Special Feature
August 4, 2022
FACTS Benefactor: Mary McCrossan, MD
By: Tucker Brown, MD
Editor’s Note: The Fertility Appreciation Collaborative to Teach the Science (FACTS) relies on the generous support of people who understand the need for evidence-based education on fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs). FACTS exists to bridge gaps in medical education by equipping students, physicians, and health professionals with the basic principles of FABMs. In turn, women and couples benefit from this knowledge as they plan their families and learn innovative ways to monitor their reproductive health. This month’s donor feature, the final one in our series, highlights one of our benefactors and FACTS Speakers, Dr. Mary McCrossan, and her role in advancing the mission of FACTS.
Meet Dr. Mary McCrossan
Dr. McCrossan, a board-certified family physician with a passion for women’s health, has practiced medicine for over 40 years. During her career, she moved to the Mid-Atlantic region to help establish a robust family medicine residency obstetrics program focused on providing excellent care for underserved women. She continues to form the next generation of physicians by supervising family medicine residents in the program.
Dr. McCrossan first encountered FACTS through a talk given at a local medical meeting. One of the qualities she most admired about FACTS was its potential to “get FABMs into the mainstream.” Though Dr. McCrossan was first exposed to FABMs in a faith-based setting, she appreciates that FACTS focuses solely on the science behind FABMs and their effectiveness for family planning and medical management. This approach makes evidence-based FABMs more accessible to both medical professionals and patients.
After meeting FACTS co-founders, fellow family physicians, Drs. Marguerite Duane and Bob Motley, Dr. McCrossan joined in on some of the early FACTS meetings. She then attended FACTS seminars and trained as a FACTS Speaker. Now she gives regular presentations on FABMs, both virtually and in-person, to the family medicine residents at Saint Francis Family Medicine Residency Program, where she is on faculty.
Roughly 12 years after learning about FACTS, Dr. McCrossan remarked: “It is amazing to see it now, to see the number of students, residents, and physicians FACTS has impacted.” Even within her own residency program, she has seen a dramatic change in the spectrum of options being offered to patients. “We started with zero FABMs. Now residents will talk about women’s cycles and no longer just automatically prescribe birth control. They are really thinking, and they are going to take this tool with them.”
Dr. McCrossan has been a force for change. A physician who realized the benefits of FABMs, she now guides her residents, the next generation of physicians, to understand how FABMs enrich women’s health care. She explained that “knowledge of FABMs has enriched my practice in that it requires me to think through gynecologic problems with proper diagnosis and treatment of underlying problems.” Through her involvement with FACTS, “there is now more respect for women who choose this option. If not for FACTS, this would not be happening.”
In addition to teaching patients and residents, Dr. McCrossan helps make FABMs more accessible by financially supporting FACTS with a monthly gift. When asked why she donates to FACTS, she states: “It is better healthcare for women. FACTS is the main avenue to make FABMs as widely accessible as possible.” While recognizing the great work of countless organizations in the field, she posits that, “FACTS takes the broadest view; it will help the most people.”
“It is better healthcare for women. FACTS is the main avenue to make FABMs as widely accessible as possible.”
On a personal level, Dr. McCrossan also expressed tremendous gratitude for the work of FACTS in the life of her family. She has two married daughters utilizing FABMs (thanks to her involvement with FACTS!) and is happy that they have chosen for themselves “the healthiest possibility for their reproductive healthcare.” She believes that it was really “informal exposure that made the difference. They independently chose what they found to be best for their health.”
“Women deserve to have this healthy, affordable option,” states Dr. McCrossan. “I find it satisfying to support those doing the work.”
More About Dr. Mary McCrossan
Dr. Mary McCrossan, a board-certified family physician, received her medical degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School in 1982. She went on to complete family medicine residency training at North Memorial Medical Center, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. She later moved to the Mid-Atlantic to help develop an active family medicine residency obstetrics program focused on providing excellent care for under-served women. In recent years she continues to supervise family medicine residents in their teaching office.
Our donors make a difference!
The demand for the FACTS online elective continues to grow! Our elective in fertility awareness bridges gaps in medical education to ensure physicians in training learn reliable, up-to-date, evidence-based information about FABMs. During the 2021-2022 academic year, 272 medical students completed our elective. Thanks to the ongoing support of donors like Dr. Mary McCrossan, we hope to enroll as many as 300 students this academic year!
Your generosity makes our work possible.
Your generous contribution enables us to educate and engage medical professionals and students by sharing the evidence supporting fertility awareness-based methods with them.
- $100 provides a scholarship for a student to attend a FACTS conference
- $250 covers the registration for a student to enroll in our elective
- $500 funds a FACTS speaker to educate students about FABMs
We appreciate all our donors! Thank YOU!
