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Central Wisconsin Residency Program

Medical College of Wisconsin Central Wisconsin Psychiatry Residency Program

We are an ACGME accredited program that is part of an initiative of the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) to develop medical resources in the underserved areas of the state of Wisconsin. MCW established the MCW-Central Wisconsin Medical School Campus in Wausau with a class of 26 students in 2016 and graduated its first class in 2019. The Central Wisconsin Psychiatry Residency Program is another step in the direction to provide resources where they are most needed throughout the entire state.

 

Why become a resident at MCW?

As a major academic medical center, and the largest research institution in the Milwaukee metro area, the Medical College of Wisconsin is a distinguished leader in the advanced training of physicians, researchers, pharmacists and health professionals. Together with its top-tier partner institutions, the Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals (MCWAH) puts you at the forefront of advancement that’s improving the vitality of society.

A Message From Our Director | Jean Vogel, MD, Assistant Professor

Welcome!

At Medical College of Wisconsin-Central Wisconsin Psychiatry Residency (MCW-CW), we’re proud to offer a program that blends strong clinical training with deep community connection.

Established in 2017 as the most rural of three MCW psychiatry residencies, our program will help you become a compassionate, effective psychiatrist ready to make a difference in patients’ lives, contribute to the field, and assume positions of leadership.

Based in Wausau with key rotations in Ashland, Tomah, Rhinelander, and specialized experiences in Madison and Milwaukee, we offer rich training across a wide range of rural and urban settings. While caring for diverse, often underserved communities, you'll learn the art and science of psychiatry. In addition to psychopharmacology, you’ll be exposed to somatic therapies that extend beyond ACGME requirements as well as didactics covering a wide range of psychotherapeutic approaches. One on one instruction and supervision will support your implementation of cognitive behavioral therapies and psychodynamic principles across all kinds of psychiatric encounters.

We pride ourselves on being a close-knit community where engagement and collaboration are central. Our faculty is deeply committed to supporting and teaching trainees in learning environments where every resident’s unique strengths are respected, and professional identity nurtured - in the classroom, consulting room, hospitals, neighborhood and professional meetings. At MCW-CW, residents are encouraged to become involved in ongoing projects and spearhead new ones, both within our program and across the community.

Whether your passion is clinical mastery, innovation, teaching, publishing, advocacy, and/or administration, we’ll help you find your path and flourish on it. At MCW-CW, you’ll discover a welcoming, tight-knit community, and a place to build your future.

Our Mission

  • Train Compassionate, Skilled Psychiatrists - Prepare residents to become thoughtful, capable clinicians who provide high-quality, patient-centered psychiatric care across a variety of settings.
  • Promote a Collaborative Learning Culture - Create a respectful, inclusive, and supportive training environment where mentorship, collaboration, and personal growth are central.
  • Foster Leadership and Innovation - Equip residents to take on leadership roles in clinical practice, education, research, advocacy, and systems-level change.
  • Serve Diverse and Underserved Communities - Address mental health disparities by training physicians committed to meeting the needs of rural and underserved populations in Wisconsin and beyond.
  • Integrate Community Engagement with Medical Education - Build strong ties between residency training and community needs with meaningful contributions through community service, projects, and local partnerships.

Biography

Jean Vogel, MD, is a board-certified psychiatrist/psychoanalyst with over twenty five years of experience in academic and clinical psychiatry. An Assistant Clinical Professor in the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) Department of Psychiatry, she is also Director of the Outpatient Department at North Central Health Care in Wausau, WI where she is known for her integrative, patient-centered approach. Before joining MCW, Dr. Vogel served as Assistant Clinical Professor at Yale University School of Medicine and held leadership positions at the Western New England Institute for Psychoanalysis (WNEIP), including Chair of Continuing Education and Vice President of the Institute Board, while seeing patients in her own clinical practice.

Dr. Vogel is a Lifetime Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and has been recognized by both MCW and the Connecticut Psychiatric Society for Clinical Excellence in Teaching and Service to patients. She brings deep expertise in psychopharmacology and psychoanalytic psychotherapy and is widely respected for her thoughtful, relational approach to care. Her scholarly work includes recent publications on countertransference in psychotherapy and the intersection of literature and psychoanalytic theory. She is currently editing and authoring a Guide to Outpatient Care under contract with the APA.

Dr. Vogel’s long-standing dedication to mentorship, education, and community-based care shapes her leadership in residency training and her contributions to the broader field of psychiatry.

A Day in the Life of a Rural Psychiatry Resident

Alexandra Reischman, MD, PGY-3, Chief Resident, shares her experiences as a resident in the MCW-Central Wisconsin Psychiatry Residency Program.

Program Information

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How to Apply

The Central Wisconsin Psychiatry Residency Program at the Medical College of Wisconsin accepts applications through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS).

We do consider and accept qualified IMG doctors. We review a number of items on the application. Successful applicants to our program often have USMLE scores above 200 (or comparable COMLEX) and have passed on their first attempt. We also look at prior psychiatric experience at the residency level and evidence of a command of the English language. Evidence of a passion for a career in psychiatry and a social conscience are also valued. There are no absolute cut-off points, but these are factors we consider in reviewing the hundreds of applications we receive each year. There are some specific requirements listed below. After the entire application is reviewed, and, based on the application’s merit, an applicant would be selected to interview for our program. Our department does not routinely offer observership, externships or pre-match positions.

For application to our program, we require via ERAS:

  • Application
  • Four (4) letters of recommendation
  • Dean’s letter
  • Transcripts
  • Personal statement or letter of intent
  • CV
  • USMLE Step I and Step II transcripts or COMLEX steps 1 & 2 transcripts
  • We accept J-1 and H-1B visas.

Although the Wisconsin Northern & Central (WiNC) GME Consortium in partnership with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine is willing to pursue an H-1B visa on your behalf, there is no guarantee that it will be successful. WiNC’s ability to continue to claim H-1B exemptions for applicants remains unsettled. On April 28, 2011, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) stated it is reviewing its policy on H-1B cap exemptions for non-profit entities (like WiNC). Until further guidance is issued, USCIS is applying interim procedures to allow organizations like WiNC to pursue H-1B cap exemptions. Unless determined to be exempt, H-1B petitions are subject to a statutory limit that would make the visa process availability and timing very unpredictable for those pursuing a GME program through WiNC affiliates that accept visa holders.

Applicants must have an appropriate visa to begin Graduate Medical Education with WiNC. If a candidate does not obtain an appropriate visa that permits WiNC to employ him/her on the designated start date, the training position will not be held and may be offered to another candidate.

Benefits, Conditions & Terms of Employment

The WiNC housestaff stipend levels for the academic year 2023-2024:

PGY1 - $65,405
PGY2 - $67,568
PGY3 - $69,680
PGY4 - $71,625

Additional Benefits

  • Paid Time Off - 4 weeks
  • Education Leave - 5 days (beginning in the PGY1 year)
  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Liability Insurance
  • Life Insurance
  • Short and Long-Term Disability Insurance

Learn more about program benefits from WiNC

Contact Us

MCW-Central Wisconsin
1900 Westwood Dr., Suite 3100
Wausau, WI 54401-4106
 

 
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