Sara Teising, MD

Resident

Organization:

West Virginia University School of Medicine

Department:

Emergency Medicine

Classification:

Resident

• MD, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine

Hometown: West Union, South Carolina (nestled in the foothills of the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains)
Undergraduate institution: BS in Chemical Engineering at University of Notre Dame
Graduate Degree: MPH, Harvard University
Medical school: Michigan State University College of Human Medicine

Why did you choose WVU? I needed to come home to the Appalachian Mountains and reconnect with my roots. As an added bonus, I get to be a part of a very supportive program that recognizes the needs of everyone within it and warmly welcomes all members. My soul is happy here at WVU.

Brief bio: Growing up in Appalachia I learned to appreciate everyone and everything for their contribution to community. Moving away for college was difficult due to the distance and being a first-generation college student, but I eventually chose the first major that sounded fun – chemical engineering. After college, I joined the Peace Corps where I taught Mathematics and reproductive health to middle and high school students in Guinea, West Africa. Watching those in Guinea experience the same healthcare struggles as those I grew up redirected my lifepath to medicine. After returning to the US, I worked closely with the LGBTQ+ population in Philadelphia doing HPV vaccine and HIV/AIDS research while creating PrEP initiatives, eventually I moved to Chicago, and then Michigan where I completed Medical School and had the opportunity to participate in the Rural Physician Program in the Upper Peninsula. Between my third and fourth year of medical school, I decided I did not have enough degrees and journeyed to Boston where I got my MPH in Health Policy from Harvard University. Completing my fourth year of medical school was bittersweet but I am excited for this new chapter here in Morgantown. EM interests include global health, rural health, and wilderness medicine. In my spare time I love watching dog videos, hiking, biking (need to fix my tires though), traveling, learning new languages, spending time with my partner Stefan (a radiology resident in Albuquerque), cooking, laughing, discussing health policy, and fighting for social justice for all.