The UW Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (DFMCH) is proud of the 26 fourth-year UW School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) students who matched into family medicine residency programs nationwide on March 16, 2018.

They represented 16 percent of the graduating SMPH class, making family medicine the most-matched specialty this year.

Of those 26 students, 14 (54 percent) are entering family medicine residency programs in Wisconsin. Twelve (46 percent) are entering a residency program sponsored by or partnered with the DFMCH: three at Madison, two at Baraboo Rural Training Track (RTT), four at La Crosse, two at Waukesha and one at Lakeland RTT.

SMPH students’ continued interest in family medicine reflects—and in some cases, exceeds—national trends. An American Academy of Family Physicians analysis found that nationwide, 9.3 percent of U.S. medical school seniors matched into family medicine in 2018, continuing nine straight years of increased matches into the specialty.

In 2018, 3,535 medical students and graduates nationwide matched into family medicine residency programs—more than any year in the specialty’s history.


Scenes from Match Day

SMPH student Megan Bartz, who matched into the DFMCH’s Madison residency program, with her husband Josh.
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Thoughts from Two Newly-Matched SMPH Students

“I chose family medicine because I wanted a specialty that provides longitudinal care, has strong patient-doctor relationships and provides care to a wide array of people. I enjoyed my time working with the DFMCH during medical school and I am looking forward to growing and learning as I take this next step in my medical career. I am excited to be able to work with so many wonderful people and to help take care of the Madison community.”

—Megan Bartz (matched into Madison residency program)

“I just wanted to write and thank [OMSE director David Deci, MD, and staff member Joyce Jeardeau] for all of your work, help and advice after I decided to go into family medicine.  I really appreciate everything both of you did to get me to where I needed to go. I couldn’t have succeeded without your help and I want you to know how much I appreciate everything both of you did for me!

—Mark McCabe (matched into La Crosse residency program)


DFMCH’s Statewide Residency Programs Will Welcome 55 New Residents

This year’s match was also the largest for the DFMCH: 55 students matched into our four sponsored and four academic partner residency programs statewide.

It included two more incoming residents slated for the DFMCH’s rural health equity track, which launched in 2017 at the UW Health Belleville Clinic.

It also includes the second class of the Aurora Lakeland Rural Training Track Family Medicine Residency, an academic partner program created in 2017, and the newest class of the Waukesha Family Medicine Residency Program, which became an academic partner in 2017.


Catching Up With PGY-1s Zachary Droeszler, MD, and Kelsey Schmidt, MD

In a 2017 e-news article, we asked SMPH classmates Zachary Droeszler and Kelsey Schmidt to tell us why they chose family medicine, and what excites them about residency at the DFMCH.

We checked in with them a year later to find out how the SMPH internship prep course prepared them for residency, any challenges and surprises encountered in the first year and what they’re looking forward to next year.

Zachary Droeszler Droeszler, a first-year resident in the Baraboo RTT, says the internship prep course was “an amazing opportunity to learn about some high-yield topics of medicine that you are sure to come across during your first few months.”

Although his busy schedule and increased time in the hospital was a challenge, he was happy to still have time for his family. He looks forward to being in Baraboo full-time next year, gain experience in inpatient and obstetrics care, growing his own patient panel and becoming a part of the community there.

Kelsey Schmidt Schmidt, a first-year resident on the Madison program’s Rural Health Equity Track, appreciates that the internship prep course gave her opportunities to practice sign out, answer mock pages and perform rapid simulations. “I also appreciated the time we took to talk about resident wellness and mindfulness techniques, as this has helped me to manage the stress of intern year,” she adds.

She was pleasantly surprised how quickly her patients accepted her as their doctor and formed therapeutic relationships. “I was welcomed into the community and as a true family medicine provider for many families,” she recalls. She looks forward to having more outpatient experiences next year, and mentoring the next class of residents.


We look forward to meeting the new class this summer, and are grateful to everyone at the SMPH, the DFMCH and our partner programs who worked to make this year’s match a success!

Published: April 2018