Martinsburg VAMC working to enhance rural medical education
PRESS RELEASE
November 25, 2024
Martinsburg , WV — The Martinsburg VAMC hosted a workshop for clinical staff on November 15, 2024, as part of its participation in VA’s Rural Interprofessional Faculty Development Initiative (RIFDI).
RIFDI works to enhance the training health sciences students receive in rural settings.
“At Martinsburg, we are training future generations of health care providers who will eventually care for Veterans and others. We not only want them to have the best training, but we also hope they consider practicing in rural areas where it is often harder to recruit health care providers,” said Dr. Lisa Beard, an Optometrist at the Martinsburg VAMC.
The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) provided trainers for the workshop. USU was founded in 1972 and is the nation’s federal health professions academy, composed of the F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, the Daniel K. Inouye Graduate School of Nursing, the Postgraduate Dental College, and the College of Allied Health Sciences.
Dr. Jessica Servey, Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs, and Dr. Hava Haischer-Rollo, Assistant Dean of Faculty Development, led the training. Dr. Servey is a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and Dr. Haischer-Rollo is a current Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. “We were fortunate to have such accomplished physician leaders share their knowledge and experience with our Martinsburg faculty,” said Dr. Beard.
Physicians, pharmacists, optometrists, and mental health providers attended the workshop. Topics included steps for providing more effective feedback, building trust in learners, the role of leadership vs. followership, and more. “Training future medical professionals is such an important job, and the skills we learned will translate to improved learning for our students,” said Natalie Riggleman, a senior licensed professional mental health counselor at Martinsburg.
The Martinsburg VAMC trains students in fields such as nursing, pharmacy, social work, psychiatry, surgery and more. VA is the largest health care training system in the country, providing training, residencies and fellowships to more than 120,000 trainees each year.
David Porter, Public Affairs Officer - Office of the Medical Center Director
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