times , Wehner expresses her highest honor as something more personal .
“ I have received multiple mentoring awards , but that really does not mean as much as when a former student sends you a text and says , ‘ Hey , I remember what you taught me in EKG class , and it saved a life today because I remembered .’ That is the best feeling ever ,” she says .
Not only does Wehner serve others through education and mentorship , but she is also an active member of her community . Inspired by her daughters , Wehner and her family have provided support and supplies for the Eastern Cabell County Humanities Organization , Huntington City Mission and local flood relief . Through the GME office , Wehner has supported coat drives and Kids in White Coats for Big Brothers Big Sisters . Through her involvement with Women in Medicine , she helped with an event for Branches Domestic Violence Shelter . In her current position as director of GME , she was also
able to sponsor staff and residents to participate in the Turkey Trot to raise funds for Little Victories Animal Shelter .
In addition to Wehner ’ s achievements in teaching and instructing , she is especially proud of the current Marshall Community Health Consortium Rural General Surgery Residency Program that she is spearheading . Through this residency program , Wehner hopes to create more accessibility to health care in rural areas of West Virginia .
Growing up in Kingwood , WV , and returning for medical school and later a career at Marshall University , Wehner has always had a connection to the Mountain State .
“ My current connection is strong , and my proudest accomplishment is providing trained , competent physicians to the state of West Virginia ,” says Wehner . “ I love to tell people that my current position provides the citizens of the state of West Virginia , and the rest of the country , physicians for tomorrow .” •
Rural Surgery Residency Program
The Marshall Community Health Consortium Rural General Surgery Residency Program is one-of-a-kind .
The Rural General Surgery Residency is a five-year program and the first in the nation to be accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education ( ACGME ) and with ACGME Rural Track Program designation across all specialties . The program is designed with the intention to train residents who will ultimately have a successful practice in a rural community .
To achieve this mission , the program ’ s complement is a smaller number of individuals . This way , there are enhanced learning opportunities , a close-knit peer group and one-onone time with attending physicians . The program participants will learn the unique challenges faced in a rural facility while engaging in a very specific academic medical centerbased training program .
Another unique aspect of the Rural General Surgery Residency is that residents will get to join and collaborate with a sister program — the Marshall University General Surgery Residency Program . In addition , Jodi Cisco-Goff , M . D ., FACS , and James Paugh , D . O ., at Logan Regional Medical Center will be training residents for at least 50 % of the instruction during the five years .
Residents will be participating in joint didactics with the sister program as well as sharing sites at Cabell Huntington Hospital and St . Mary ’ s Medical Center . Even more exciting , the program will offer a simulation center for the trainees at the rural site to enhance education and instruction .
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