Once Kendall Barton, MD, got his first glimpse into medicine, there was no turning back.
Despite spending his youth planning to follow in his dad’s footsteps as a dentist, his passion for medicine emerged as a teenager when he spent time in the hospital with family members who were sick.
“That was my initial introduction to medicine,” remembered Dr. Barton, who is a family physician at the Bayhealth Primary Care, Blue Hen location. Bayhealth is a member of the AMA Health System Program, which provides enterprise solutions to equip leadership, physicians and care teams with resources to help drive the future of medicine.
“I started doing some research on my own, looking into why they were sick, why they were in the hospital and why they needed certain surgeries,” he said. “That’s when I knew medicine was for me.”
Throughout his training, there was not a physician specialty that Dr. Barton didn’t enjoy. From surgery to sports medicine to mental health care, he was all in. When he started his primary care rotation, he promptly recognized the opportunity to do everything, all at once.
“In primary care, I got to scratch all these itches,” Dr. Barton said. “With my first patient, I can talk about diabetes. With my second patient, I can talk about mental health. With my third patient, I can do a joint injection. And with my fourth, I can do a skin biopsy. It’s like I’m getting to do four specialties within one day and not getting stagnant.”
Dr. Barton credits the Bayhealth residency program for solidifying his passion for primary care—and introducing him to the joys of small-town medicine. Dr. Barton was in Bayhealth’s inaugural class of family and internal medicine residents who graduated in 2023. The program is helping to address the national physician shortage as it expands health care access to people in Delaware.
Throughout his residency training, Dr. Barton formed a strong connection with the Dover community and knew he wanted to continue to serve these patients as their local doctor. Today, Dr. Barton is a primary care physician at the Bayhealth Blue Hen primary care location.
In an interview with the AMA, Dr. Barton discussed finding the right residency program and the benefits of being a doctor in a small town.
AMA: What drew you to Bayhealth’s family medicine residency program?
Dr. Barton: One of my mentors in medical school, Terry Steyer, MD, helped start a program in rural South Carolina and Spartanburg Medical Center. So, when I sat down with him to talk about what programs would be a good fit for me, he said, “What do you think about Delaware?” My first response was, “No, move on!” But he explained that this was a brand-new program and that I would be able to really pave my own way.
It was not like programs that have been around for decades, which have a set curriculum with no wiggle room. He explained that there was an opportunity with a new program … where the world is your oyster. That really grabbed my attention.
As I looked into it more, I also liked that it was in an underserved community. ... For me, it was the ideal situation. I didn’t want to be in a big city, and I didn't want to be too rural. Dover is a small town and really hit a lot of check marks for me.
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AMA: Did you always want to work in a small town?
Dr. Barton: Initially, I thought I was going to live in a city and work as a surgeon for professional sports teams and athletes. And then I realized I didn’t want that at all.
When I got here for the residency program, one thing that was so overwhelmingly positive and unexpected was the sense of appreciation we received. This is an area that is so underserved, so when the community found out that we were bringing in over 20 physicians just in the first year, it was huge. The amount of support and attention that we got from the community was unreal.
People were so appreciative to have a doctor, someone who would listen to them and take care of their needs. This added a new sense of reward and motivation for me to continue to do better and provide the best care for these patients.
AMA: What were some of the most beneficial aspects of the residency program for you?
Dr. Barton: Community engagement was one of the biggest things. We not only felt so welcomed by patients, but also by the health care community. Because we didn’t have all specialties within Bayhealth, we also went to practices outside the hospital network. And they were incredibly welcoming and happy to teach us too.
This really helped my—and my fellow classmates’—confidence. A lot of people come into residency with imposter syndrome, but it was very reassuring to have so many people welcome us—letting us know we deserved to be there, and they wanted us there.
Also, part of the process of residency is the hierarchy and being the lowest person on the team. Whereas, we didn't have that hierarchy here. Although we were interns, we were also senior residents by definition. We were working one on one with attendings for our entire intern year.
When you're an intern in many other residency programs, the amount of time you speak with an attending is minuscule. You go to your senior resident. Then if you don't have a senior resident, you go to your chief resident, and then you go to your fellow. And only then do you go to the attending—a lot of times you don't even get face time with them. Here, we worked directly with attendings.
AMA: How did the flexibility of the program help you?
Dr. Barton: We really could cater to our personal interests. I got to spend extra time working with one of the dermatologists in the area because I like skin stuff. I got to spend extra time working with our sports medicine doctor and even did some work with Delaware State University working at their football games on the sideline. In some programs that are more competitive with a lot more people, you’re competing with 20 other people for one spot on the sideline or for one opening in a dermatology clinic. But I got to have so many opportunities to see all aspects of medicine.
The program basically said: If you can find it, we’ll make it happen. It was such a positive light and strength of this program. We were able to really shape it to our desires.
AMA: How did the warmth and connection you felt from the community affect your decision to stay at Bayhealth after your residency?
Dr. Barton: I can't speak more highly of how important that was. I already felt like I was part of this community, so I could slide right into this role. There are doctors who have been in this area for decades … and I wanted to be like that. Everybody knows them; they talk about how, “They delivered my baby, and they delivered my daughter’s baby,” and things like that.
From day one, I was engaged within this community. It’s a small town, which can be alarming for some people. Running into your patients out and about can be interesting. But weirdly enough, that was a draw for me. And today, I do run into patients from time to time, and I run into colleagues and people I've worked with in the hospital and specialty clinics.
One of the most fulfilling parts of my job is to have that community engagement and to feel like a part of the community. You really are a community doctor here.
