Tennessee Sees OB Residency Applications Drop, Future Risk

[In It to Win It]

https://nashvillebanner.com/2024/12/17/tn-obstetric-residency-applications-drop/

In the 2023-2024 school year, Tennessee saw a 21 percent drop in obstetric residency applications, according to a study by the Association of American Medical Schools. The annual analysis shows residents continue to shy away from training in states with strict abortion bans.

Not only is abortion illegal in Tennessee, but roughly half of the state’s rural hospitals don’t even provide obstetric services, and a 2023 report from the March of Dimes showed about one-third of Tennessee counties have been deemed “maternity care deserts,” meaning they have limited or zero maternal health care access.

According to Kaiser and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Tennessee has one of highest rates of maternal mortality and infant mortality in the country.

With all of this as the backdrop, the decline in obstetric residencies has left many medical professionals in the state feeling alarmed about the future of reproductive health care. The Banner reached out to eight practicing OB-GYNs for this story from various hospitals in the Nashville area, and half were either not comfortable or unable to speak on the record for fear of losing their jobs.