WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital Podiatry Residents Starting Off on the Right Foot
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WHEELING -- While strides have been made in the medical field across West Virginia, Dr. Patrick Burns, part of the podiatry team at WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital, feels there are still areas where progress is needed -- and foot and ankle health is one of them.
Burns will be on the front lines of improving podiatric health in the Mountain State, as he now heads the new podiatric medicine and surgery residence at WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital, the first of its kind in the Mountain State.
"West Virginia has made the decision to do better," Burns said.
The program began at the start of July with two residents and one fellow, and Burns hopes to keep growing it as the years progress. This isn't his first experience heading a podiatric residency, as he previously served as director of the UPMC Mercy Hospital podiatric medicine and surgery residency, and foot and ankle trauma and reconstructive fellowship.
Burns said foot and ankle health is a field that hasn't always received the necessary attention, but is crucial for the overall well-being of West Virginians. Preventing major amputations -- be it from diabetes complications, wounds or deformities -- is critical.
Part of the solution is working on the immediate problem, he said, and another part is building a training program to develop more experts in the field.
"If we train people and train them well, there's the hope that some will stay and some will trickle through from other parts of West Virginia," he said. "I thought this was a really good opportunity to start something new and from scratch."
It also will give Ohio Valley residents easier access to podiatric care. WVU Medicine doesn't want patients to have to travel far for foot and ankle care, Burns said. And the consequences of putting off that care could be dire.
The residency is a three-year surgical program, Burns said. During that time, podiatric residents will not only spend time with faculty learning foot and ankle surgery, but will also spend time with orthopedic trauma, vascular surgery, plastic surgery and general surgery teams.
"They're really getting a good team approach," he said. "You want to know what everyone else is doing. You want to know what everyone else is capable of. That way you can help each other.
"It makes for a good team atmosphere and it enhances their training, the more you can see what everyone else is doing."
There also will be an optional fourth-year fellowship, where those in the program can gain more autonomy and make more of their own decisions, while still having faculty guidance available. Residents will work in areas including diabetic care, fracture care, ankle replacements and others, allowing them to experience the entire spectrum of podiatric health.
"We are incredibly proud to launch West Virginia's first podiatric medicine and surgery residency right here at Wheeling Hospital," said Douglass Harrison, president and CEO of WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital and regional president of WVU Medicine's Northern Region.. "As an academic-based community hospital, we are uniquely positioned to combine advanced medical education with the compassionate, community-focused care our patients expect. This program underscores our commitment to growing academic opportunities while strengthening the future of healthcare for the entire Ohio Valley."
Burns said he feels that same sense of pride to be able to help create a residency program that will provide needed care in an important field.
"It's exciting to pioneer that, and then the downstream effect of that on the local community and then the region and then the state, that's pretty special," he said. "The long term goal is that this is going to be a place that gets good candidates and becomes one of the top in the country."