In an effort to address a physician shortage expected by medical industry experts to emerge over the next decade, the Medical college of Wisconsin is planning to open a new family medicine residency program this summer.
The program, which has received initial accreditation, is expected to begin on July 1 at Froedtert Community Memorial Hospital in Menomonee Falls with an inaugural class of six residents who will undergo three years of training. A new class of six residents will be admitted each year after and MCW expects the program will have a total of 18 residents at various stages in the three-year program by 2019.
The family residency program is one of several MCW has planned.
In August, MCW President and CEO John Raymond told BizTimes that, though the state’s two medical colleges — MCW and University of Wisconsin Health — employ more than 1,500 resident trainees, more are needed. He said the medical college was working on plans to add between 75 and 100 residents in rotation at new, MCW-sponsored programs at hospitals throughout Wisconsin, including Community Memorial Hospital.
Other locations where he said MCW planned to add residency programs include St. Joseph’s Hospital in West Bend as well as health systems in Green Bay, Wausau, Steven’s Point and the Fox River Valley. At the time, Raymond said the medical college was also hoping to create psychiatry residency programs in partnership with Ministry Health in Weston, the Tomah VA Medical Center and the Green Bay Huempfner VA.
A report released earlier this year by the American Association of Medical Colleges, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit health care research group, anticipated the nation would be facing a total physician shortfall of between 61,700 and 94,700 by 2025 if demand for medical care, largely driven by aging baby boomers and expanded health insurance coverage, continues to outpace the nation’s supply of doctors over the next decade.
The Wisconsin Council on Medical Education & Workforce said in August the state could face a shortage of more than 4,000 doctors by 2035. Similarly, the Wisconsin Hospital Association concluded in 2011 that Wisconsin would face a physician shortage of roughly 2,100 doctors by 2030 unless around 100 doctors were added to the state workforce each year.
“This initial accreditation of a family medicine residency program is a win for the citizens of southeastern Wisconsin,” said Dr. Kenneth Simons senior associate dean for Graduate Medical Education and Accreditation at MCW. “Physicians who complete residency in Wisconsin have a better than 70 percent chance of remaining in the region to practice medicine. We are committed to eliminating the family medicine physician deficit in Wisconsin and this residency will make a significant impact toward that goal.”
The new residency program will be led by director Dr. Jason Domagalski, an MCW faculty member and instructor at a multiple military and public hospitals throughout his career. A graduate of MCW, Domagalski is board certified in family medicine and assisted in the development of a new family medicine residency in California.
