Dr. James Berstch was awarded Preceptor of the Year at Reid Primary & Specialty Care in Cambridge City on June 21, according to a news release.
Jeff Hartz, Executive Director for the East Indiana Area Health Education Center, presented Bertsch with the award for his work with students from the Indiana University School of Medicine over the past five years.
“You don’t really seek awards, but it’s such an honor and a privilege. It’s pretty cool,” Bertsch said in the release. “Like I’ve always said, somebody was there for me when I was a student, and somebody needs to be there for all these other students. I can’t take care of them all, but I can take care of a few here and there, and I’m glad to help out.”
The Indiana Area Health Education Center network consists of eight regional centers across the state, and third-year family medicine students from the IU School of Medicine work with the centers to be paired one-on-one with a family medicine doctor, according to the release.
Bertsch was nominated for the East Indiana region because of the consistent positive feedback about him from students over the years, as well as his flexibility and willingness to help when student have scheduling challenges, the release said.
“That feedback just tells me that he’s an excellent teacher of family medicine, so I was glad to get to recognize him,” Hartz said in the release.