Northeast Regional Medical Center Celebrates Thank a Resident Day
2/28/2025
KIRKSVILLE, MO, February 28 - Today is Thank a Resident Day. According to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), residents are physicians who have completed medical school and are now pursuing specialized training and clinical experience. Once a physician completes residency they can sit for national certification exams to become Board Certified in their chosen specialty. Residents are an integral part of the healthcare team, especially in rural areas.
Northeast Regional Medical Center has a long history of supporting physician education through clinical residency programs. NRMC currently provides resident training in dermatology, family medicine, internal medicine and osteopathic neuromuscular medicine.
Kent Blanke, D.O., director of medical education at NRMC shares how hospitals with resident physicians can offer better care to patients. “As an attending physician, I might see my patients once or twice a day. However, resident physicians are assigned to check on patients several times a day. So the patient actually ends up seeing a doctor multiple times during the day.”
Dr. Blanke adds that residents provide a source of education to nurses as they work hand-in-hand to care for patients. “There is a lot of coeducation between the attending and residents, which keeps us all on our toes.”
Resident physicians also increase the sharing of information and education between healthcare providers and patients. “Residents bring a higher level of care to the patients served by NRMC,” states DeLeeuw, D.O., internal medicine residency director. “The education of residents requires the supervising physicians to keep up with the latest medical information available.”
Dr. DeLeeuw,, also points out that residents have more time to spend with patients and their families. “They have the time to talk with patients and their loved ones to provide education regarding their health care. It’s satisfying as an educator to see residents creating a professional relationship with their patients that we know is going to help improve health care overall.”
NRMC is proud of their residents and the work they do for this community. Staff feel it is rewarding to celebrate their success, such as with Brock Davis, D.O., dermatology resident who was recently selected as an American Academy of Dermatology delegate for the American Medical Association House of Delegates. Cultivating future leaders and advocates for patients in rural areas like this community is another positive outcome from residency programs at NRMC.
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