Residency program grads reflect on three years at Benning Martin Army

FORT BENNING, Ga., (July 8, 2015) -- On Friday, June 26, the Benning Martin Army Community Hospital graduated another outstanding class from the Army's oldest family medicine residency program.

Nine new physicians completed 1,095 days of training, earned an unrestricted license to practice medicine in the state of their choice and passed the American Board of Family Medicine Certification Examination.

To celebrate the occasion, the BMACH Public Affairs Office sat down with two of the program's stellar residents for an in-depth look at their career choice and lessons learned during the last three years in residency.

Why did you choose to become a physician?

Dr. Mary Alice Noel: "I visited the U.S. Military Academy at West Point as a junior and found out about the route to medical school. The idea of having a purpose in college and investing in something long-term worthwhile seemed like the right answer for my path.

I went in knowing I wanted to be an Army physician when I went to college. What a great calling to be military physician serving those who serve our country. That thought drove me throughout my whole education."

Dr. David Bury: "The decision to do medicine came first. I've always loved science and service - and the idea of a profession that was always challenging as well as rewarding that would allow me to give back to the community. I realized that a career in medicine could give me everything that I was looking for in a long-term career. I became intrigued by the idea of medicine in the military and the idea that you could do both together."

Why was a career in Army Medicine appealing to you?

Bury: "Army Medicine gets more challenging and more exciting on a daily basis. That really is what drives me and most of my colleagues, is the fact that it is changing.

The Army and military medicine on the whole are pioneers in many different technologies, most notably life-saving interventions on the battlefield. We, as a military, are number one. It's really neat to be a part of true leaders in a profession."

Noel: "When you are an officer and a doctor, you really do serve two different professions. Unless you have done it, you don't know what those Soldiers you serve are going through. It gives you credibility as a physician amongst the population you are taking care of, and that's really important. You can do same things that Soldier does and you know what their Families are going through because your Family is affected too. It gives you an increased sense of empathy just knowing how important it is to return that person to duty."

Dr. Bury, you were volunteering on the Virginia Tech student rescue squad on April 16, 2007 when the shooting took place on campus. Can you tell us how that impacted your world view and desire to serve others?

Bury: "That gave me a good understanding of how precious life is. It was a life-changing experience to see my peers and fellow Hokies on the ground. To come out of that and be inspired by the lives of those 32 individuals was truly was motivating to become a better person myself. That's what got me thinking about how can I make a meaningful impact on this world. That's really where the idea of medicine started."

How do the Army values inform and guide your career path?

Bury: "The military has excellent learning opportunities in medical education, leadership, teaching and operational medicine. The Army also has a very strong system of values which coincides with my own personal values. To me, it was really important to align myself with other people who have similar values or ethics and push me to improve myself. I've always looked at the military as something that was very noble profession, a calling that I admired. My Two grandfathers always spoke very highly of their time in service during WWII. I was captivated by how they talked, how they walked and positioned themselves within society."

What stands out as exceptional about the BMACH Family Medicine Residency Program?

Noel: "Every staff member at BMACH has personal interest in my success, and you can tell by the way they teach and care for their residents. They treated us like family members. They were always concerned with how we could best learn, always looking for opportunities for us. We've had incredible teachers and support staff, all with a vested interest in helping us become the best physicians possible."

Bury: "I absolutely love this program. It's been one of the most transformational challenging experiences of my life. I've met some incredible mentors, teachers and NCOs that have provided guidance and support. I've had a very supportive command team as well. Our class has been very lucky to have excellent staff here who serves in so many roles, not only as leaders but as professional and personal mentors and teachers. They teach us how to be better doctors, officers and people in general.

Everybody brings something different to the table, which is nice because there's no shortage of knowledge to go around. Whatever the resident wants to do, he can go and talk to somebody who has done that before. I am overwhelmed by the knowledge, generosity, passion and commitment that these people have to teaching me and making sure that I was the best doctor I could be at the end of these three years. They've been so incredibly supportive and I think I've learned different things from each one. It's interesting that a lot of our staff here are graduates of the program. I think we foster a good sense of community. It's just a good place to be."

