Wisconsin Doctor First in the Nation to Finish Residency Training Program to Care for Women Who Live in Rural Areas

Tuesday, June 15th, 2021 -- 9:03 AM

(WMTV) A Wisconsin doctor will become the first in the country next week to finish a residency training program to specifically care for women who live in rural areas.

The residency program was started in September of 2016 to combat the nationwide shortage of obstetricians and gynecologists, according to UW Health and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

Dr. Laura McDowell will be the first to complete the program, which takes four years to finish. The medical school explained when a student graduates from medical school, their next step is to go through a medical residency program.

McDowell was matched into the rural residency program at UW-Madison in March of 2017 and has worked in rural sites over the past four years, including in Portage, Waupun and Monroe. She will move to a rural part of Minnesota next month to practice general obstetrics and gynecology.

Dr. Ryan Spencer, OB-GYN residency program director, explained doctors are more likely to serve in the areas they do their residency. The goal of the program is to expose these doctors to relevant experience while addressing a serious need for their care.

The medical school adds that 27 out of the 72 counties in the state do not have any OB-GYN providers, which disproportionately affects women who live in rural communities.

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