Welcome to the Pioneers in Health podcast. In this podcast, we share inspiring stories of pioneering leaders from our nation and from your backyard who are working to improve health.
In episode 28, we interview Dr. Beth Oller. She is a family medicine physician at Rooks County Health Center in Plainville, Kansas.
She graduated from Wesley Family Medicine Residency in Wichita and has clinical interests in maternal and child care, quality improvement, and rural medicine/access to care.
In this episode, Dr. Oller discusses how a love of science turned into a career in health care. Her journey began in nursing before deciding she wanted to go to medical school after working alongside physicians.
“I saw how many patients were ending up in the hospital or in the ER because they didn’t have a medical home. They didn’t have a primary provider who was keeping track of the specialists they were going to and the medications they were on or preventive care was getting missed or dropped,” she said. “So I really had an interest in what could I do to become that kind of provider.”
While working full-time, she returned to school to complete physics and organic chemistry before taking the MCAT. She decided if she got accepted into medical school, then she would go for it.
“I got into the University of Kansas for medical school, and knew from the time I started that primary care would be my direction,” she said. “But I did not expect rural primary care.”
She didn’t grow up in a rural area and had never been exposed to rural life. However, she loved the opportunity rural health provided to serve patients in a broader way.
Since then, she has become a prominent voice and advocate for rural health care in Kansas and even nationally.
“It is an honor and a privilege to be able to serve the patients I serve — to have their trust,” she said, “but also to advocate for them on both a state and national platform, so that those who don’t feel like they have a voice can know that there are those of us who will continue to speak for them.”
She also discusses:
- Her passion for family medicine and rural health
- The role family physicians play in maternal health care in rural areas
- Ideas on how to address maternity care deserts
- How she became involved with advocacy and her advocacy efforts in a variety of areas
- Challenges facing rural health care providers
- How cuts in Medicaid will impact rural health care and the cost of health care in general
- Why reimbursement dollars are important and what they cover
- Why many physicians pursue specialties instead of primary care
- How building an expanded care team is especially important in rural communities
- What gives her hope right now
And much more! Listen now, and learn more about how Dr. Oller has been an innovative leader in health care in Kansas.
Listen now
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