UA Graduates, Once Classmates, Now Colleagues

‘Pioneers’ Casey Solem and Brian Geyer are together again, practicing medicine

in Phoenix after being part of the inaugural class at the

UA College of Medicine – Phoenix.

Drs. Casey Solem and Brian Geyer, now working rotations in Banner Health emergency departments, were classmates at the UA College of Medicine – Phoenix

Drs. Brian Geyer and Casey Solem watched the chaos of the emergency department at Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix on a recent afternoon with a knowing eye.

They were a long way from their humble classroom in a century-old building a mile from the hospital.

“I look back on those first few years – they were frontier days, pioneer days a little bit,” Solem said. “There were just 24 students and 24 faculty, so we got to know each other really well. We went on jogs together after lectures. We all ate lunch together. I think I had a real unique experience, something I will hold onto for the rest of my life.”

Geyer and Solem were members of the inaugural class at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. They were among the adventurous souls who walked in from the gravel parking lot to take courses at the brand-new medical school in downtown Phoenix.

Geyer and Solem completed their studies, then did residencies in emergency medicine at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and Banner – University Medical Center Tucson, respectively. They now find themselves together again. Both are working rotations in Banner Health emergency departments, including the flagship facility just a mile from the medical school campus.

“I can’t think of anything I would have done differently – it was a fantastic experience,” Geyer said. “We had every resource available to us. We had every opportunity, and people rolled out the red carpet for us everywhere we went. It was an amazing opportunity.”

That first group of students had modest beginnings – an unpaved parking lot, limited classroom space and resources in the historic Phoenix Union High School buildings, renovated specifically for the new medical school.

At that time, students would go to the Banner (then-Good Samaritan) Medical Center for simulation training. They went to the medical examiner’s office for gross anatomy. But the first class also was a close-knit group that bonded with the faculty and staff, knowing they were on the verge of something amazing.

The two emergency medicine physicians say they see a long career in their chosen field but already have made moves to come back home – to campus, that is. Solem has begun teaching in the doctoring unit, and Geyser is in the process of securing the faculty appointment so he can start teaching, as well. And faculty members he worked with when he was in school have already started to inquire about him.

“It’s a surreal experience where I show up for work that I hope to have for the rest of my life,” Geyer said. “I’m parking in the parking lot that I used to park in on my toxicology rotation, or when I would come over here for surgery conference. I’ve been walking these halls for years – now I get to do it as an attending emergency physician.”

Drs. Casey Solem and Brian Geyer

“I don’t think I had any concept of what I was getting myself into,” Solem said. “I thought I did, and I hoped I did, but I don’t think I had any real idea, what kind of life I would get to live, the impact I would make on people’s lives, the way I would be able to touch people, physically and emotionally, to make a difference and to help them.”

Now they are moving from students and residents to “regular” physicians, alongside some familiar faces.

“The transition from teacher to colleague is still something I struggle with,” Solem said. “There are people who used to teach me, they would tell me their stories of how things used to be. I would take it at face value and thought, ‘All right, you know what you are doing. I’ve never talked to a patient, never touched a patient.’ And now to be back, standing next to them, side by side, giving my hints and tricks that I have learned along the way, it’s just surreal. It’s beyond what I could have ever imagined.”

One thing is for certain: Arizona always was the ultimate destination.

“There is the opportunity to do things here that you can’t do anywhere else,” Geyer said. “The opportunities for collaborations, coming back to see old professors, old friends, family. I came back as quickly as I could.”

“This is it,” Solem said. “Arizona is where I was born, (and) this is where I am going to die. God willing, this is where I will spend my entire life. This is where I want to raise my kids. This is home to me.

“Not only is Phoenix home for me, as a native,” he said, “but now Banner – University Medical Center has become a home for me as well. These are people I am calling for advice or to admit a patient or to give me some input – people who used to be my teachers. So I call them on the phone, they remember me. I remember them, it feels like I am home. This is where I belong.”

This article originally appeared in UA News, Sept. 18, 2015. Story and photos reprinted with permission from UA College of Medicine – Phoenix