The Phoebe Family Medicine Residency Program celebrated the graduation of five resident physicians on Saturday evening during a ceremony at Doublegate Country Club in Albany.  The 2017 graduates are: Danielle Andrews, MD, Sarah Codrea, DO, Justin Lancaster, MD, John Macon, MD, and Jennifer Yam, MD.
 
“The graduation ceremony is the culmination of a lot of hard work over the last three years, not just for the graduates, but for me as the program director.  The birds are leaving the nest, and I’m very proud of what they have accomplished and what they will achieve in the future,” said Dr. George Fredrick, program director, Phoebe Family Medicine Residency Program.
 
Dr. Lancaster, co-chief resident, said the residents become like a family. “When people ask me why I chose to do my residency at Phoebe, I tell them it’s the people.  When I came here for my interview, I knew immediately this was my top choice.  After spending time with Dr. Fredrick, I got in the car with my wife to leave and she asked how it went.  I said, ‘this is where I want to be.’ It’s a sibling relationship with our class. We worked hard but we certainly enjoyed ourselves over the last three years.”
 
Four of the graduates are planning to practice in Georgia. Dr. Macon is staying in Albany and will be practicing as a hospitalist for Phoebe starting August 1. He was also awarded the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Award, which recognizes a resident who has best demonstrated an interest, ability and commitment to family medicine education.
 
Dr. Codrea will be practicing in Johns Creek, Ga., and Dr. Yam in Kennesaw and Holly Springs, Ga. Dr. Andrews is beginning a behavioral health fellowship in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and following a sports medicine fellowship in Birmingham, Ala., Dr. Lancaster plans to practice in Statesboro, Ga.
 
According to Dr. Fredrick, one of the top things the Phoebe Family Medicine Residency Programs looks for when choosing residents is some sort of connection to Georgia.  “Our goal is to keep them in our state, specifically in Southwest Georgia when possible, and we have a better chance of doing that when they’re from Georgia or have some other association with the state,” continued Dr. Fredrick.
 
Several awards were given at the ceremony. Justin Lancaster, MD, was named Resident of the Year and Tiera Williams, MD, was named Faculty of the Year. Stephen Daniel, MD, was named Intern of the Year and Daniel Smith, MD, was honored with the Community Service Award. Chinwe Ukaonu, MD, was awarded the In-Patient Attending Physician of Year, Nick Carden, Ph.D., was awarded the Community Faculty of the Year, and the Mid-level Provider of the Year was Kenna Wiles, PA.