Dr. Peter McDonnell joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of General Medicine as an Instructor in July, 2020.
Dr. McDonnell grew up on the coast of the Puget Sound in Washington State, where he also attended Seattle University for his undergraduate studies. He received his medical degree at the University of Michigan School of Medicine followed by residency and chief residency in Internal Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Since then he has stayed on at Washington University in the Division of General Medicine.
Dr. McDonnell’s main areas of focus are primary care and resident education. Outside of clinical care, his interest is in population health and panel management as tools to continually improve quality of care. This includes developing tools for electronic medical records to provide useful reports on patient outcomes without creating burdensome documentation requirements for providers. The goal of this research is to enable providers to easily identify areas of strength and weakness, provide metrics for quality improvement projects to address weaknesses, and allow more proactive care of patients by identifying patients with poor outcomes before they present to clinic.
Dr. McDonnell is also involved in developing resident clinic models. Besides still being trainees, residents frequently experience unique challenges to providing primary care such as significant inpatient responsibilities that interrupt continuity and caring for socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Designing clinic structures with these challenges in mind and supporting effective teamwork between residents can help minimize their impact.
Outside of work, Dr. McDonnell enjoys biking, hiking, and board games. He is particularly fond of the riverfront trail and the Missouri Botanical Garden.