Family legacies of following in a parent’s career footsteps are a source of pride, especially when it involves parents and grown children working together.
Duluth’s Dr. Jeff Engelsgjerd is very proud to have been in a Urology practice with his father Dr. Gerald Engelsgjerd for many years and is now thrilled to have his son Dr. Josh Englesgjerd working with him in the Essentia Urology practice. “It is very special that there have been three generations in Urology, quite a legacy,” said Jeff.
Father, Grandfather, and Mentor Dr. Gerald Engelsgjerd
Gerald was raised in western Nebraska (Alliance). He went to medical school at the University, Nebraska Medical Center and interned at Methodist Hospital in Omaha.
After his internship year, he joined the Navy and served as a corpsman/medic with the Marines for two years, stationed at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California.
Gerald spent a general practice year in Santa Cruz California. He then moved back to Omaha, where he started a general surgery residency.
After one year, he became very interested in the specialty of Urology and then went to Stanford University for his Urology residency, moving to to start his practice with the Duluth Clinic in 1968.
Jeff joined the practice with his dad in 1996 at the Duluth Clinic. “I learned so much by watching my Dad,” said Jeff. “Seeing his calm demeanor, his connection to his patients, and how much he cared for them, was very important to me as I began my own practice.”
Gerald and his wife Judy live at Edgewood in Duluth. “My dad is still a mentor to me to this day,” said Jeff.
Dr. Jeff Engelsgjerd’s Career Path
Jeff graduated from Duluth East High School in 1979 and went on to UMD graduating with a B.S. in Biology in 1983.
He at first had thought he wanted to work in pharmacy and went to the University of Nebraska College of Pharmacy, later deciding to go to medical school at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine Duluth and Minneapolis, where he earned his M.D.
Jeff did his residency in General Surgery and a residency in Urologic Surgery at the University of Nebraska Hospitals and Clinics Omaha. He was also Chief Resident of Urologic Surgery at the University of Nebraska Hospitals and Clinics.
He and his wife Patty decided to come back to Duluth when Jeff began his practice as a staff physician at the Duluth Clinic in 1996, going into the same practice as his dad. The two worked together until his dad’s retirement in 2009.
“We have family here and love Duluth,” he said. “The culture, including theater and music was part of what brought us back. I also had great memories with my kids of teachers I loved that I had at East and that they also went on to have as their teachers.”
Jeff has held several leadership positions at Essentia/Duluth Clinic. For the Clinic he was Section Chair of Urology and a member of the Duluth Clinic Board of Directors.
At Essentia, he has held past positions as Chief of Staff of Essentia Health Duluth, Chair of the Credentials Committee, Chair of Physician Compensation, and Physician Lead for Physician and Provider Compensation.
He is currently Chair of the Section of Urology for Essentia East and a member of the Surgery Essentia Medical Group “I love the great variety in my job. I enjoy getting to know patients and the continuity of care,” Jeff explained. “And our group works so well together. We bounce things off each other and discuss cases.”
“I was honored when Josh chose Urology and decided to come home to practice with me. We work together in both the Clinic and operating room. To have him and his family back in Duluth is wonderful,” he noted.
Career Path for Dr. Josh Englesgjerd
Josh went to St. Olaf College in Northfield MN, receiving his Bachelor of Arts in Biology with a Biomedical Studies Concentration, in May 2010.
He went on to Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia PA, where he received his Doctor of Medicine in May 2016. He did his Urologic Surgery Residency at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, graduating in July of 2021.
Josh started his Practice at Essentia Health/Duluth Clinic in January of 2021. He focuses on robotics, urologic cancer surgery, and male sexual dysfunction in his practice at Essentia. “To have my dad as a mentor is a dream come true. He is never a “back seat driver, I would do it that way” kind of mentor. Our practice has a wonderful staff, and we share ideas and of back and forth with each other and with the other doctors in the practice. To have seen how my grandpa and my dad have carried on their practices has been inspirational,” Josh noted.
“My wife Michele and I were happy to move back to Duluth. I have always loved it here. We enjoy the outdoors. This is our forever home.”
Josh and Michele are busy with three kids: Eliza, age 2, and twins Gray and Theo, age 3 months.
“Without Michele’s support during a stressful and demanding residency, I would not have made it to where I am today,” Josh said. “She is the rock that holds our family together as I am embarking on a busy urologic practice while raising three children under three years at home.”
Family Time and Down Time
Jeff expressed similar sentiments about his wife Patty. “I wouldn’t be here without Patty. While I was a resident she was also working full time and raising three kids, I was never home, she balanced it all. She has always been my strength and support.”
Jeff and Patty are also very proud of their other two grown children, Megan and Erik. Megan is a kindergarten teacher at Woodbury Leadership Academy in Woodbury, Minnesota. Erik is an internal medicine resident at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, also carrying on the family legacy in medicine,
Jeff and Patty love being grandparents to Eliza, Theo, and Gray. Patti enjoys having Eliza spend the day with her on Tuesdays.
In his down time, Jeff loves mountain biking and motorcycling across the country and around Lake Superior. Jeff and Patty enjoy vacationing, especially to their favorite place to go, Grand Cayman.
The family also enjoys summer trips to national parks, going to Minnesota Wild and UMD Bulldog hockey games, and spending time at their cabin.
More Branches on the Medical Family Tree
Beyond Jeff, Josh, and Erik, a few other family members also practiced medicine. Patty’s father was a pathologist at St. Mary’s. Jeff’s mom’s brother, Tom Wiig, was a general surgeon at the Duluth Clinic and is now retired.
Jeff’s brother Mark is a retired general surgeon who practiced in St. Cloud Minnesota. His son, Sam, is a physician and also a urologist who just finished training and in his first year of practice in the Milwaukee area.
Giving back to the communities in which they practice as doctors has been an essential part of the Engelsgjerd family’s story. Whether the next generation of their family will choose medical careers or not, the rich legacy of their family members’ service will live on in each of them.
