Breona Barr
“I will always be a proponent for the community program. An academically-connected community program with the resources and expertise WVU has located in a tight-knit rural area — it is the perfect combination of academia and community.”
Breona Barr, M.D., came to the Rural Family Medicine Residency program in Harpers Ferry on the WVU School of Medicine’s Eastern Campus to practice community-based medicine. She wanted to be in a position where she could impact patients at a smaller level and potentially prevent disease before a patient would need to seek care at a major medical center.
Dr. Barr said the opportunity to work so closely with patients has opened a lot of doors for her during her residency.
“As a resident in a community clinic, even in your first year, you are expected to do a lot here,” Barr said. “The amount of hands-on training available to us forces us to learn quickly, and teaches us the valuable skills we need as practicing physicians.”
Barr said the nature of the community-based program allows her to build strong relationships with faculty, patients and peers. She said she felt an immediate connection to faculty members during her residency interview, and that those relationships have only grown in the time since becoming a resident.
“This is a really supportive staff who genuinely cares for our wellbeing. They approach you not just as a resident, but as a person. They take the time to get to know us and so they can tell us what our strengths and weaknesses are and customize the experience for what each resident needs,” Barr said.
The tight-knit community of Harpers Ferry also facilitates close relationships between physicians and their patients, which Barr said is the most rewarding thing about what she does. She said that even after the longest and most difficult days on the job, there is always someone who brightens her day and reminds her why she decided to pursue medicine in the first place.
Barr said she is grateful she found the Rural Family Medicine residency program during her search and that there is nowhere else she would rather be. She also encourages any graduating medical students to come check out the program for themselves.
“I will always be a proponent for the community program. An academically-connected community program with the resources and expertise WVU has located in a tight-knit rural area — it is the perfect combination of academia and community,” Barr said. “If you are looking for a place to learn and practice family medicine, come visit Harpers Ferry. Once you are here, you won’t want to leave.”