When Dr. Zachary Baeseman grew up in a rural village in north central Wisconsin there were no traffic lights and no fast food restaurants. His medical training took him from Wisconsin to Seattle. Today he’s back in the area, providing full-scope family medicine at ThedaCare in Waupaca. And he couldn’t be happier.
“The full scope of family medicine is incredibly challenging and rewarding,” said Dr. Baeseman. “The breadth of knowledge you need is bigger, so learning never stops. And the patients truly appreciate everything you do for them.”
Dr. Baeseman’s professional interests include obstetrics, rural healthcare, epidemiology, public health, and preventative cardiology. He is an Advanced Obstetric Fellow from Swedish Family Medicine in Washington.
No two days are the same for Dr. Baeseman. “Two weeks ago offers a brief look into my life. On Monday, I helped a woman who had a full-term breech presentation prevent a Caesarean by flipping her baby. The next day, I diagnosed a baby boomer with Hepatitis C. On Wednesday, I diagnosed a 30-year-old with testicular cancer. And Thursday, a 37-year-old laborer who had been experiencing numbing and tingling sensations finally received an answer to the cause: Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. It’s incredibly powerful to be able to help each and every one of these individuals as they live their lives.”
Dr. Baeseman believes that all physicians have an obligation not only to their patients, but to their communities. He focused his graduate research on rural healthcare and the health assessment of rural Wisconsin. “Many things are changing in healthcare, but one thing that’s important to me is to get back to the roots of family medicine,” said Dr. Baeseman. “Many rural areas of Wisconsin need more physicians. If you’re curious, tired of urban or academic settings and truly want to make a difference each and every day, rural family medicine may be just what you need to discover your own joy of medicine. It’s fantastic.”
