Putting her vision into practice: Madelyn Butler, MD 

By Erika D. Peterman, FMA Managing Editor

Instead of searching for an OB/GYN practice that reflected her vision for women’s healthcare, FMA Past President and AMA Board of Trustees member Madelyn Butler, MD, established her own. Today, The Woman’s Group is an award-winning independent practice with four Tampa Bay area locations and a team that includes 24 physicians (along with Dr. Butler) who are all women.

It's also a testament to Dr. Butler’s determination to practice medicine on her own terms. The Woman’s Group’s celebrated its 25h anniversary in 2023.

“I wanted to create a stable practice that treated the physicians right and gave them a good work environment that they wouldn’t want to leave,” said Dr. Butler, who worked at two other practices before founding The Woman’s Group. “It’s the best decision I ever made.” 

Dr. Madelyn Butler and her practice, The Women's Group, was featured in the FMA's Florida Medical Magazine in 2018.

Born in Cuba and raised in Sylvester, Ga., and Bartow, Fla., Dr. Butler was deliberate in creating a practice that mirrors its patients. The physicians, nurses, and support staff members are generationally and culturally diverse. Several are fluent in languages including Spanish, Arabic, Vietnamese, and Hindi. 

“Tampa is a multicultural city, and I wanted my doctors to reflect the patients that we serve,” she said. “The women who come to our practice have someone who can relate to them personally, culturally, and even age-wise, so we can also connect with our patients who are going through different stages of life.” 

Dr. Butler joined the FMA as a medical student at the University of Florida and has been deeply involved in organized medicine ever since. In 2001, she became the first woman elected to serve as President of the Hillsborough County Medical Association. Dr. Butler went on to lead the FMA as President from 2010 to 2011, and she joined the AMA Board of Trustees in 2021.

She considers the FMA “absolutely essential” to the success of her practice and said the HCMA has helped her stay on the cutting edge of regional trends. 

“I got an education in medical school, but I got a practical education in policy and other things that were going to affect me as a practicing physician through the FMA,” Dr. Butler said. “My partners have seen it. The FMA has helped us get paid when managed care companies have held our payments. If we have a problem, we know decision-makers who can help us. It’s not a hard sell.”