CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Highland Hospital announces two new academic affiliation agreements with the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine.

The first clinical training agreement gives fourth-year medical students at Marshall the opportunity to complete at least one elective psychiatry rotation at Highland Hospital’s behavioral health facility in Charleston. Throughout the course of their rotation at Highland, the students will provide care to psychiatric patients admitted to the facility under the supervision of a trained and board-certified psychiatrist for two to four weeks.

In addition, physician assistant students at Marshall may now choose to complete a clinical rotation at Highland Hospital. One four-week psychiatry rotation is a requirement of the program.

“This experience will give those medical students seeking a psychiatric residency as part of their career path the opportunity to be better prepared to enter residency training after graduation from medical school,” said Bobby L. Miller, M.D., vice dean for medical education at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. “Likewise, clinical experiences at various facilities enriches the comprehensive training of our physician assistant students.”

“We enter these agreements with a great deal of excitement,” said Hussein El-Khatib, M.D., D.F.A.P.A., chief medical officer at Highland Hospital. “We look forward to continuing with Highland’s mission and partnering to serve West Virginia’s people—knowing Marshall University Medical School’s status as one of the top ranked medical schools where most graduates are practicing in medically underserved and rural areas. This affiliation is vital in a field where the needs are surging especially during the drug epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic.”

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Media Contacts: Sheanna Spence, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, 304-691-1639; Brad Story, Highland Hospital, 304-926-1607

Date Posted: Tuesday, May 10, 2022