Dr. Rey Arcenas

  PGY-1 Resident

For love of medicine and adventure, I emigrated to the United States from the Philippines with my family four years ago. Balancing the responsibilities of an emergency room nurse in Jacksonville, Florida and lately Smithville, Texas while completing the USMLE made me appreciate patience, humility and perseverance in the quest for personal growth and satisfaction. As a doctor, I believe that a patient deserves a high quality medical care and genuine concern. My work acclimatized me to the American way of life and health care.

My travel has shown that America is beautiful, and Muncie is definitely a wonderful place. I am very excited to train at Ball Hospital. Aside from an outstanding program and staff, welcoming friends and abundant opportunities, there's also a great outdoor waiting to be explored with my wife Ruth and sons Reggie and Razzie.

  Dr. James Chan

  PGY-1 Resident

I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. After earning a degree in molecular and cell biology at UC Berkeley, I wanted to contribute to the advancement of health in the service of others. With the benefits of understanding the culture and birthplace of my parents as well as gaining an international perspective on medicine, I completed my medical education at the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines. There, the breadth of academia and sheer diversity of patient condition and circumstance were both challenging and enlightening. The journey continued as I acquired further experience in observerships at a number of outpatient clinics in Northern California.
 
When I interviewed at Ball Memorial, I appreciated the enthusiasm and dedication to teaching of the faculty, the camaraderie of the staff, and the multifaceted charm of Muncie. The program values its residents not by any one measure but as complete and complex individuals, each with their own stories and their own unique contributions. The beneficial faculty to student ratio here provides an atmosphere conducive for improved learning, increased dialogue and more effective collaborations. I knew then that Ball Memorial would be an excellent place to foster my profession.

  Dr. Naasha Gheyara

  PGY-1 Resident

Although I was born in Rhode Island, I spent most of my childhood and adult life in Michigan. I completed my bachelor’s degree in biology at Wayne State University in downtown Detroit, Michigan.  My passion for medicine took me to Ross University, where I was exposed to health care in a completely new environment. In Dominica, I was face to face with the reality of the amazing advances and unfortunate limitations of practicing medicine in a different country. Recently, I returned to my undergraduate university to work on several research projects examining the complications of bariatric surgery. I have been fortunate enough to take part in advancing medical knowledge and find it empowering to add to the literature in a field I am so passionate about.   

I chose Ball Memorial Hospital for their emphasis on teaching and compassion for every patient. I am positive my time here will make me a better physician. Although a far cry from both Detroit and Dominica, I am sure that the lessons I have learned from my professors and patients will carry into the next step of my medical journey. 

  Dr. Sonali Jain

  PGY-1 Resident

I grew up in the beautiful town of Rhinelander in North Central Wisconsin.  (Go Hodags!)  After graduating from high school I went on to attend Washington University in St. Louis where I double majored in South Asian Studies and Biology. My time at Wash U allowed me to gain a broader perspective of the world as well as appreciate how medical care can transcend borders. After finishing up at Wash U I began my medical career at AUC on the stunning island of St. Maarten.  After completing the first two years of med school in paradise and being fortunate enough to make lifelong friends who not only share the same professional goals as me but also big hearts and quick wit, I completed my third and fourth year clinical rotations in New York City and Detroit. As a Midwest girl, I am looking forward to returning to my Midwest roots for my Internal Medicine training.

In my spare time, I enjoy reading (especially South Asian literature), watching Hollywood and Bollywood films, and traveling the world with my amazing family. As I start the next chapter of my life at Ball Memorial Hospital, I feel I have found a great program that will not only help me grow into a capable and compassionate physician, but will also help foster some of my genuine interests.  As a resident I look forward to taking advantage of Ball Memorial’s Charitable Mission Rotations through the International Medicine Rotation Program so that I can fulfill my lifelong ambition of serving underprivileged areas around the world as a member of Doctors Without Borders. 

  Dr. Racquel Reyes

  PGY-1 Resident

I received my medical degree from the University of the East (UERMMMC) in the Philippines in 2005, which I followed with one year of Post-Graduate internship at Makati Medical Center, a major tertiary hospital located in the famous business district of Manila. I came to the US shortly after that, in order to pursue my residency training in Internal Medicine. I have an older sister who lives in Chicago with her family, and I’m crazy about my four-year old niece, whom I consider to be very funny, witty and astute for her age. I try to spend time with them as much as I could. My interests include traveling (Bali is an all-time favorite), reading, collecting vinyl records, and going to art shows. I have a huge vinyl collection that I started when I was fourteen years old (but I love my iPod too!) and my taste in music is pretty diverse and esoteric at times. I like reading stuff by Henry Miller, Jean Genet, Rimbaud, etc. and would love to someday own original paintings (ok, maybe poster prints would do) by Francis Bacon and Goya.

I chose BMH for my residency mainly due to the current people in the program and the great clinical training that they offer. The attendings here are friendly, approachable and are great teachers; the residents have wonderful camaraderie and they respect, help and teach one another. In this program, you are going to be placed in a challenging, and yet supportive environment, which for me is the best way to learn medicine and become an excellent internist. There is a highly reliable and efficient ancillary support system, which minimizes scut work for residents, hence giving them more time to study.

The small size of the program allows for optimum faculty-to-resident ratio and high quality teaching. And I view the lack of internal fellowship at BMH a plus, because that means that the procedures will go to the residents instead (more opportunity for learning). It also helps that Muncie is a small quiet town with relatively low cost of living and convenience (my cozy apartment is just 10 minutes away from work, library, church and shopping, which is great for a busy intern year). I am grateful and consider myself very lucky for being a part of this program. I wouldn’t want to be any place else.

Dr. Terene Varghese

PGY-1 Resident

It is obvious that all disciplines of medicine serve humanity to alleviate suffering, to heal, and to help a person in distress. This is why medicine is appealing to me. I am especially drawn to the medical profession because I see it as both challenging and as an enjoyable career. It is in many ways comparable to solving a puzzle or engaging in detective work. Doctors apply their knowledge, experience, the given clues and the tools that they have at their disposal to arrive at the answer.

The challenge of solving the puzzle and making the diagnosis is both intellectually stimulating and professionally satisfying. However, the real gratification comes from resolving the problem at hand, healing the individual and ultimately having the good fortune of offering a cure. Ball Memorial Hospital affords me the opportunity to develop these skills in order to be a good internist.