Nathan Kister plans to be a surgeon, and he wants to practice in West Virginia.

Last week, Kister and fellow medical students at the West Virginia University School of Medicine-Charleston Division picked up envelopes with a slip inside that would announce their future for the next three to six years.

Thursday was "Match Day," the day medical students across the United States find out where they'll do their residency training in a specific field of practice.

Kister, a 26-year-old Charleston native, landed a surgery residency at Charleston Area Medical Center. He was thrilled.

"I love the program here," said Kister. "If I'm going to be doing something 80 hours a week, it's good to be around family."

Kister is one of an increasing number of medical students staying in the state for medical residencies.

Medical graduates who continue their training in West Virginia are more likely to stay in West Virginia.

"They take a residency, it's the most influential predictor of where they're going to end up practicing," said Sharon Hall, president of the CAMC Health Education and Research Institute.

CAMC recruits students from West Virginia's three medical schools - WVU, Marshall University and the School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg - in hopes they'll someday practice in the state.

To that end, the hospital has developed new osteopathic residency programs in internal medicine, family practice, pediatrics, emergency medicine and urology.

Last week, CAMC learned that 45 percent of its incoming class of medical residents this summer will graduate from West Virginia medical schools - up from 39 percent two years ago. Another 17 percent are coming from other U.S. medical schools. Thirty-eight percent are international graduates.

"We're really getting a balance of West Virginia students and students from other areas and international schools," Hall said.

Nathan Kister plans to be a surgeon, and he wants to practice in West Virginia.

Last week, Kister and fellow medical students at the West Virginia University School of Medicine-Charleston Division picked up envelopes with a slip inside that would announce their future for the next three to six years.

Thursday was "Match Day," the day medical students across the United States find out where they'll do their residency training in a specific field of practice.

Kister, a 26-year-old Charleston native, landed a surgery residency at Charleston Area Medical Center. He was thrilled.

"I love the program here," said Kister. "If I'm going to be doing something 80 hours a week, it's good to be around family."

Kister is one of an increasing number of medical students staying in the state for medical residencies.

Medical graduates who continue their training in West Virginia are more likely to stay in West Virginia.

"They take a residency, it's the most influential predictor of where they're going to end up practicing," said Sharon Hall, president of the CAMC Health Education and Research Institute.

CAMC recruits students from West Virginia's three medical schools - WVU, Marshall University and the School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg - in hopes they'll someday practice in the state.

To that end, the hospital has developed new osteopathic residency programs in internal medicine, family practice, pediatrics, emergency medicine and urology.

Last week, CAMC learned that 45 percent of its incoming class of medical residents this summer will graduate from West Virginia medical schools - up from 39 percent two years ago. Another 17 percent are coming from other U.S. medical schools. Thirty-eight percent are international graduates.

"We're really getting a balance of West Virginia students and students from other areas and international schools," Hall said.

Each year, about one of every three WVU-Charleston medical school graduates stays in the state for their residency.

This year was no different. Of the 25 students graduating this May, seven plan to work in residency programs at West Virginia hospitals.

Even those leaving the state plan to keep their West Virginia ties.

Greg Hickey, a Massachusetts native who spent the past two years at WVU's medical school in Charleston, found out last week he'll do his residency in internal medicine with the University of Virginia Health System. Hickey is not ruling out returning to Charleston someday to practice.

"I really didn't want to leave here," he said.

Hospital administrators would like to keep more West Virginia students close to home, but medical school graduates outnumber residency positions in the state.

For instance, CAMC's residency program has space for only about 50 medical school graduates.

"We could not take all the students from the three medical schools," said Dr. L. Clark Hansbarger, dean of the WVU-Charleston medical school, the oldest regional medical education campus in the United States.

Hospitals such as CAMC also are trying to develop specialty "fellowship" programs, which provide additional training after medical residencies. CAMC, for instance, is developing fellowships in geriatric medicine, vascular surgery and cardiology. Marshall University recently started an orthopedic surgery program.

"Many of our residents leave West Virginia to train as specialists because there are not enough fellowship positions to keep them," Hall said. "It will add additional opportunity to train these specialists that are vitally needed in West Virginia."

To contact staff writer Eric Eyre, use e-mail or call 348-4869.