[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-503673-105":3,"doc-detail-503673-en":81,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":98},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","wyomings-first-uw-produced-geriatrician-practices-in-casper-interview-with-dr-tabitha-thrasher","Wyoming’s first UW-produced geriatrician practices in Casper - Interview with Dr. Tabitha Thrasher","","Wyoming’s first University of Wyoming-produced geriatrician, Dr. Tabitha Thrasher, reflects on how her background shaped her approach to elder care. Motivated by patience and listening learned from her maternal grandmother, she describes a nontraditional path from tourism management to medicine, including pre-med work and an osteopathic program. After residency in Casper, she completed a geriatric fellowship, now caring for patients 65+ with falls, memory changes, and medication management while emphasizing independence and goals for daily living.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/","Healthcare",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/wyomings-first-uw-produced-geriatrician-practices-in-casper-interview-with-dr-tabitha-thrasher/503673/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/wyomings-first-uw-produced-geriatrician-practices-in-casper-interview-with-dr-tabitha-thrasher/503673.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Blitz","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-09","2026-10-03",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",6,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"Why does Dr. Tabitha Thrasher feel connected to caring for older patients?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"She attributes her motivation to the chance to connect with patients—celebrating joys and grieving losses—and to her early lessons in patience and listening from her grandmother.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What path did Dr. Thrasher take before becoming a geriatrician?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"She studied tourism management first, then shifted to pre-med while working full-time, attended Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine, and later completed residency in Casper.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What does Dr. Thrasher focus on in her current geriatric practice?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"She primarily works with patients 65 and older, addressing falls, memory changes, and medication management, while aiming to maintain function, independence, and daily living goals.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},503673,1791604725,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",{"doc_id":79,"user_id":84,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":85,"doc_module":4,"category_id":86,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":87,"file_id":88,"file_url":89,"file_type":90,"file_size":91,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":26,"language":92,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":93,"faqs":94,"seo_title":95,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":96,"read_time":97,"preview_page_count":4},24464137899374,"https://us-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2",7,"34  CASPER GERIATRIC IAN ~~ ~~  Wyoming Medicine  35  \n Her favorite patients  \nThe University of Wyoming Family Medicine Residency  \nProgram in Casper recently welcomed the state’s first University of Wyoming-produced geriatrician.  \nTabitha Thrasher, DO, didn’t set out to become a doctor for older patients, even though she had worked in nursing homes while attending high school in Missouri.  \n“I loved that population,” she said.“My favorite person was my maternal grandma. She lived on a farm about 10 miles from the town we lived in, and we were very close. She was this quiet, stoic person.”  \nDr. Thrasher said she learned patience and a willingness to listen to others from her grandmother. Those traits can be easily applied to elder care.  \n“They need someone to listen to them,” Dr. Thrasher said.  \nNontraditional student  \nBefore pursuing medicine, Dr. Thrasher studied tourism management at the University of Central Missouri. She made that choice because, coming from a family of six, she didn’t think she could get into medical school.  \n“I wanted to work in a big hotel and do event planning,”she said.“I graduated and got married right before 9/11, so tourism slowed down a bit. I had to re-think my direction.”  \nThat new route became medicine, particularly after her father passed away.  \nDr. Tabitha Thrasher  \nWyoming’s first UW-produced geriatrician practices in Casper  \nBY GAYLE M. IRWIN  \n“I’m not sure it correlated directly because of his death, but it just kept coming back to me …it was more of a calling,”she said.“My father passed away in 2003, and I didn’t understand medically what was happening, which frustrated me, so this piqued my interest in medicine. I knew I wanted to do something that would allow me to interact with people and to help them.”  \nShe and her husband, Nate, lived in Colorado Springs atthe time. She worked for a defense company and began taking pre-med at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs.“It was just my husband and I in Colorado at the time. I worked full-time and took classes on the side,” she said.“He worked as well. I made it through pre-med that way.”  \nShe attended classes in person.  \n“I had a very nice boss that would allow me to make up time if I needed to for labs or other things,” she recalled.“Alot of [classes] were after hours or during lunch breaks. I took one or two classes a semester, so it took a while.”  \nPrior to medical school, Dr. Thrasher traveled to Guatemala for a medical mission. That solidified her decision.“I decided to fully pursue becoming a physician,” she said.  \nShe attended medical school at Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Parker, Colorado. She went to school during the week and returned to Colorado Springs to spend the weekends with her husband.  \nShe moved to Casper in 2012 for her residency at the University of Wyoming Family Medicine Residency Program. Her husband stayed in Colorado.  \n“By the end of the first year, we realized we didn’t like living apart, so he came up here,” Dr. Thrasher said.  \nResidency and focus  \nDuring a rotation in northeastern Wyoming, she worked with Newcastle physician Mike Jording, MD, spending a month learning more about family medicine in rural areas.“She was well-accepted by our patients and staff,” Dr. Jording recalled.“Things can get busy here, but she took care of the patients and handled them with great skill.”  \nHe said she took time to listen to the patients, especially the elderly.  \n“She listened to the life experiences ofthe patients, and she was respected,” he said.“I think her move into the specialty [of geriatric medicine] was an easy step for her to make.”  \nDr. Thrasher thought highly of her experience there as well.“Dr. Jording and his staff were amazing with education, and they were all very kind, open, and generous with their time,” she said.  \nDr. Tabitha Thrasher works at University of Wyoming Family Medicine Residency Program in Casper.  \nPHOTOS COURTESY OF DR. TABITHA THRASH","cbCaidUDYClojVNl","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaidUDYClojVNl","pdf",4452135,"English","# Background and motivations\n## Nontraditional path to medicine\n## Residency in Casper and rural training\n## Geriatric focus and fellowship\n# Current work and care approach\n## Helping with activities of daily living\n## Patient-centered goals and independence","[{\"question\":\"Why does Dr. Tabitha Thrasher feel connected to caring for older patients?\",\"answer\":\"She attributes her motivation to the chance to connect with patients—celebrating joys and grieving losses—and to her early lessons in patience and listening from her grandmother.\"},{\"question\":\"What path did Dr. Thrasher take before becoming a geriatrician?\",\"answer\":\"She studied tourism management first, then shifted to pre-med while working full-time, attended Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine, and later completed residency in Casper.\"},{\"question\":\"What does Dr. Thrasher focus on in her current geriatric practice?\",\"answer\":\"She primarily works with patients 65 and older, addressing falls, memory changes, and medication management, while aiming to maintain function, independence, and daily living goals.\"}]","Wyoming’s first UW-produced geriatrician practices in Casper - Interview with Dr. Tabitha Thrasher | PDF",1791059404,5,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":99},[100,104,108,112,116,120,123,128,133,136,140],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":105,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":107},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":109,"show_sort_weight":110,"slug":111},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":113,"show_sort_weight":114,"slug":115},"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":117,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":119},"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":86,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},40,"healthcare",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":127},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":129,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":130,"show_sort_weight":131,"slug":132},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":131,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":134,"show_sort_weight":131,"slug":135},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":137,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":138,"show_sort_weight":137,"slug":139},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":141,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":142,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":143},19,"General","general"]