Joel Yednock, M.D.
Board Certification: Internal Medicine 2009
Medical School: West Virginia University School of Medicine 2002-2006
Residency: WVU Department of Medicine 2006-2009, followed by chief residency 2009-2010
Faculty Rank: Assistant Professor
Special Clinical/Research Interests: Hospital Medicine, Patient Safety, Medical Education
Is there a particular population of students (e.g., ethnicity, spiritual, sexual orientation) that you would particularly like to advise?
All students are welcome.
What does a typical day in the life of a internal medicine physician include?
An internal medicine (IM) physician’s workday may vary greatly based on the type of physician they are. Some IM physicians have a typical 8am-5pm schedule, seeing patients in clinic during the week, and will have weekends off. Other IM physicians, who are hospitalists, have a longer 12 hour work day, but have every other week off. Many teaching physicians in an academic institution like myself, have a mix of hospital and clinic duties, while teaching medical students and residents as well.
What is the biggest challenge of being a physician?
One of the great challenges of being a physician is regularly facing the realization that we cannot cure or “fix” all patients. In these cases, however, providing support and assisting patients through their chronic or serious diseases can also be rewarding.
How do you foresee internal medicine changing over the next 20 years?
There are great changes occurring in our country that are helping to provide accessible and affordable care for all. It appears that many changes will continue to occur in this area over the next several years.
What advice would you give a student who is considering an internal medicine residency?
I would highly recommend a residency in internal medicine. There are many career options to choose from in internal medicine and it is a very rewarding field. IM is the major field of adult medicine. If a student is uncertain of their career plans, internal medicine offers many options in primary care, hospital medicine, and all of the specialties, such as cardiology, Pulmonology/critical care medicine, rheumatology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, hematology/oncology and others. Internal medicine is a great field, and I have been very happy with my decision, and also my decision to remain at WVU.