John L. Pfenninger

John L. Pfenninger, MD, FAAFP, was born in Michigan and raised on the family farm. He began driving tractors at eight years of age and always loved working with his hands. He left home at 13 to attend a Catholic seminary, but after six years there, decided to pursue a career in medicine. “Hands-on” skills always remained an interest.

After graduating from the University of Michigan Medical School, he chose a three-year family practice residency at the University of Utah. It was there in “the west” that he learned surgical skills stretching over multiple disciplines.

Upon completion of his residency, he returned home to Midland, Michigan where he became the associate director of the family practice residency program for the next 12 years and supervised the procedural skills and obstetric education for 18 residents. During this time he expanded the variety of procedures he performed and improved his proficiency.

In 1989, he entered private practice which is limited solely to office surgery and procedures (www.MPCenter.net). In addition, he founded and directed The National Procedures Institute which grew rapidly to the point of conducting over 100 procedural skills courses a year throughout the United States (www.NPInstitute.com). He also edited the first edition of Procedures for Primary Care Physicians in 1994. The second edition was published in 2003, and now, after four years of editing, the third edition of Pfenninger and Fowler’s Procedures for Primary Care has been completed.

Pfenninger continues in solo private practice and still enjoys using the manual skills needed to perform many, varied procedures. He truly believes that when primary care providers can perform procedures, it reduces heath care costs, limits the delay in making diagnoses, improves the quality of care, and enhances the doctor-patient relationship. He consults with many companies on the development of new procedures and relishes being “the first” to promote new successful approaches to patient care. His personal interests include gardening, hunting, fishing, extended trips on his Harley, remodeling and building, and having fun with family, including his two grandsons. He can be reached at Jack@MPCenter.net.