisherman, in boat shops, and as an EMT.  I was eventually headed toward a career as a firefighter/paramedic, but then went to medical school to become an ED doctor.

The Directors have described that in order to train here, Residents must be willing to work hard, and have the requisite qualities of kindness and honesty.  I find these to be meaningful and worthy ideals around which to build an educational program.  In addition, I chose Baystate because I was impressed by my mentors who had trained here. There is no shortage of pathology, the Attendings are dedicated to teaching, and the Residents and staff work together to help the seemingly endless flow of people who arrive in our ED.

Finally, I chose Baystate because it offered the possibility to both have a focused education and to raise a family.  I arrived here with my fantastic wife, Jaime, and our 2 sons, and I actually have time to spend with them.  Jaime and I worked hard to find a place to raise our boys, and living outside Springfield has allowed us to focus on the important things like walking them to school, playing in the yard, and building tree forts and chicken coops.  According to our son, Seamus (dingo mutt) and Hattori Hanzo (samurai fish) are content as well.