One of Towson University’s own is now chief of Saint Agnes Hospital’s Department of Emergency Medicine.
Towson alumnus Pascal G. Crosley, M.D. ’93, rejoins his childhood community armed with a wealth of experience and enthusiasm. He sits down to talk about how his experience at Towson helps him lead one of Baltimore’s busiest emergency departments.
Crosley ’93 returns home to Baltimore to lead one of the city’s busiest emergency departments.
You have a B.S. in biology and biomedical sciences from Towson University. Had you always planned to transition that education into a career in medicine?
Yes, I always planned to be a doctor. It is a legacy. My father is a physician. He is a nephrologist by trade and an internist. I also have several uncles who are physicians.
You were most recently practicing in Georgia. What brings you back to Maryland?
I worked as a vice president in practice development for a national group of emergency physicians called California Emergency Physicians America (CEPA) and had been a medical director in Georgia for seven years. We came upon this opportunity at St. Agnes Hospital, and since it’s close to my hometown, I was interested. My mother had been to Saint Agnes before, so I was somewhat aware of their work. As discussions progressed, it became clear that the hospital and I had a mutual interest in my chairing this department, and I had a strong desire to come back home.
How would you describe the experience at St. Agnes so far?
There is some very strong work being done here. I enjoy the patient population and the mix of patients, as well as the people that work here. It is hard work, of course, but I have a strong team of people taking great care of patients. I am able to interact with all different types of people and be able to bring medical care to people in need. I think that is probably what I like the most. It’s the most rewarding. I am loving my work as we build the department into a first-class emergency department.
Describe a defining moment in your career.
One thing that sticks out in my mind is when I finished residency. You are kind of out of the cocoon of the tutelage of your mentors and you are practicing alone. I was able to use my skills to save a patient’s life. It was a very, very sick patient who needed me to procure all the skills that I had learned since high school and at Towson, medical school, residency and all those trials and tribulations. It came to a point where I had to apply all those skills, and we were able to save that patient. I realized that all the training was for that particular moment. That is when I really felt like the work was well worth the wait.
If you could have lunch with any living person, who would it be and why?
I would say my mom. She keeps me humble, reminds me of my background and gives me unconditional support.
