Yonas Gebeyehu
“What initially drew me to this program was the combination of a community-based clinical experience with the academic structure and resources of a university program.”
A lifelong passion for science and a desire to help others led Yonas Gebeyehu, M.D. to pursue a career in internal medicine through a new residency program hosted at West Virginia University Medicine Berkeley Medical Center in Martinsburg.
“Before I even knew much about medical specialties, I saw the internist as the definition of what it means to be a doctor,” he explained. “Now, as a physician, internal medicine continues to embody that ideal for me. It’s a field where I can provide comprehensive care across the broad spectrum of medicine while building meaningful relationships with my patients.”
Dr. Gebeyehu’s passion for the diagnostic process of internal medicine, paired with a desire to practice medicine in a rural area, led him to the WVU School of Medicine’s Eastern Campus, where he became a member of the inaugural class for the Berkeley Medical Center Internal Medicine Residency Program.
“What initially drew me to this program was the combination of a community-based clinical experience with the academic structure and resources of a university program,” he said. “The location was also ideal for me, and when I visited the campus myself, I was struck by how genuinely invested leadership and everyone else involved were in the success of this program. Everyone was so kind and welcoming, and that experience solidified my decision to train in Martinsburg.”
Now several months into his first year of residency training, Gebeyehu said those impressions have only been reinforced. He credited program faculty and staff for providing outstanding support both personally and academically, and his co-residents for bringing strong personal qualities and medical knowledge to the program’s inaugural cohort.
“While we may not have senior residents to serve as mentors for us, we instead get the rare opportunity to work more closely with and learn directly from the experienced attendings who lead and support this program. This type of experience is invaluable to us as physicians in training,” he explained.
Gebeyehu said this helped him grow both clinically and personally throughout his first several months.
“I’ve learned a lot through this program during my first few months of training, but perhaps the most important lesson has been that there is always knowledge to be gained from each patient encounter,” he said. “Whether it’s a nuance in clinical reasoning, communication, or simply seeing an illness from a new perspective, the attendings have stressed the importance of maintaining our curiosity and willingness to learn in regard to every patient and case that we encounter. This ongoing commitment to learning ensures that we continue to grow as physicians and provide the best possible care for our patients.”