Thursday, September 15, 2016

University of Wisconsin starts nation's first rural residency program for obstetrician-gynecologists

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology is launching what it says is the nation's first obstetrics and gynecology rural residency program. Beginning in 2018 one student will spend two months at each of three rural hospitals during their second and third years of residency. The hope is to eventually expand the program to more residents.

Dr. Ellen Hartenbach, residency director at UWM, said one-third of Wisconsin's rural counties lack an obstetrician-gynecologist and many women have to drive more than 60 miles to deliver a baby, Sarah Brechbill reports for WMTV in Madison. Hartenbach told Brechbill, "If they get these experiences than they're more likely to take positions in rural communities and we really need ob-gyns in rural communities in Wisconsin." (Stateline map: Number of ob-gyns by state: 46 percent of the nation's counties lack obstetrics services)

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