Tricia Hengehold, MD, is a board-certified gastroenterologist at Ohio Gastroenterology Group.   

What inspired you to pursue a career in medicine? 

I spent a lot of time in high school volunteering in the hospital and initially started in a physical therapy path in undergrad. After doing a lot of physical therapy shadowing, I realized that wasn't the career for me, but I still enjoyed my time in the healthcare setting and learning about human physiology. I was drawn to the problem solving of medicine and switched to the pre-med track halfway through undergrad.  

What brought you to Columbus, and what do you enjoy most about practicing here? 

I had done undergrad at Ohio State and for fellowship I was able to match back here at Ohio State. I love being in a city with a diverse population where I get to interact with many different types of patients from all backgrounds. I also enjoy working with different practitioners and specialists throughout Columbus.  

What are your areas of clinical or professional interest? 

I really enjoy celiac, eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), and inflammatory bowel disease specifically. I do, however, enjoy getting to work as a general GI physician with all types of GI disorders.  

What’s one thing you’d like your colleagues to know about you or your work? 

I'm always happy to discuss our mutual patients on the phone whenever questions or concerns arise.  

When you’re not working, how do you like to spend your free time? 

I'm very into marathon running, so, I spend a lot of my free time running. I'm also a huge sports fan and love to watch football, basketball, etc. I love both going in person to games as well as watching with friends on TV. Going to Ohio State, I'm a huge Buckeye fan but also a huge Cincinnati sports fan as I grew up there.  

What’s a fun fact about you that people might not know? 

I played on the club lacrosse team at Ohio State during undergrad.  

If you could have dinner with any historical or medical figure, who would it be and why? 

Amy Poehler. Non-medical, but she has been a leader through the different workplaces she has been a part of. She has been admired by her co-workers as being both kind and a strong leader. She promotes an enjoyable workplace but is also very hardworking. Her book is one of my favorites and one I always recommend.