Retirement honor: Betsy Trowbridge, MD
Respected leader and primary care champion reflects on a distinguished career
The Department of Medicine (DOM) is proud to honor Elizabeth (Betsy) Trowbridge, MD, Kenneth D. Skaar, MD, Chair of Primary Care and division chief, General Internal Medicine, who will retire on May 1, 2026.
Dr. Trowbridge’s many leadership roles have included vice chair of the Department of Medicine, interim Department of Medicine chair, chair of the UW Health Accountable Care Organization Board, and member of the UW Medical Foundation Board of Directors and UW Hospital and Clinics Authority Board.
She was instrumental in UW Health’s primary care redesign effort and innovative population-based compensation model. In honor of her accomplishments, she has received the department’s Grossman Professionalism Award, the UW Health Physician Excellence Award for Leadership, and the American College of Physicians’ Helen Dickie Award for Outstanding Woman Physician.
Read Dr. Trowbridge's reflections in the Q&A below.
You’ve led a lot of change throughout your career. What guiding philosophy has helped you navigate that?
First off, being authentic and genuine—and listening. People know where I stand and that has engendered trust. Without trust, I wouldn't have been able to make the changes I’ve made.
Treat people with kindness and compassion.
I also really believe in transparency. When I first became division chief, I told people they would understand how I made decisions and there would be no special deals.
What achievements are you most proud of, and why?
I'm most proud of our primary care compensation plan. It taught me that if a leader had an important, creative idea—and was willing to take complete ownership of it—the organization would allow that flexibility.
In 2008, I had asked the then-CFO of UW Health if we could design a new compensation plan for general internal medicine. I got approval to hire a consultant, held focus groups with division faculty, and we came up with a value-based compensation plan based on patient panels. The division passed it with a 98 percent approval rating! [Editor’s note: The plan has since changed and now encompasses all of primary care at UW Health.]
I also partnered with leaders from UW Health, the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health and the Department of Pediatrics to redesign primary care. No other health systems were doing that at the time.
I'm very proud that we have remained together and are a powerful voice. I think we’re the only health system that has a truly unified vision for primary care, while still remaining unique academic departments with different research and education goals.
It has been a privilege to work under Betsy’s leadership. She has been a tremendous advocate for patient-centered primary care through times of immense change in the health care system. Her legacy will live on, and she will be missed.
Dr. Mark Micek, clinical professor, General Internal Medicine
What aspects of your work have been most fulfilling, and why?
There's no question: taking care of patients for 30 years. It’s so hard and wonderful.
I’ve never taken for granted that precious moment when you step into a clinic room. You’re entering somebody's life when they’re at their most vulnerable. You grow up together. You see their lives change over the years. Sometimes you don't know when you’ve made a difference—and sometimes you make a diagnosis that saves a life.
I'm also very proud of the work I did with my colleagues to advocate for primary care. We fought to have a seat at the table.
What do you hope people will remember most about your leadership?
That I saw them for who they were as leaders, and worked to bring out their best.
That I was honest and would call out things that weren’t going to help providers or patients.
That I believed in second chances, in people’s good nature in hard times, and that everyone has value.
And that I was a great dresser!
What makes Dr. Trowbridge a truly extraordinary physician and leader is her ability to see the potential in others—often before they see it in themselves. She is a true empath.
Dr. Gina Utrie, clinical associate professor, General Internal Medicine
What are you looking forward to next?
I’ve been accepted into a program to become a certified professional coach and will graduate in May. I'll be an entrepreneur doing something I love: coaching next-level leaders, physicians and women.
I'm also going to try to just “be.” I don't know what it's like to sleep in or not. My life has been very prescribed!
Everyone knows I love nature, so next August, Nann and I are planning to go to North Africa to see the longest total solar eclipse that will occur in our lifetime—over 7 minutes.
And North Carolina is one of just a few places in the U.S. where you can see synchronous fireflies. So that's on the list, too—to see thousands of fireflies light up all at once, like stars in the sky!
Betsy has been a deeply trusted and generous mentor, sponsor, advisor, and friend. Her North Star commitment to patient care, energy, humility, and deep wisdom shine through, leaving us all better for knowing her.
Dr. Christie Bartels, professor and division chief, Rheumatology