Growing STEM: Internal medicine residency offering plenty of in-patient care at St. Rita’s

LIMA, OH (WLIO) – Medical residents from all over the country make their way to Mercy Health St. Rita’s to continue their education, though some of those residents are from just across the county line.

William Hinegardner is an internal medicine resident originally from Wapakoneta, who says that his lifelong love of learning led him on the path to pursuing a medical career, where there is always something new to learn.

“Medicine is always changing, it’s always growing; there’s always something new to learn, even when you think you know everything about your specific topic, there’s always stuff happening and it’s always changing,” said Hinegardner.

Over the three years that internal medicine residents are at St. Rita’s, they will spend time in several different areas, including emergency medicine, cardiology, critical care, and many more, as they help out at the hospital with the hundreds of patients that St. Rita’s sees every day.

“As internal medicine residents, we focus a lot more on inpatient and in-hospital training – so our family medicine residents do a little bit more outpatient, and emergency medicine residents are down in the emergency room – but we work a lot more on the hospital floor, on the inpatient side and all the different specialties,” Hinegardner said.

And as a local of West Central Ohio, Hinegardner says that coming back to near his hometown has been a great experience, as it’s rewarding to serve other locals while working to complete his residency.

“Often times in the hospital see people that I know – I see old teachers, I see old friends, parents, stuff like that, and it’s great getting to interact with them,” said Hinegardner. “It provides more trust, I believe, seeing them both inpatient and outpatient, but it is cool to treat people that you know; it’s just that extra caring touch that you can provide.”

For more information on residency programs at St. Rita’s, visit this website:

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