Marion native secures medical residency in Jonesboro

Bennett will practice internal medicine at NEA- Baptist

cpearce@nyit.edu JONESBORO — Marion native Wesley Bennett recently learned that he secured a medical residency in Internal Medicine at NEA Baptist Hospital in Jonesboro. Bennett will earn a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University in May. The future doctor previously attended Arkansas State University for his undergraduate degree.

Upon the completion of medical school, physicians must complete a residency to obtain their license to practice medicine in the United States. Residencies typically last three to seven years, depending on the specialty.

During their final year of medical school, student doctors apply and interview

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Wesley Bennett BENNETT (cont.)

for residencies. Once they’ve completed their interviews, the student doctor ranks their preferred programs, and the programs rank their preferred candidates they’ve interviewed.

The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) uses an algorithm to “match” candidates with programs based on the rankings submitted by the students and programs. On March 19, medical students around the country celebrated “Match Day” as they learned where they’d secured residencies.

NYITCOM at A-State was established in 2016, and this year marked the second time the college participated in the Match. Of the NYITCOM at A-State student doctors who participated in the 2020 Match, 91% received placement into programs.

“We are extremely proud of our student doctors,” said Shane Speights, D.O., Dean of NYITCOM at AState. “This has been a unique and challenging year in all walks of life, and these students have worked incredibly hard to secure these positions.

We’re excited to watch them continue their medical education and we’re confident they will represent

our institution well.”

New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University, located on A-State’s Jonesboro campus, is dedicated to improving access to health care for the underserved and rural populations in Arkansas and the Mississippi Delta Region. Arkansas ranks 48th in overall population health status due to low health indicators including obesity and number of adults who smoke. The state also ranks 46th in the number of active physicians per capita and 39th in the number of primary care physicians. NYITCOM at A-State was established in 2016 with the mission of meeting the need for more physicians in this medically underserved area.