(Radio Iowa) – There will soon be 128 new slots at Iowa’s teaching hospitals for doctors-in-training. Federal funding has just been released for these medical residencies and the programs are scheduled to get annual support from the federal government. Dr. Peter Tonui, a Des Moines surgeon, was part of the Iowa Medical Society’s initiative to address the state’s shortage of doctors.
“Lots of physicians working in Iowa, part of the baby boomer population, are going to be retiring,” he says, “and that’s certainly going to impact the kind of care that’s able to be delivered in some of the smaller community hospitals around the state.” Dr. Tonui says there’s a reason the Medical Society focused on expanding the number of residencies in Iowa.
“Many residents stay in the state in which they train,” he says. Data from family practice residencies in Iowa shows nearly 69 percent of those doctors stay in Iowa after completing their medical residency training. Medical school graduates are required to complete a period of training under the oversight of an experienced doctor. Residency periods vary, based on the doctor’s specialty.
