Trainees of the Month
Each month, the department of psychiatry recognizes a resident or fellow who has demonstrated excellence in patient care, academics or community involvement. This recognition highlights the individual’s dedication to advancing psychiatry through compassionate care, research and community outreach, setting a high standard for their peers.
Trainee of the Month - October 2026
Yash Bhatia, M.D.
*Dr. Bhatia was nominated by FOUR colleagues in the Department of Psychiatry *
"Dr. Bhatia has been so intentional with improving didactics this year and making positive changes for the residency program’s educational needs and development."
"Yash is an excellent academic chief resident who goes above and beyond in his dedication to our didactic curriculum. He has not only improved the curriculum by making it more cohesive and easier to understand, grouping related lectures together, but also regularly teaches lectures himself. His teaching approach is unique: he uses games and teamwork to help us better retain the material. Neuroscience is one of the most challenging topics for psychiatry residents, and Yash created a hands-on brain-modeling activity to help us remember neuroanatomical structures. He also conducts board review and neuroscience review in a game-based format, which makes learning more engaging and adds a little friendly competition. He regularly divides us into groups and encourages teamwork. He is not afraid of change and is always willing to put in extra effort to ensure that all residents have a better learning experience."
"As chief academic resident, Yash has done an amazing job transforming our resident didactic experience. He is picking topics that our residents have shown both interest in learning more about and shown need to improve upon based on PRITE exams, etc. Most excitingly, he has switched from traditional lecture style to highly interactive learning experiences. It's helped me and other residents stay engaged in learning and also improved co-resident team building. This change has been genuinely transformative and certainly taken extreme care, thought and effort on his end. Thank you Yash for making our program better!"
"Every new chief class has a new take on how to best approach their position and serve our residency community. We have had several motivated and wonderful chiefs in the years I have been at UK. Yash is building on some wonderful ground work from his predecessors, and we can see the effort and intentionality Yash has had in our didactics so far this year. In particular in making our learning more hands on, engaging, and valuable for a greater proportion of residents. Thank you for your hard work!"
Former Trainees of the Month
Below you will find the names of past recipients. Their contributions serve as a reminder of the impact that dedicated residents and fellows can have on patients, colleagues, and the broader community.
| Month/Year | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Ray Mirembo, MD | Sarah Stevens, MD | Theo Oexmann, MD | Mike Miller, Md |
| February | Mackenzie Graebe, MD | Nathaniel Aquino, DO | Claire Collins, MD | Claire Collins, MD |
| March | Yana Kirichuk, MD | Drew Crum, DO | Sarah McClanahan, DO | Jesse Matherly, MD |
| April | Pat Osterhaus, MD | Ciara Smith, MD | Madaleine Meeks, MD | Connor Malloy, MD |
| May | Torie Osborne, MD | Daniel Hoover, MD | Kultaj Kaleka, MD | Ben Sanders, DO |
| June | Claire Collins, MD | Jillian Collier, MD | Adam Clark, MD | Caitlyn Galloway, MD |
| July | Lexi Lumm, DO | Thomas Kuehn, DO | Yash Bhatia, MD | Bella Gomez, MD, and Lily Svete, MD |
| August | Rebecca Lank, MD | Lexi Lumm, DO | Daniel Hoover, MD | Samuel Potter, MD |
| September | Safia Centner, MD | Patrick Osterhaus, MD | Kyle Henneke, MD | Savannah Ray, MD |
| October | Ray Mirembo, MD | Jess Lienesch, MD | Rijah Chhapra, MBBS | |
| November | Morgan Elmore, MD | Emily Brereton, MD | Jesse Matherly, MD | |
| December | Megan Oney, MD | Kyle Henneke, MD | Megan Oney, MD |