What was your favorite part of being a BMACH Family Medicine resident?

Bury: "The patients have been phenomenal. In Family Medicine, we get to deal with a wide variety of patients - cradle to grave - doing prenatal care, to geriatric care and everything in between. That has been very inspiring to be so intimately involved with so many people and really having the opportunity to learn as we make a difference in their lives. One of my favorite parts has been our continuity of obstetric care that we can provide. We see pregnant women who are assigned for their first prenatal care visit, during every prenatal care visit after that and then we take care of them while they're in labor and delivery. We get to deliver them and take care of mom and baby. Then we get to see the baby for checkups. After three years here, I'm seeing kids that are 12 to 15 months old, and that's super special getting to know these people and playing a role in their lives."

It's been said that sometimes doctors learn from their patients. Have you found that to be true?

Bury: "Absolutely, I've learned more from my patients than anybody else. The stakes are high when you walk in the room, shake someone's hand and they're asking you for help. Every ounce of your being wants to do what's best for this person and their Family. So when there's a question you can't answer, you go find out the answer. If you are faced with something you've never heard of, you go read about it or you go ask our staff. If you make a mistake, then you make sure that doesn't happen again. I've had some questions patients ask me and I've said, "I just don't know." I think that's inspiring because you know that if someone asks you the question, you're going to get it again. And when you don't know something, you go find out the answer. When you do some research, talk with other doctors, come back and let them know, "hey, this is what I found out," they're very appreciative of that. I've found that you take that experience from that patient and the next time you see someone with a similar issue, you're able to address it. It's challenging, but that's good. We want to be challenged. It's absolutely worth it because you get that sense that you actually made a difference when you put someone's mind at ease. As residents, we can provide equally exceptional care. We're committed to learning from our patients and doing the right thing with the most current, evidence-based treatments and diagnostics. When we don't have the answer, we're encouraged to go seek it out. A lot of times the staff is working with us, so you get two sets of eyes on the same issue which can result in better care for the patient."

How has the environment at BMACH with your peers been part of your learning experience?

Noel: "It's definitely a team effort. You're supporting not only your own class but also the classes that are behind and ahead of you. Residents are continuously being taught or teaching. It's a great cohesive team. We all went through struggles but supported each other through the challenges in life. It's been incredible to watch resiliency of our class."

Bury: "We spend more time with each other during our residency than we do with our own Families and the (graduating class) is definitely a second Family. The eight of them have been incredible.

We challenge each other, but we're very supportive. We build each other up and we want each other to do well, and that's the environment that we've cultivated here. Everybody has different backgrounds and strengths that they bring to the table. They are truly remarkable people."

Dr. Bury, what did it mean to you to receive the 2015 Resident Teacher and Resident of the Year Awards?

"I was quite honored. It means a lot to have the recognition of my peers. My goal is to be on residency staff one day. I think it's largely because of the mentors I've had here."

Dr. Noel, you served as one of the chief residents for the class of 2015. What does the future hold for you?

"There's a lot of excitement, knowing I'm going to be doing what I started eleven years ago to help take care of Soldiers and their Family members. I'm very excited to get started and contribute as much as I possibly can. This hospital and the faculty here has invested in us so much, I'd love to give back. Eventually, I'd like to be on teaching staff and plan to pursue a teaching fellowship soon. Helping to teach others is one of the most important jobs we can have, to keep asking questions and help each other learn."

The 2015 graduating class of the BMACH Family Medicine Residency Program includes:

• Capt. Hillery S. Bavani, DO

• Capt. David C. Bury, MC

• Capt. Mark M. Hooten, MC

• Capt. Gordon Mok, MC

• Capt. Mary A. Noel, MC

• Capt. Irina M. Pechenko, MC

• Capt. Christopher K. Pham, MC

• Capt. Samuel N. Sigoloff, MC

• Capt. David H. Yun, MC