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Family doc passes on lessons gained from practicing in rural Kansas

What Tara Neil enjoys most about teaching young doctors is that she can share not only her specialty - obstetrics and women's health - but also the experience gained from practicing in rural Kansas.

What Tara Neil, M.D., a member of the family medicine faculty at the KU School of Medicine-Wichita, enjoys most about teaching young doctors is that she can share not only her specialty - obstetrics and women's health - but also the experience gained from practicing in rural Kansas.

"I really enjoy delivering babies and the relationship you form with the mom before, during, and after pregnancy and the bonds you form with the family," said Neil. "It's a great, uplifting thing."  

"When the majority of your patients are geriatric or have multiple chronic conditions, sometimes that can be a little overwhelming," she said, "but if you stay active in women's health and OB, that maintains a nice balance in your practice. I try to share that with the residents and that it can really improve their practice."  

A native of Fort Scott in southeast Kansas, Neil graduated from Kansas State University and spent two years in Kansas City before finishing at KU School of Medicine-Wichita, drawn by the primary care emphasis. "You get to see family medicine doctors here doing everything, and that's what a lot of us wanted to do," Neil said. "We're fortunate that if you go to KU, you can actually do it."  

Having worked in rural Kansas provides lessons she can pass along to residents. "I enjoy having them think about what they would have in a rural or underserved area, compared to what we do in an urban center," said Neil, who graduated from Wichita in 2003. "As physicians, we sometimes feel that if we need to transfer someone to a higher level of care it's a failure on our part. Frequently that's not the case; it's driven by the resources we have available to us."  

Neil did her family medicine residency at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and then spent a year in a fellowship at West Suburban Medical Center near Chicago. "I always wanted to do OB and I really wanted to do operative OB, and that's what led to the fellowship. I wanted a more narrow area of expertise within family medicine." she said.  

Neil practiced in Abilene, Kansas, for three-plus years before joining the Via Christi faculty four years ago. Her private practice exposed her to the business and management side of the profession, and that is something she shares with residents.  

"There are a lot of human resource things I had to learn the hard way, management of personnel, management of conflicts, and the business setup," she said.  

Helping residents learn how to handle the challenges that come with caring for patients is another practical lesson she helps impart.  

"It's really nice to see growth when you can work one-on-one with a resident and help them improve," Neil said. "When there is a bad outcome, we work with the resident on how to cope and manage it professionally and personally and develop a way to deal with it in the future."  

"It's really fun to be challenged every day by residents," she said. "It's also fun to be challenged every day by fellow faculty. It keeps me on my toes, it keeps me current, and it makes me think harder about things that sometimes I don't think about in private practice. And it's nice to have second opinions."  

"I can't imagine doing anything else right now." 


KU School of Medicine-Wichita