St. Francis-Emory Healthcare starts Internal Medicine Residency Program

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) -

It’s been in the workings since 2018.

“To become an academic center, a lot goes into starting a new program and what we needed was an accreditation, said St. Francis Chief medical officer dr. Jagdeep Singh.

Now accredited St. Francis has begun its, 3-year internal medicine residency program.

The first set of first- and second-year medical graduates have been on the floor at St. Francis- Emory since July 1st.

The program focuses on academics and innovative teachings.

“With internal medicine you can either go into primary care and be around this community where you’re trained in all different aspects,” said first year resident Rr. Jessica Withey.

“They’ll rotate through a variety of internal med subcategories, in an inpatient and outpatient setting,” said Residency Program Director and cardiologist Dr. Vik Chhokar.

“We start in the morning with patient rounds, depending on the day we see all our patients, and we take care of patients staying in the hospital or incoming in the ER” said first year resident Dr. Jonathan Martinez.

The new program has an additional purpose for the community.

“When the students are educated here and receive their training, our hope is that they will stay in the community, said Dr. Singh.

“There’s always a need for good quality healthcare and these physicians are going to be the future healthcare providers,” said Dr. Chhokar. “Statistically, individuals that are trained in a particular area tend to come back to that area.”

And 80 percent of the hospitals first residency class have ties to the state. Including two residents from Columbus.

“Really just being able to stay in the place that I’ve grown to love and appreciate as my hometown, I’d be able to practice here as a doctor is really awesome,” said first year resident DR. Andrew Hearn.

“It’s really about bringing people back to Columbus to continue education in a way that they can bring and expand Columbus healthcare and make it accessible for everyone said first year resident Dr. George Jarrell III.

The administration at St. Francis-Emory said they’re excited to see the program grow and thank everyone involved in the programs beginning stages. They will admit a new class of 10 residents every year.