[dropcap size=small]O[/dropcap]riginally from southern Wisconsin, Dr. Paul Shaughnessy has devotedly served his nation and patients with the mission to provide extraordinary care to his community. The young Dr. Shaughnessy eventually moved to Gary, Indiana, at the time he started high school, for his father’s job.

Following high school, Dr. Shaughnessy decided to attend Indiana University in Gary, Indiana and pursue a bachelor of arts in biology and physiology. Finishing his degree, Dr. Shaughnessy looked to continue his education and complete his medical training at Indiana University in Indianapolis where he received his medical doctorate.

His acceptance and enrollment in medical school actually spurred Dr. Shaughnessy to join the Air Force with the hopes to serve his country and receive aid for his medical training. Enter his connection to San Antonio. “I think I actually came down to Lackland AFB every time to do my training during medical school, and I did my officer training during the summers of medical school,” Dr. Shaughnessy shared.

At a young age, Dr. Shaughnessy originally dreamt of entering aerospace medicine and becoming an astronaut, though, he admits, those were pipe dreams immediately after leaving college. After medical school, Dr. Shaughnessy was actually accepted to continue his medical training in the Air Force at Wilford Hall Medical Center. It was then he moved to San Antonio and began three years of internal medicine training at Wilford Hall from 1991-1994. During that time, Dr. Shaughnessy’s interest in hematology-oncology flourished. Dr. Shaughnessy followed his residency in internal medicine with a fellowship in hematology-oncology at Wilford Hall, part of which was spent conducting bone marrow transplants.

“For my wife, family, and to have this job opportunity, there’s no other place in the world for this” -Dr. Paul Shaughnessy

Following his six years of extensive training, Dr. Shaughnessy began working at Wilford Hall Medical Center as a staff hematologist-oncologist doing bone marrow transplants from 1997 to 2001, and he also worked as an assistant professor of medicine at the Uniformed Services of the Health Science. In June 2001, Major Shaughnessy ultimately separated from the Air Force. After 9/11, Dr. Shaughnessy thought he might be called back to service and considered volunteering to go back in, though he learned that through his work at the Texas Transplant Institute the organization as a whole was doing substantial work to support the military personnel at Wilford Hall, such as seeing a number of soldiers who were bone marrow transplant patients.

Military service is a common theme among Dr. Shaughnessy’s family. Indeed, his younger brother joined the Army College Fund right out of high school, and six months later, he was deployed to Kuwait as a part of Operation Desert Storm. His younger brother returned from Desert Storm to Fort Hood, Texas, and at the same time, Dr. Shaughnessy had gone on active duty and relocated to San Antonio. To commemorate the war being over, Dr. Shaughnessy took his younger brother and some of his friends to Corpus Christi, where, as fate would have it, he met his wife of 21 years Molly.

Following his separation from the Air Force, Dr. Shaughnessy joined the Texas Transplant Institute and worked alongside Fred LeMaistre, a renowned oncologist and transplant specialist who actually started the program. Together with Dr. LeMaistre and Dr. Carlos Bachier, Dr. Shaughnessy continued to learn and refine his knowledge and skillset. Today, Dr. Shaughnessy is the Program Medical Director of the Adult and Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Program. The program Dr. Shaughnessy directs is unique in that it is a private program in a private hospital that conducts world-class research with the support of a hospital system that understands the importance of bone marrow transplant for the community.

Photo by: Kimberly Scott

This allows Dr. Shaughnessy and his associates to provide individualized care that is defined by their state-of-the-art technology, exceptional nursing staff and cutting-edge care. “For my wife, family, and to have this job opportunity, there’s no other place in the world for this,” Dr. Shaughnessy shared with a smile.

With over two decades of experience in the field, Dr. Shaughnessy is a peer to some of the world’s most renowned hematologist-oncologist and bone marrow transplant specialist. Indeed, he still works with his mentor Fred LeMaistre on a national level to further research and bring more awareness to the need for bone marrow specialist. Under his guide, the bone marrow transplant program has flourished and continues to carry on a tradition of extraordinary service to the community. Dr. Shaughnessy’s program has extended across the region and opened two satellite clinics in Austin, a new clinic in McAllen, which is sending four patients to receive transplants, and a monthly clinic he conducts himself in Corpus Christi.

By creating these outreach programs and satellite clinics, Dr. Shaughnessy is gaining ground on his goal to establish the program as a world-class bone marrow transplant, hematologic malignancy center for all of South and Central Texas. Fueled by his passion for excellent service for his patients, Dr. Shaughnessy will undoubtedly succeed in his mission to establish a renowned program that will serve all of South and Central Texas.

For more information visit www.texastransplantphysicians.com or call 210.575.3817.