Internal Medicine Residency

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Internal Medicine Residency

Welcome to the White River Health (WRH) Internal Medicine (IM) Residency Program. We are an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited program taking ten (10) residents per year. The WRH IM Residency Program is located at White River Medical Center in Batesville, Arkansas 90 miles north of Little Rock, Arkansas and 120 miles west of Memphis, Tennessee.

Our program is a traditional three-year Categorical Internal Medicine Residency Training. Our WRH community-based residency program partners with the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.  Residents have the unique opportunity to train in a vibrant, relational community and hospital with the advantages of training with a recognized academic medical center.


Conference Schedule

TitleTimeDaysDescriptionSupervision
Morning Report 8:00 am Monday-Friday (exception Thursday) PD, APD or at least one core faculty
Core Lecture 12 Noon to 1:00 pm Monthly
Grand Rounds 12 Noon to 1:00 pm Thursday
Tumor Board Tuesday
Mortality and Morbidity Monthly
Research Lecture Introductory lecture at beginning of year, then quarterly sessions.
Journal Club 12 Noon to 1:00 pm Monthly Attending
Introductory Lecture Series 12 Noon to 1:00 pm First five weeks
Geriatrics, Ethics, and Palliative Care Four weeks Board Certified Geriatricians
Quality Improvement Monthly
Board Review 12 Noon to 1:00 pm Thursday At least one Attending

PGY1

PGY2

Ragda Ahmed


PGY2
GMEC Representative

Karla Cano


PGY2
​Community Engagement, Critical Care (ICU), Transfusion, Wellbeing

Kimberley Ho


PGY2
Pharmacy & Therapeutics, Scholarly Activity

Esther Kabaswaga


PGY2
Pharmacy & Therapeutics, Wellbeing

Alena Malik


PGY2
​Community Engagement, Critical Care (ICU)

Raheel Qureshi


PGY2
​Program Evaluation Committee, Scholarly Activity

Maruf Sarwar


PGY2
Community Engagement, Scholarly Activity

Kristen Soberay


PGY2
Interdisciplinary Team

Keith Stoltzfus


PGY2
Interdisciplinary Team

Priya Sunkara


PGY2
GMEC Representative, Proram Evaluation, Scholarly Activity

PGY3

Keren George


PGY3

Chief Resident, Patient Safety & Outcomes, Program Evaluation

Anupriya Gupta


PGY3

Program Evaluation, Quality Control

Aakash Hans


PGY3

Critical Care, GMEC Representative, Infection Control, Program Evaluation, Scholarly Activity

Vallerie Jain


PGY3

Transfusion, Wellness Committee

Michael Johnson


PGY3

Chief Resident, Critical Care, Infection Control, GMEC Representative, Scholarly Activity

Henna Khan


PGY3

Patient Safety & Outcomes, Pharmacy & Therapeutics

Joseph Markey


PGY3

Infection Control

Sanket Nayyar


PGY3

Interdisciplinary Team

Dushka Riaz


PGY3

Chief Resident, Antibiotic Stewardship, Infection Control, Program Evaluation

Kalyan Gonugunta

Program Director
Hospital Medicine

Caleb Oster

Associate Program Director
Hospital Medicine

Janani Baskaran

Core Faculty, Chair of Education, Curriculum Development and Program Evaluation
Hospital Medicine

Mitchell Keel

Core Faculty
Internal Medicine

Anil Kumar

Core Faculty
Hospital Medicine

Mahesh Anantha


Cardiology

Michael Andryka


Hospital Medicine

William "Skip" Baker


Emergency Medicine

K. Raman Desikan

Faculty
Hematology, Oncology

Neelima Gonugunta

Internal Medicine
Hospital Medicine, Internal Medicine

Shoaib Khan


Hospital Medicine

Sarah Luebker


Rheumatology

Wyatt Lydolph


Hospital Medicine

Nathan McLaughlin


Hospital Medicine

Devi Nair


Cardiology/Electrophysiology

Shahla Gul Naoman

Pulmonology
Pulmonology, Sleep Medicine

Morgan Norton


Hospital Medicine

Edwin Suarez


Hospital Medicine

Robert Walton


Hospital Medicine

How to Apply

We are looking for enthusiastic, hard working physicians with a passion for serving a rural community.

Submit an application through the Electronic Residency Application Service®. The link is provided below for your convenience. 

Start Your Application

Qualifications

Eligibility Qualifications for the White River Health ACGME Accredited Internal Medicine Residency Program

  • Graduation from a medical school in the United States or Canada, accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) or graduation from a college of osteopathic medicine in the United States, accredited by the American Osteopathic Association Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (AOACOCA).
  • Graduation from a medical school outside of the United States or Canada, and meeting one of the following additional qualifications:
    • Current valid certificate from the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) prior to appointment or; 
    • Full and unrestricted license to practice medicine in the state of Arkansas.
  • Successful passage of USMLE/COMPLEX Step 1 & Step 2. 
    • No minimum score for Step 1. 
    • Step 2 minimum score is 225 (USMLE) or 500 (COMLEX).
  • Successful passage of USMLE/COMPLEX Step 3 is strongly recommended (not required) if graduation date was five years prior or more to application.

Visa Requirements

Our program sponsors only ECFMG J1 visas. A minimum USMLE Step 2 score of 230 is required. 

 Additional Information

  • Applications are reviewed and invitations to interview are sent through ERAS. Applications received via email will not be considered.
  • Due to the volume of applications, we are unable to communicate with you regarding your file status nor respond to individual inquiries about White River Health's IM Residency Program. Additional information about the organization and links to community information may be found on this website. 
  • We do not offer positions for observership, externships, or volunteer research.




