Partnership with Mercer elevates health system and community health
This July, South Georgia Medical Center will make history as it begins accepting applications for its Mercer University School of Medicine (MUSM) Internal Medicine Residency Program. SGMC recently received approval from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to launch the program and will begin its first class July of 2022.
SGMC announced its partnership with Mercer last June which will bring internal medicine and emergency medicine residency programs to Valdosta. When both programs are fully operational, they will educate 42 residents per year at SGMC.
“This is an amazing milestone for SGMC and the entire community,” said Dr. Brian Dawson, Chief Medical Officer at SGMC.
Explaining the importance of a residency, he said residents are doctors who have completed medical school, have earned a degree such as M.D. or D.O. and practice under the direct supervision of an “attending” or senior physician. Physicians complete residencies so that they can specialize and become board certified or board eligible in a particular field.
Outside of the hospital, the Internal Medicine Residency Program will operate a continuity clinic. This allows residents the opportunity to learn how to manage both common and complicated outpatient conditions and to follow patients longitudinally over time.
Dr. Dawson shared, “Our goal is to train medical students to serve our rural and underserved communities and increase the likelihood they will remain right here in South Georgia.”