Since 1992, Dr. John Pleshinger has been employed by EmergiMed Inc., which staffs Union Hospital’s emergency room. He has held the positions of Emergency Medical Services Director, Chief of the Department of Emergency Medicine, President of Union Hospital Medical Staff, Chairman of Union Hospital’s Credentials Committee, Chairman of Union Hospital’s Utilization Management Committee and currently serves as Chief of the Department of Emergency Medicine.
During the past 20 years, Dr. Pleshinger has also found time to teach biology at Kent State Tuscarawas and at the Stark Campus. As an adjunct faculty member, Pleshinger usually teaches one course per semester with the courses varying between Human Biology, Structure and Function and Human Physiology. While he is approved to teach all the biology courses, he prefers to teach Human Physiology.
“I like teaching Human Physiology because it is a junior level course – a higher level,” says Pleshinger. “All the courses have good points. Teaching freshmen is rewarding because it’s their first college experience and you have a chance to introduce the students to college level sciences. It’s always nice when a student comes up after class and says ‘that’s amazing.’ It’s an ‘a ha’ moment.”
A well-respected physician and professor, Dr. Pleshinger likes teaching at Kent State Tuscarawas and working his teaching schedule around his full-time medical career.
“The campus is very flexible with my teaching schedule, working around my hospital schedule,” comments Pleshinger. “It allows me to teach at the college level which I have always enjoyed doing. My ER schedule comes out two months in advance so I have the ability to schedule one to two days a week off which I use for my teaching days on campus.”
In addition to these positions, Dr. Pleshinger is also a clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University. The senior level medical students are required to do emergency medicine rotations and will utilize Union Hospital’s emergency room for that clinical experience beginning in the fall.
Along with his love of medicine and teaching, Dr. Pleshinger has a fascinating hobby as a self-taught astronomer with an observatory in the pasture outside his home. For the past five years, he has been teaching astronomy classes a couple days a year at Dover High School as part of the physics curriculum.
Dr. Pleshinger earned a Bachelor of Science in Zoology, a Master of Science in Cell Biology and his medical degree from Louisiana State University. He completed his emergency medicine residency at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in Cleveland and is certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine. He has been employed at by EmergiMed In., staffing at Union Hospital since