As the director of the hospitalist program for Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital (SLCH) and a part-time family medicine physician at Park Street Clinic, Dr. William Barish has the unique opportunity to teach medical students in two very different settings.
 
“Western students have been working with me at Park Street since 2008,” says Dr. Barish. “It’s gone very well, but it’s always a challenge to find enough time to teach within a busy office practice.  In the hospital setting, the student has an opportunity to spend much more time with a patient, read about the disease process, and discuss it with the attending.  I believe this creates a more intensive and impactful learning experience.”

In the office, Dr. Barish says he likes for his students to see patients one-on-one before he joins the visit. He then asks questions of the student in front of the patient.
 
“The patients seem to really enjoy being part of the educational process,” he says. “People have been very supportive of having medical students in our organization and involved in their health care.”

Currently, all third-year Western students are performing their clerkships at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis. In the future, Dr. Barish hopes to see medical students return to SLCH.
 
“We may see third-year students return here as the school expands or perhaps fourth-year students will want do a medicine sub-internship at the Lebanon facility.”

Dr. Barish says he’s also looking forward to what the new medical school will mean to the city of Lebanon.

“The medical school will be a huge boost to Lebanon and the entire Mid-Valley,” he says. “It will not only attract other employers, it increases the likelihood that physicians who train here will want to stay here. The projected physician shortages in this country are daunting and hopefully that scarcity will be less noticeable here.”

And while Dr. Barish says he’s excited for the medical school and the “big picture” of medical education at Samaritan Health Services, his primary goal for each student he works with is simple:  to create smart, inquisitive and compassionate physicians for the future.

“Because someday,” he says, “one of them may be taking care of me.”