Leadership

Maggie Williams, PharmD

Designated Institutional Official


Kalyan Gongunta, MD, FACP

Internal Medicine Program Director


Ashley Johnson

Internal Medicine Program Coordinator


Our Graduates

 WRH Internal Medicine Residency Program provides residents with quality education through access to a professional learning environment in an engaging community. WRH offers a high quality, innovative, and unique Graduate Medical Education experience. Residents at WRH, mentored by an outstanding faculty, develop the skills to provide excellent medical care to patients from diverse backgrounds. 

We wish our residents the best in their professional careers. Our graduates and their last known professional career locations are listed below.

2024

Tyler Barker, MD

Hospitalist, St. Bernard's Healthcare, Jonesboro, AR

Deanna Cochran, MD

Geriatric Fellowship University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Little Rock, AR

Neelima Gonugunta, MD

Hospitalist & Outpatient Internist, White River Health Batesville, AR

Nathanael Hall, MD

Hospitalist, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth Fort Worth, TX

Silpa Kumar, MD

Geriatric Fellowship Duke University Durham, NC

Jackson Musuuza, MD

Assistant Professor/Hospitalist University of Wisconsin Madison, WI

Dheeraj Posa, MD

Hospitalist, Louisiana State University Health Sciences, Shreveport, LA

Sagarika Ranga, DO

Internal Medicine Physician, Optum, New Port Richey, FL

Joey Sanders, MD

Hospitalist, St. Bernard’s Healthcare Jonesboro, AR

John Clark Shell, MD

Infectious Disease Fellowship University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL

2023

Stephen Deji Adedokun, MD

Cardiology Fellowship, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN

Soubhi Alhayek, MD

Infectious Disease Fellowship, University of California Davis Health, Sacramento, CA

Omar Alkhatib, MD

Nocturnist, Southeast Health, Dothan, AL

Jero Bean, MD

Hospitalist, St. Francis Health System, Cape Girardeau, MO

Steffie-Ann Dujon, MD

Outpatient Medicine, Norman Regional Health System, Norman, OK

Raman Kutty, MD

Pulmonary & Critical Care Fellowship, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI

Sean Salonga, MD

United States Army Physician

Kemuel Telemaque, MD

Hospitalist, BJC Medical Group Memorial, Belleville, IL

Sara Whyte, MD

Hospitalist/Nocturnist, Samaritan Albany General Hospital, Albany, OR

2022

Salem Al Rabadi, MD

Hospitalist, Abrazo West Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ

Surya Boopathy, MD

Sleep Medicine Fellowship, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY

Christiana Jeukeng-Wang, MD

Hospitalist Mobile Infirmary, Mobile, AL

Mitchell Keel, MD

Hospitalist/Outpatient Care Provider, GME Faculty, White River Health, Batesville, Arkansas

Isaac Dodd, MD

Hospitalist, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS

Khalid Sawalha, MD

Cardio-Metabolic Fellowship, Kansas City, MO

Parth Shah, MD

Barnes Jewish Alton Memorial Hospital, St. Louis, MO

Philip Sobash, MD

Hematology and Oncology Fellowship, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA

Edwin Suarez, MD

Hospitalist/ GME Faculty, White River Health, Batesville, Arkansas

Shiyu Wang, MD

Rheumatology Fellowship, Cooper University Hospital, Camden, NJ

2021

Michael Andryka, MD

Hospitalist/GME Faculty, White River Health, Batesville, Arkansas

Ankitha Antony, MD

Faculty/Primary Care Physician, University of Connecticut Internal Medicine Residency, Farmington, Connecticut

Sai Desikan, MD

Leukemia Fellowship, MD Anderson, Houston, Texas

Ebonee Dikas, MD

Palliative Care Fellowship, UAMS, Little Rock, Arkansas

Igor Dykan, MD

Nocturnist, Reid Health System, Richmond, Indiana

Shoaib Khan, MD

Nocturnist, GME Faculty, White River Health, Batesville, Arkansas

Eddie Liu, MD

Internal Medicine Primary Care, Tennova Healthcare System, Cleveland, Tennessee

Wyatt Lydolph, MD

Hospitalist/GME Faculty, White River Health, Batesville, Arkansas

Krishna Vedala, MD

Internal Medicine Primary Care, Norman Regional Health System, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Shifang David Wang, MD

Hospitalist, Mobile Infirmary, Mobile, AL

Residency Life

Writing informative healthcare articles for area residents is a very fruitful and rewarding aspect of the White River Health Internal Medicine Residency program. One of the key components of our residency curriculum is community outreach. We believe in prioritizing resident physicians developing competent clinical skills, and in helping them understand the importance of talking to their patients and reaching out to their community. A significant issue in our society today is the rise in a mistrust of science. While the reasoning is multifactorial, a lack of evident outreach from the medical community may contribute to the uncertainty between providers and patients. Our hope with this project is to play our part in alleviating the spread of misinformation and allow our residents to earn the trust of our community.

All of our residents are accepting patients at White River Health Internal Medicine.

Salary & Benefits

PGY LevelAnnual Salary
Program Year 1 (PGY-1) $ 54,000.00
Program Year 1 (PGY-1) Educational Stipend $ 800
Program Year 2 (PGY-2) $ 55,000.00
Program Year 2 (PGY-2) Educational Stipend $ 800
Program Year 3 (PGY-3) $ 57,000.00
Program Year 3 (PGY-3) Educational Stipend $ 800