St. Mary’s Moves Into Third Year of Residency Program

By MJ Kneiser, WLHR Radio, Lavonia

For the third year in its three-year history, the Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership Internal Medicine Residency Program at St. Mary’s Health Care System has filled all openings for its new class of medical residents.

The AU/UGA Medical Partnership Internal Medicine Residency Program is the first new graduate medical education program in Northeast Georgia in recent years and has received full accreditation from the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education.

The new residents will begin practicing at St. Mary’s on July 1 under the supervision of advanced resident physicians and physician faculty.

They join the first class of 10 who came on board in 2015 and the class of 11 who started in 2016.

Don McKenna, St. Mary’s President and CEO, said that it is remarkable that St. Mary’s brand-new program has filled all openings in three consecutive years with truly fine young physicians.

McKenna said that speaks volumes about the attractiveness of the new residency program.

Like the first two classes, the third class of residents has strong connections to Georgia.

Two are natives of Georgia while six have educational ties to Georgia, including one who earned her bachelor’s degree from UGA and two who are graduates of the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.

The class is 58 percent male and 42 percent female, with numerous members who are interested in research, community service and rural healthcare.