West Virginia University holds White Coat Ceremony for medical students
The ceremony marks the transition of students learning mostly in the classroom to learning in clinical care. More than 100 second year students got their white coats, a symbol of the medical profession's ideals of professionalism and compassion.
12 News spoke to Phillip Englund, a student from Winfield West Virginia studying at WVU, about what he expects after receiving his white coat.
'I know there will be challenges of just learning how a hospital operates but I think it's going to be really exciting and a neat experience to start using all the stuff we learned over the past few years and seeing it, applying it, and helping the state of West Virginia.'
Cheat Lake Volunteer Fire Department demonstrates life saving equipment
12 News also spoke with Dr. Clay Marsh, the Dean of the School of Medicine. When asked about the future of the medical field that these students will face, he invoked Dr. Francis Peabody, a celebrated teacher at the Harvard Medical School known for his work on polio and typhoid fever, saying, ''The secret in the care of the patient is caring for the patient,'' Dr. Marsh said. 'The details will change but those foundational elements of professionalism and humanism never will.'
Along with studying, WVU ask that their medical students do 600 hours of volunteering to show their commitment to service. Furthermore, they had to get into medical school in the first place. WVU said this year 6,300 people applied to their medical school for 115 spots.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Dominion Post
09-08-2025
- Dominion Post
Medical student debt: A look at where WVU stands and what it means
dbeard@ MORGANTOWN – Out of 160 medical schools across the country, WVU's ranks 86th for the amount of average student debt among graduates, according to data from the Association of American Medical Colleges published in Becker's Hospital Review. WVU medical school's average debt load for students graduating in 2024 was $188,892. Marshall University's medical school ranked 113, with an average $161,652, according to the AAMC. Both schools fare better than the national average of $212,341. The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine confers D.O degrees rather than M.D. degrees and was not included in the list. The Dominion Post talked to Clay Marsh, chancellor and executive dean of WVU Health Sciences, about what the numbers mean. We'll take a closer look at the figures and then get marsh's perspective on them. According to AAMC, Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans had the highest average debt load, at $317,890. University of Houston Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine in Texas had the lowest load, at $33,993. Seven schools had an average $0 debt load, for various reasons. Nationally, 71% of medical students carry some debt, with 56% carrying more than $200,000 worth. At WVU, 89% carry debt. For Marshall, it's 96%. Medical school costs can exceed doctoral training costs for other professions, and Marsh said there are several reasons for that. One is supply and demand. Last year, WVU had 6,500 applications for 115 slots. WVU, he said, prioritizes West Virginia resident students first, then non-residents with close West Virginia affiliations, and then out-of-state students with no state affiliations. Last year, 145 West Virginia students applied. 'We're proud of that,' he said. They want to have all qualified West Virginia students accepted into WVU or Marshall or the osteopathic school, and stay here and serve the state. Another factor contributing to costs is the instructors, he said. Many of them are physicians or healthcare workers who are well compensated. 'We don't want to see our students have any more debt than is necessary,' he said. Based on national figures, WVU's tuition is right on target for out-of-state students and a little below average for in-state students. 'But it's still very expensive and I do think that that's an important opportunity for us for the future, is to figure out how to make medical school or other professional schools more affordable.' Does medical student debt contribute to high healthcare costs? Marsh said U.S. spending on healthcare last year was $4.6 trillion – more than $14,000 per person, which is twiceas much as the average Western country, but we still have lower health outcomes. There are many factors contributing to those costs and the role of student debt isn't clear, he said. But debt can play a role in which area of practices students choose. Lower-paying specialties may make it harder to pay off debt – approximating a house mortgage without the house – and could lead them to decide not to serve in rural areas or not to go into lower-paying specialties. Becker's published an article on Doximity's Physician Compensation Report 2025 which includes a ranking of specialties by pay. Neurosurgery is at the top, at $749,140 per year. Pediatric endocrinology is at the bottom, at $230,426. But general pediatrics, family medicine and internal medicine are also in the bottom 20 – at $265,230, $318,959 and $326,116, respectively. The Becker's story raised a new issue that will play a role in student debt: