BECKLEY, WV (WOAY) – The Beckley VA Medical Center was recently awarded a grant towards its medical education program.
It received the grant from the Veteran Access, Choice and Accountability Act for its graduate medical education department. It was chosen from a select pool of medical centers following an application process.
“The rural facilities, VA facilities across the nation, were given an application,” said Beckley VA Medical Center Nurse Educator Deborah Murdock. “It was a very vigorous application, to complete, or had the opportunity to complete. And we were chosen as one of those 38 VA medical centers.”
The money from the grant is being used to enhance multiple assets of the medical education program.
“The $750,000 grant is a wonderful opportunity for Beckley VAMC,” Murdock said. “It will give us an opportunity to renovate our current simulation learning center. That will be geared towards residents, as well as other medical professions.”
Along with those renovations, the grant money will be put towards hiring a part-time physician to work with residents and other medical professions on campus to enhance their rotations.
“We currently have 31 graduate medical residents,” Murdock said. “This is a win-win, again, to promote their learning environment, but also increase their learning for when they get in the real world as a resident.”
The VAMC put a lot of work and effort into receiving the grant, and plans to match that effort in making sure its put to excellent use.