Northeast Georgia Medical Center Celebrates Open House For Graduate Medical Education Program

December 14, 2017

Hundreds of people, including Governor Nathan Deal, gathered to celebrate the opening of the new Graduate Medical Education space at Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) Gainesville today.

“I can’t think of a better organization to empower the physician leaders of tomorrow than Northeast Georgia Medical Center,” said Governor Nathan Deal. “I also can’t think of a more supportive community than the place that I call ‘home’ – Hall County.”

NGMC’s Graduate Medical Education (GME) program has applied for accreditation in Internal Medicine and General Surgery. If approved, they will begin accepting applications from medical school graduates who want to pursue hands-on training – called residencies –in fall 2018.

“We want to develop and train the next generation of physician leaders who see challenges as opportunities, quality medical care as an expectation and believe in the tenet of ‘first, do no harm,’” said Dr. John Delzell, MD, vice president of Medical Education at NGMC. “At NGMC, we will do that through a unique and culture-driven curriculum.”

By fall 2021, NGMC hopes to offer four additional residencies in family medicine, emergency medicine, OB/GYN and psychiatry. By fall 2024, the GME program at NGMC is anticipated to become one of the largest programs in the state with more than 170 residents across all six specialties. Research conducted by the Georgia Board of Physician Workforce found that medical students from Georgia who complete medical school and a GME program in Georgia have a roughly 80-percent chance of staying in the state to practice.

“Today’s event is a big, tangible step that shows how NGMC is invested in teaching future generations of doctors and increasing the likelihood that homegrown talent will stay close to home to care for local communities,” says Carol Burrell, president and CEO of Northeast Georgia Health System.

With Governor Deal’s support, the Georgia Board of Regents awarded NGMC $6.1 million in matching funds to help start the GME program. Together, the funds help to cover the costs of creating new space for residents at NGMC Gainesville including:

  • high-tech clinical simulation lab with hands-on training equipment to teach technical skills like airway management, central venous access, teamwork skills, and suturing.
  • four classrooms with smart boards, video conferencing and state-of-the-art presentation technology
  • 15 administrative offices for the Office of Graduate Medical Education and Program leadership
  • a resident lounge in the North Patient Tower with 10 on-call sleep rooms, shower facilities, group dining/break area, and work/study areas
  • a smaller lounge in the South Patient Tower

Additional facilities will be needed to support the residents at both NGMC Gainesville and NGMC Braselton. Construction is planned for more classroom space, clinical areas, sleep rooms and administrative offices in 2018 and 2019. The funding will also be used to support GME faculty and staff salaries and training, as well as technology infrastructure and support.

For more information, visit our website.

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ABOUT NORTHEAST GEORGIA MEDICAL CENTER

Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) has three hospital campuses – NGMC Gainesville, NGMC Braselton and NGMC Barrow – with a total of 713 beds and more than 700 medical staff members representing more than 50 specialties. Learn more at www.nghs.com.