the One Big Beautiful Bill recently passed by Congress. It includes federal loan caps of $200,000 staring in July 2026, and ends the federal Grad PLUS loan program, which allows students to borrow up to the full cost of attendance, including living expenses. Becker's speculates that this could lead some considering a medical career to choose another field, and contribute to the physician shortage. We asked Marsh if he thought the OBBB will play such a role, and he said, 'I think it's going to play a huge role.' Students will face a challenge without other sources of money, such as scholarships, parent contributions or schools offering tuition and fee reductions. Rural areas are a significant issue in healthcare, he said, and combining these loan measures with OBBB's changes to Medicaid, rural areas will face more challenges and pressures. 'That really is going to require us all to be creative and try to understand what may be additional measures to try to help students and others who want to enter the field of patient care.' We asked if WVU is considering some measures. He named a few. WVU has a MATTER track – the Mountaineer Accelerated Track to Enter Residency. Qualifying students who want to complete their specialty training residency in the state have the opportunity to finish medical school in three years instead of four. In MATTER's first year, he said, five participated. Last year, more than 20 applied. With the accelerated medical school program, students can save money and reduce their debt load. WVU and Marshall both have an accelerated track where a student applying for an undergraduate degree can also apply for medical school at the same time. They can complete their bachelor's in three years, and with MATTER could finish medical school in three years – a total of six instead of eight – thus reducing their debt. This is an option for a small number of the more extraordinary students. Another possibility is a student agreeing to some years of service in West Virginia in in exchange for tuition forgiveness or having some portion of the loans paid off. Marsh noted that students who do their residency training here are more likely to stay here – about 77% – compared to those who train for their specialty out of state and return, just 7%. 'We, like others, have actively worked to try to reduce student debt,' he said. The conversation ended on a positive note. The most recent federal jobs report, he said, shows healthcare jobs staying in equilibrium. This means healthcare is an area of tremendous growth for jobs and economic development. 'We see our role as being able to create pipelines for our health system and other health systems in the state so we can meet the needs of our citizens with the highest skilled professionals,' he said. It's WVU's responsibility to continue to perform at higher and higher levels, including finding ways to reduce student debt.
New York Times
08-07-2025
- New York Times
Lung Cancer Screening on Wheels
West Virginia's back roads — two lanes, carved into steep mountainsides — were never meant for LUCAS, a 68,000-pound tractor-trailer that brings lung cancer screening to the most rural parts of the state. Lung cancer is the deadliest type of cancer in the United States, claiming about 125,000 lives each year — more than breast, colorectal and cervical cancers combined. Though lung cancer screening by CT scan can be lifesaving and insurers are required to cover it, the test is a little-known option. Less than 20 percent of eligible people get screened, compared with the 70 to 80 percent who get mammograms, colonoscopies and Pap smears, federal data shows. These challenges are exacerbated in West Virginia, which has the highest smoking rate in the country and a largely rural population without easy access to a hospital with lung screening. Half of its lung cancer cases are not caught until Stage 4, when treatment options are limited. LUCAS, which is run by the West Virginia University Cancer Institute, hit the road in 2021. It was the first fully mobile lung cancer screening unit in the country. 'We have to be more creative about bringing health care to people,' said Dr. Hannah Hazard-Jenkins, the institute's director. 'As opposed to always forcing them to us.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
‘Doing nothing is killing us': Worthington residents outraged over town's sewage issues
WORTHINGTON, (WBOY) — Residents of Worthington have become increasingly concerned over the town's sewage issues, with some even reporting that the issue is getting them sick. 12 News first brought you this story more than a year ago, and again in April 2025, but residents said the situation has not improved since. Nathan Kyer, a Worthington resident and a disabled veteran who is immunocompromised, told 12 News that sewage water rising into his property has been a problem for about eight years. However, what used to be a twice-a-year occurrence has now increased to two-to-three times a month. 