Huntington Times

A total of 113 incoming resident physicians and fellows officially began their post-graduate medical training this week at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. Advanced physician training programs range from one to five years for residencies to one to four additional years beyond residency for fellowships. The hands-on experiences achieved through this intensive learning environment ensure trainees are prepared to enter private practice and/or academic medicine.

The new cohort of trainees hails from 64 medical schools across 19 states and 21 countries, including 31 who are medical alumni from West Virginia’s three medical schools.

“We are thrilled to welcome our new residents and fellows to our training programs,” said Paulette S. Wehner, M.D., vice dean of graduate medical education at the school. “This marks an exciting beginning of the next chapter in their medical training. Upon completion of their programs at Marshall University, they will be fully autonomous physicians, ready to serve our unique patient population in Appalachia or carry the Marshall flag with them wherever they practice.”

Among the new trainees are three rural psychiatry residents participating in a new four-year residency program. Under the guidance of Drs. Suzanne Holroyd and Justin Gandee, residents will spend at least two years at Rivers Health in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, providing mental health services to Mason County and other surrounding communities through telehealth and in-person care beginning in 2025.

With the addition of this year’s resident physicians and fellows, the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine now hosts 300 trainees across 28 programs—the largest number in its 47-year history.