Although this experience has been challenging and draining, it has been a rewarding experience as well. I’ve learned I can handle crisis and handle the emotional and mental stress that comes with it.
Braving the Frontlines I
f 2020 has proven anything, it is that competent and compassionate physicians are vital to the changing landscape of the world. This makes the University of Pikeville-Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine (KYCOM) even more valuable, not only to Kentucky, but to the nation. Two KYCOM graduates worked on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic during their residencies, demonstrating courage and dedication to their patients and their chosen field of medicine. Soon after COVID-19 cases began spiking in the U.S., Rachel Willimann, D.O., KYCOM ’17, a third-year pediatric resident working at Nassau University Medical Center in New York, and Nate Hensler, D.O., KYCOM ’18, a second-year family medicine resident at Baton Rouge General, put their rotations on hold to help their health care facilities prepare for the
28
UPIKE MAGAZINE | FALL/WINTER 2020
