Prestonsburg, Ky. – Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) recently added a third location to its internal medicine residency program, as four resident physicians began training at Highlands ARH Regional Medical Center.

ARH’s residency training program was established in 2019 with locations in Harlan and Whitesburg. Dr. Jonathan Piercy, who serves as ARH’s Internal Medical Program Director, said he is excited to add Highlands to the mix.

“We’ve been very successful in the five years since the program began and I think Highlands will help us continue with that success,” he said. “It has a strong internal medicine faculty and a good mix of internal medicine patients, both in the inpatient and outpatient setting, so the residents will have a lot to work with and learn from.”

Residents, Piercy explained, work in monthly rotations, gaining experience in areas such as emergency room, ICU and specialty care.

“They get an overview of all the aspects of general adult medicine,” he said. “In internal medicine, we have a focus on inpatient treatment, so they’ll spend a lot of time taking care of patients in the hospital. They do that under the supervision of attending physicians who will watch over them, but who will also let them be the doctor.

“The goal is for the resident to be the doctor and the one with the patient contact,” he continued. “The attendings are just standing by to make sure they’re doing it right.”

Dr. Mitchell Wicker, who serves as the Designated Institutional Official for ARH’s Graduate Medical Education program, said residency is when the newly minted doctors transition from textbook training to hands-on learning.

“When individuals come out of medical school they have some idea of what it means to be a physician, but residency is when they really learn how to be a physician,” he said.

Dr. Joshua Minix, who serves as the associate program director and the site director at Highlands, said ARH’s internal residency program is no different from the standardized residency programs across the country, save for one important detail.

“They’ll be living in Appalachia, immersed in Appalachian culture and taking care of Appalachian patients,” he said.

But Wicker emphasizes small-town living does not mean small-town medicine.

“The type of medicine we practice is the type of medicine you see in big cities,” he said. “It’s quality medicine and quality care.”

Wicker, who grew up in Detroit but has long called eastern Kentucky home, said the residency program not only serves as a training ground for young physicians but also as a recruitment tool for ARH.

“One of the best ways to recruit physicians is to welcome them into your community,” he said. “Each of our ARH hospitals is located in small, tightknit communities. We say ARH is family and those aren’t just words. Our program allows residents opportunities to learn, grow and thrive as they are welcomed into an organization that cares for and is committed to both its patients and its employees.

“It truly is a special place to work.”

ARH has graduated three classes of residents since 2019.

Piercy said watching both the program and the residents grow and mature is the best part of his job.

“When you see the difference between their first day and their final day, it really is amazing,” he said. “You watch them gain confidence and grow into themselves as physicians. They learn so fast and they work so hard to become these talented, wonderful physicians.

“That really is what it’s all about.”

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To schedule an appointment with a resident at Highlands ARH Regional Medical Center, call 606-886-6370.

For more information on ARH’s General Medical Education program, visit www.arhcareers.org/gme-administration or email careers@arh.org.

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Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH), is a not-for-profit health system operating 14 hospitals in Barbourville, Hazard, Harlan, Hyden, Martin, McDowell, Middlesboro, Paintsville, Prestonsburg, West Liberty, Whitesburg, and South Williamson in Kentucky and Beckley and Hinton in West Virginia, as well as multi-specialty physician practices, home health agencies, home medical equipment stores and retail pharmacies and medical spas. ARH employs approximately 6,700 people with an annual payroll and benefits of $474 million generated into our local economies. ARH also has a network of more than 1,300 providers on staff across its multi-state system. ARH is the largest provider of care and the single largest employer in southeastern Kentucky, and the third-largest private employer in southern West Virgini