'I get infections very easy. Sinus infections, upper respiratory, rashes on my skin, staph is a big one I have to watch for […] Had infection from where my open stitches are from a surgery I recently had, and my throat it's when up to my ears and you get tired of it,' said Kyer, who stayed at home for two months to stay safe after his surgery but now the sewage issues are affecting his health. Residents said that it's raw sewage soiling their basements, lawn and property, which happens during storms when the sewage system gets backed up. 'When we have storms, it's really bad. The system just can't handle it. It's vapor locks, I'm guessing. I used to build sewer systems, and it all backs up in the house. You call, the emergency number they have now took me to a free Amazon card drawing so I've had to call 911 before. There's an emergency number now where they have been answering, but then they contact the mayor and then it still took 18 hours for them to get out here last time, and I was having severe IBS,' 'I actually have to sleep in my bathroom sometimes, it gets so bad, and it's not acceptable, it's ridiculous, I've had to use five-gallon buckets and it's very demoralizing. It's in my house, my house stinks, I have animals, you know, it makes you really upset,' Kyer said. Kyer said that although the town has brought in portable toilets, in his case of IBS and being immunocompromised, it's not safe for him. 'It's destroyed all of his stuff, but when you have compromised immune systems and health issues, he can't be in these fumes, so we just try to help each other in cleaning this up but we need help, I mean we need help so bad, ' Andrea Zaleski, Worthington Resident who is one of multiple people helping clean her neighbors homes, said. Kyer has considered moving, but selling a house with a basement that is frequently under sewage water creates a challenge. 'I have a lot of equity right now, but I'm concerned that that equity is going to be gone and I'm going to have to take a loss just for my health and my animals,' Kyer said. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Worthington residents struggle with town's overflowing sewer system Kyer isn't the only resident in this situation; dozens of residents have come together to create the Worthington WV Sewage Crisis Facebook page dedicated to documenting the ongoing sewage problem. 'Turned into the EPA, we've tried government agencies. And we are getting government responses, but it's slow and it's not enough and there's a lot of us that are suffering from this,' Kyer said. 'When this goes into people's living spaces, they're exposed to the bacteria, to the mold that's formed from the stagnant water and solid materials. We're told to open a window, we were told by the DEP at one point to open a window, and I just can't accept that as an answer,' Zaleski said. In October 2024, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection informed the town about violations it found after an inspection. Zaleski said the town is currently working on a Plan of Corrective Action (POCA) on how to solve the issue, but Zaleski said, 'we have zero confidence that that's going to happen.' Residents like Zaleski said they've run out of options and turned to a protest non-vote in Tuesday's municipal election, which ended up having fewer than 10 voters, according to Delegate Phil Mallow. This means that the town's municipality could be at risk, but Zaleski said this is now the best course of action for the residents. 'We are trying to put together a declaration of no confidence in this administration and plead for the county commission to take over this issue for sewage. I understand that they're going through a process right now, but we've been told that for so long, and nothing happens. So I think that, and like I said, in their defense, I think this is just so overwhelming, they really—how would you know what to do? But doing nothing is killing us,' Zaleski said. According to West Virginia State Code, a municipality can forfeit its charter or certificate of incorporation if fewer than 20 legal votes are cast in its most recent election. Once the town's election results are certified, if fewer than 20 people voted, residents can petition the Marion County Court, and the town could be dissolved, leaving its 173 residents to be assimilated by the county. Former Buckhannon mayor sentenced on child porn charge Mallow, who recently attended a town meeting over the sewage issues and has contacted other officials to try and find a resolution, spoke with 12 News about this situation. 'I'm sure everybody's frustrated, but it just seems odd to me that if it's been going on since 2008 or 2018 or whatever the case may be, that all of a sudden it's come to a head,' Mallow said. Worthington town officials told 12 News they have 'no comment' regarding Worthington's municipality status, but that they are working on a statement about the sewage issues in the town. 'As of right now, our attorney is going to get some things ready to address the issue,' said the official. They added that town officials have plans to be interviewed by 12 News and another outlet, but did not provide a date for the interview. 'The statement will come out when everything is typed up and ready because we have a lot of evidence that we're going to present to prove what's going on,' the official said. The Marion County Commission has yet to reply to 12 News' request for comment on this story. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
