St. Francis Medical Center is proud to announce its Internal Medicine Residency Program has earned accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). After receiving initial accreditation as a sponsoring institution in 2021, the St. Francis Academic Affairs team, along with many others, has spent time developing the program and preparing the physical space for future graduate medical students.
The pursuit of offering a Graduate Medical Education (GME) Program at St. Francis has been in partnership with the local medical school, the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM), whose mission is to prepare community-focused physicians to meet the needs of rural and medically underserved populations.
Dr. Thomas Gullatt, President of St. Francis Medical Center, said, “I am very proud that St. Francis is investing resources in graduate medical education as another way to invest in our community. Our team, along with our partners at VCOM, have dedicated many months to ensure our program creates an excellent training experience in hopes that many of these physicians will stay in this region after graduation.”
As a medical hub for the Northeast Louisiana and Delta regions, St. Francis has been dedicated to serving this community for over 100 years. Introducing graduate medical education only serves to strengthen the hospital’s commitment by providing a pipeline of future physicians to combat primary care provider shortages.
The St. Francis Academic Affairs Department is led by Dr. Thomas Gullatt, Designated Institutional Officer, Dr. Navin Ramlal, Program Director, and Katy Temple, Manager of Academic Affairs. Medical students will begin applying to the Internal Medicine Residency program this fall and the inaugural class will begin in July of 2023. The program will last three years for each resident and 15 residents will graduate per class.
“I’m looking forward to welcoming our first class of internal medicine residents in July. They will be involved in an educational environment that promotes clinical competency, team building and resident wellness,” said Dr. Navin Ramlal. Katy Temple added, “We hope that they grow to love our community as much as we do and choose to lay down roots and practice medicine here.”
St. Francis aims to grow as an academic institution by adding graduate medical education to the increasing number of avenues for students rotating through the hospital in various educational and training capacities. The hospital is beginning with an Internal Medicine Residency program to utilize the strength of providers in its Hospitalist Program. In the future, additional residency programs will be added with the support of an expanding physician group and a lively hospital environment.
The physicians educated through the Internal Medicine Residency program at St. Francis will gain progressive autonomy towards becoming independent, clinically competent, and compassionate physicians that strive to be lifelong learners.
More information on the program is available here.