Who Am I and Why am I Here?

Hello!!  I am so happy you are here!!  I am Dr. Nicole Wagaman, board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) and Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Medicine. I love being an Osteopathic physician (also known as a D.O.), Dog & Cat Mom (my fur babies are Merlin and Archimedes) and a Yogi, hiker and kayaker.

My journey after medical school was to Rutgers New Jersey Medical School for residency then SCI fellowship at Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, WI. Throughout my career, I have cared for patients after SCI at academic centers, community centers as well as at the VA.

My experience in both inpatient and outpatient work doing both acute and chronic injuries, showed me that one thing is consistent: patients didn’t always like going to their PCP, or really any other specialist, because they didn’t feel those individuals really understood their spinal cord injury and all the changes that occur as a result.  

My purpose is to help primary care providers care for their patients with SCI through this website and blog. I will provide nuggets of helpful information to better prepare you, as the PCP, to problem solve the many issues and field the questions that come after SCI.

Because, did you know...SCI is more prevalent than you may realize, according to Facts and Figures at a Glance 2020, there are approximately 17,810 new cases each year and approximately 294,000 people currently living with a SCI.

Given this, chances are at least one of your patients has suffered a SCI of some kind.  With only about 500 SCI medicine specialists in the US and most concentrated around large, metropolitan cities, THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH OF US to care for the spinal cord injured population in the outpatient setting.  This means a large majority of patient’s living with a SCI do not have access to a SCI medicine specialist or must drive 2+ hours away to see one.

My goal is to be a resource for my PCP colleagues out there, regardless of where you are, so caring for patients with this particular diagnosis does not seem so intimidating.

If you have specific questions or topics you would like to see on this website, please feel free to email me using the Contact Me link or directly at nicolewagamando@gmail.com.