Born to be a Doctor

From an early age, Dr. Claire (Jackson) Burgardt (AAS ’00) felt called to pursue a career in medicine and make a difference as a surgeon.

By Reggie Hayes
Photography provided by Claire Burgardt

Dr. Claire (Jackson) Burgardt (AAS ’00) grew up with a strong interest in the medical field, mainly because of her father, Phillip. She was 4 when her father began a medical school journey that eventually led to his long career as a Fort Wayne family physician.

“I was always kind of drawn to it, flipping through his textbooks and getting curious,” she said. “I probably would have found my way into medicine eventually, but watching him go through it really stuck with me. Seeing him put in the work—four years of school and then three years of residency—always studying, always heading to class, definitely had a big influence on me.”

As a student at Concordia Lutheran High School, Burgardt took a job as a nurse’s assistant at a nursing home. While she didn’t feel particularly drawn to nursing, surgical technology piqued her interest. She knew her father started out in radiologic technology before he became a doctor. So, she enrolled in the Lutheran College of Health Professions—just as it was acquired by Saint Francis.

From the moment Claire first assisted in the operating room, she felt at home. She started working at the Parkview Randallia hospital.

“I wanted to do more than be a surg tech. I saw what the physician assistants did in the operating room, and it was about the same thing as I was already doing. So, I thought I might as well just be a surgeon.”

Claire Burgardt (AAS ’00)

Decision solidified, she started her journey, earning a bachelor’s degree in biology at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne and then pursuing medical school and becoming a doctor through IU School of Medicine. She is now a general surgeon with IU Health in Avon, Indiana.

One major career-enhancing experience in her career came right after she finished her residency in 2013. The IU Department of Surgery needed a full-time surgeon and faculty member for its sister institution in Eldoret, Kenya. Burgardt, her husband Tyler and toddler son Archer moved to Kenya. They spent three years there; their daughter, Benzie, was born during that time.

“I felt that I was doing meaningful work taking care of patients, certainly, but I also derived a lot of satisfaction from the medical students and residents that I was teaching,” she said. “It was also a bit novel at the time to have a female surgeon in the area. There are a lot more female residents and surgeons there now. At the time it was a new concept, and it was good for the students to see a woman being a mother and a surgeon.”

Burgardt calls the Kenyans “beautiful people with a wonderful culture,” and says her family was enriched by being immersed in another country and culture. But they also felt the pull to return to Indiana where Claire and Tyler’s extended families live.

In addition to her practice as a surgeon, Burgardt still teaches medical students and residents through IU Health. She finds both aspects of her career to be rewarding.

While her time at Saint Francis was relatively short—most of her classes took place at the former Lutheran College on Fairfield Avenue—she credits her surgical technology studies as a key formative time for her career. She remembers fondly her professors, including Betsy Slagle and Theresa Letizia.

“They gave me encouragement and reassurance, helping me realize that I was doing well and had the ability to keep advancing and pursue higher levels of education,” Burgardt said.

From those beginnings of looking through her father’s textbooks to her experiences in Kenya and in the last decade of her practice, Burgardt has, indeed, shown how much she was destined to be a surgeon.

“During my medical school rotations and clinical training, I developed a strong interest in general surgery,” she said. “My practice primarily involves abdominal procedures with straightforward outpatient cases, along with select complex surgeries, providing a well-balanced scope of work. Early on in my training, I realized that pursuing surgery was a great fit for my interests and strengths.”