Meet New Physician-in-Practice Christopher Kennedy, DO

Education and Residency

West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine

United Hospital Center in Bridgeport, WV

Where do you currently practice, and what is the setting and population that you serve?

Robert C. Byrd Clinic in Lewisburg, WV. This clinic is located in a small rural area of West Virginia. The clinic is affiliated with the medical school nearby.

Why did you choose family medicine?

When I entered medical school, I will admit that I wanted to be a neurologist. I love the field of neurology and enjoyed studying this area of medicine. However, I learned that I was also passionate about all areas of medicine. For me, primary care was my way of approaching my medical career as a “jack of all trades.” Especially in rural areas, primary care physicians are called upon to master multiple aspects of medical knowledge to better support their patients in lower resource areas. The solidifying factor for my decision to pursue family medicine was the connections with patients. Every area of medicine can be critically important in a patient’s life, but family physicians take on the unique role of following patients through their entire lives. To me, this is an honor and one of my favorite aspects of my career.

What is a typical day like in your life as a new physician-in-practice?

My career path is rather unique. I am integrated into academic medicine. In a given work week, I spend five half days seeing patients in the clinic and five half days involved in didactic presentations, skills lab training, and/or curricular development. I precept medical students and family medicine residents. Next academic year, I will be taking on a new role as the program director for our local family medicine residency

What committee or leadership role do you hold and what role/s have you held in the past?

Last year I joined the ACOFP In-Training Exam work group and Preceptorship Committee, and I still participate in both. This year I joined the New Physician Committee. I have previously served as a delegate for the state of West Virginia at the national ACOFP conference

What have you volunteered for, on a state or national level, and how did it impact you?

Currently, I am on the Board of Trustees for the West Virginia chapter of ACOFP. We are looking at growing this group and expanding our involvement in a number of areas. This more regional involvement with ACOFP has really given me perspective on both the interesting ongoing projects at this advocacy level as well as the challenges facing local ACOFP chapters

What is your advice to residents?

Don’t expect to feel super confident right out of the gate. For me, it was around year three of my practice when I felt I was starting to get a comfortable groove with my workflow. I have learned that healthy humility is okay. Certainly grow in confidence, but don’t feel bad if you need to work on this over time. Also, make sure that you protect your personal/family time. Family physicians are called upon to help the community, and that is very important. But, communities need a lot of help and we cannot do it all. Make sure that you work hard, contribute to your community, but at the end of the day make sure you go home at a reasonable hour and budget time for personal well-being and/or family.

When was the first time you realized you wanted to be a physician?

I know everyone talks about these moments in their medical interviews, but I don’t think I had my moment until I was already in medical school. Obviously, I thought I knew I wanted to be a physician before medical school or I would not have applied. But, in my second year of medical school I went on a medical mission trip to Guatemala that really changed my perspective on life. It really solidified my aspirations to be a physician, for many reasons

If you could meet one famous dead person, who would it be?

I would love to meet C. S. Lewis and J. R. R Tolkien. They were friends and I love both their books. They thought about the world in so many very interesting ways. I would love to be a fly on the wall for one of their conversations together.

What would you title an autobiography or memoir?

The Unexpected Journey: How I Learned That Life Is Unpredictable and Wonderful