Medical school graduates matched with Aspirus Wausau family medicine training program

WAUSAU, Wis. — Aspirus, in partnership with the University of Wisconsin Wausau Family Medicine Residency Program, recently announced its incoming class of five recent medical school graduates. The medical students who matched were among approximately 1,500 applicants who applied for positions within the family medicine training program.

Beginning their training at Aspirus in July will be Eric Gustafson, DO, Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University; Jeffrey Jast, MD, Medical College of Wisconsin; Julia Middleton, MD, University of Washington School of Medicine; Kao Feng Moua, MD, University of Minnesota Medical School; and Alexander Trecartin, MD, Loma Linda University School of Medicine.

“We’re excited to welcome these five compassionate and talented physicians to our program in north central Wisconsin,” said Residency Program Director John Wheat, DO. “These physicians will have wonderful and unique training experiences at Aspirus Wausau Hospital and several primary care and specialty clinics throughout the region.”

Aspirus has had a long-standing partnership with the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (UW SMPH) to offer a family medicine residency training in Wausau. Aspirus Clinics owns and operates the Wausau Family Medicine Clinic, while UW SMPH serves as the academic sponsor of the residency program and provides educational oversight.

The new resident physicians will see patients at the Aspirus Wausau Family Medicine clinic on Wind Ridge Drive. The Aspirus Wausau Family Medicine center serves as the residents’ educational home. Learning experiences are incorporated into clinical experiences using one-on-one teaching environments that take place in multiple settings utilizing different technologies. Residents have opportunities to learn teamwork with multiple health care professionals.

During the first and third years, residents rotate at the Aspirus Wausau Hospital in several different capacities including the emergency room and regional Level II trauma center. The highly-trained physicians and staff are enthusiastic teachers who are involved in resident training. Family physicians, internists, and other subspecialty physicians provide teaching and consultation support.

The Wausau residency is accredited to train both osteopathic (DO) and allopathic (MD) physicians and is one of four UW SMPH-sponsored family medicine residencies in the state. Typically there are 15 total residents in the program with five graduating each year. Since the Wausau Family Medicine Residency Program was established in 1978, more than 150 residents have graduated from the program. Of those graduates, 87 of them have chosen practices in Wisconsin, including 44 staying in the immediate region in the counties of Marathon, Lincoln, Langlade, Wood and Portage.