The Phoebe Family Medicine Residency program, a fully accredited program fostering personal and professional growth, is proud to announce seven new residents to the program and the commencement of the 2017 class.
 
Today, a welcome ceremony marked the start of the 2020 residency class. The ceremony included remarks from Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr. Carr congratulated the residents and spoke about the importance of the residency program. “Healthcare and economic development go hand in hand. Having a growing program like this at a fantastic hospital like Phoebe is great for the state of Georgia,” Carr said.
 
The residents received their white coats and pagers, symbolic of their new roles as working physicians. Chamber of Commerce leaders also presented them with welcome wagons filled with gifts from area businesses and organizations.
 
The residents are entering the three-year long program, which entails:

·         First Year: The first year of training helps residents become acclimated with Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, the Phoebe Family Care Center and the Albany community. In addition, residents are assigned a panel of family medicine patients for whom they will provide continuity of care for a three-year period.

·         Second Year: Year two marks a shift in the primary educational focus from the inpatient to the ambulatory setting. Residents spend time each week seeing family medicine patients in the Phoebe Family Care Center.

·         Third Year: The final year of residency is spent primarily in the outpatient setting. Senior residents have three four-week rotations of elective time and are able to choose from a number of clinical learning experiences, including radiology and medical/surgical subspecialties, advanced OB, musculoskeletal and sports medicine and more.
 
On June 24, Phoebe Putney will celebrate the 2017 graduating class. These residents have completed the curriculum which meets the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the Residency Review Committee for Family Medicine requirements for accreditation. The 2017 graduating class members are:

·         Danielle Andrews, MD

·         Justin Lancaster, MD

·         John Macon, MD

·         Jennifer Yam, MD

·         Sarah Codrea, DO
 
“For nearly 25 years, Phoebe’s Family Medicine Residency Program has fostered an environment of growth and development for residents who have a passion for delivering high-quality care,” said Dr. George Fredrick, Program Director. “We are proud to be supporting the future clinical leaders of Southwest Georgia and sending off the graduating class of clinicians with the tools and resources they need to deliver care to our communities across the region.”
 
The Phoebe Family Medicine Residency Program’s primary mission is to train family physicians to practice in rural Southwest Georgia. Rural physicians are critical to ensuring high-quality care is delivered throughout the area, yet there is a diminishing number available today. Only 10% of the nation’s physicians practice in rural areas, though rural America accounts for 20% of the U.S. population, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. “As the rural physician shortage grows nationwide, it is critical for us to support and encourage future clinicians here in southwest Georgia to ensure the healthcare needs of our communities are met,” said Dr. Fredrick.