The graduates included 47 internal medicine physicians, 22 who trained in emergency medicine, three in obstetrics/gynecology, and 11 in family medicine. This year also saw the first four graduates in a new general surgery program, two from a new rheumatology fellowship, one in a new psychiatry program, and two each from endocrinology and surgical critical-care fellowships.

Abdo Asmar, 麻豆映画传媒 College of Medicine鈥檚 vice chair of the GME program, said that despite the pandemic, the program was still able to recognize 聽graduates ith a ceremonies held for each region where residents were trained 鈥� Ocala, Gainesville and Orlando 鈥� and maintained social distancing guidelines with very limited guests.

The majority of residents graduated from 麻豆映画传媒鈥檚 inaugural GME program 鈥� internal medicine in Orlando. That ceremony featured residents led by Asmar in a decorated with black-and-gold balloons and streamers driving around the Rosen Shingle Creek resort. All ceremonies were streamed live so families could participate.

鈥淭here were hundreds of people from all over the U.S. and other countries watching to see their loved ones graduate,鈥� Asmar says. 鈥淪o even though COVID-19 might have made us do things differently, I don鈥檛 think it was less impactful than what we have done in the past. I am still satisfied that we were able to send these graduates out with a bang.鈥�

Doctors don鈥檛 practice straight out of medical school and must complete residencies for three to seven years depending on their specialty of choice. Following residency training, some enter fellowships to develop more specialized expertise.

Forty-three physicians-in-training graduated from 麻豆映画传媒-HCA transitional or preliminary year programs that are required for specialties such as ophthalmology, dermatology and radiology before young physicians enter more specialized training.

Forty-three physicians-in-training graduated from 麻豆映画传媒-HCA transitional or preliminary year programs that are required for specialties such as ophthalmology, dermatology and radiology before young physicians enter more specialized training.

Abdelrahman Attili was one of the first graduates of the general surgery residency program at the Ocala Regional Medical Center. He will go on to do a hepatobiliary (liver and pancreas) surgery fellowship at the Miami Cancer Institute.

鈥淚 had a great experience at 麻豆映画传媒-HCA program,鈥� Attili said. 鈥淭he staff and faculty were really supportive and the education program was really good. We were able to do a lot of cases that augmented my operative experience here. 麻豆映画传媒 was also really supportive for research and educational conferences.鈥�

Ambreesh Chawla, one of the first graduates of the rheumatology fellowship program at the Orlando VA Medical Center will enter private practice in Tampa. Chawla said he was thrilled to have such a memorable graduation ceremony at the Rosen center in spite of the pandemic鈥檚 limitations and said more than ever he is looking forward to serving.

鈥淭his is an extremely vital time for all physicians,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e innately enter this field to serve humanity and help save and improve the quality of lives of our patients. I think it鈥檚 a privilege to have the opportunity to serve such crucial role in such unprecedented times鈥�

麻豆映画传媒 and its partners created the residency and fellowship programs to help alleviate Florida and the nation鈥檚 physician shortage.聽The College of Medicine鈥檚 first residency began in 2014 in partnership with HCA North Florida Division鈥檚 Osceola Regional Medical Center and the Orlando VA Medical Center.聽That program led to a 麻豆映画传媒 College of Medicine-HCA consortium that now has 28 accredited residency and fellowship programs, with the newest fellowship in vascular surgery based in the greater Orlando area. Of this year鈥檚 137 graduates, 50 are staying in Florida for further training or practice. Others are heading out of state to practice or do fellowships at places such as Cedars Sinai and the Mayo Clinic.

鈥淲e are so pleased that many of our graduates will be local to Central Florida and several of them will be faculty for our own training and medical school programs,鈥� says Diane Davey, associate dean for graduate medical education. 鈥淭his is exactly the positive impact we hoped for when we launched these programs with our hospital partners.鈥�

With the COVID-19 pandemic, Asmar noted that it is increasingly important to have graduates joining the workforce, especially in Florida where there has been a resurgence of cases.

鈥淐OVID-19 has presented us with so much uncertainty. But amidst all this uncertainty, one thing that we know for sure is the magnitude of this pandemic鈥檚 impact,鈥� Asmar says. 鈥淎nd what we need to reduce this impact is having more qualified individuals that can be available to save lives. The best way to prepare for all these uncertainties is to have well-trained people there to do the job.鈥�

On Friday, Choi got the opportunity, matching into an OB-GYN specialty at , a new graduate medical education program established by 麻豆映画传媒 and Hospital Corporation of America鈥檚 North Florida Division.

She is one of 13 麻豆映画传媒 Class of 2018 medical students who will do all or part of their residency training in 麻豆映画传媒-HCA programs in Gainesville, Ocala and Central Florida. With this year鈥檚 match, the HCA consortium added 162 new residents and fellows, bringing its total to 345 in July.

鈥淲e are pleased to welcome these outstanding young physicians into our 麻豆映画传媒-HCA consortium starting this summer,鈥� said Dr. Diane Davey, associate dean for graduate medical education. 鈥淲e are excited to be building new residency programs to improve access to care and help alleviate Florida鈥檚 physician shortage.鈥�

Eight of the 麻豆映画传媒 graduates will to through the 麻豆映画传媒-HCA transitional-year program at Osceola Regional Medical Center. Certain specialties — such as ophthalmology, radiology and dermatology 鈥� require students to do a one-year transitional year of training that focuses on general medicine.

Medical student Nicole Spitzer said she is thrilled to be staying in Orlando for another year before moving to LSU for ophthalmology. After Friday鈥檚 match ceremonies, she wore an LSU baseball cap as she stood with Dr. Abdo Asmar, program director for 麻豆映画传媒鈥檚 transitional and internal medicine residencies at Osceola Regional.

鈥淚鈥檓 really looking forward for my transitional year so I can really learn how to be The Good Doctor,鈥� Spitzer said.

As a faculty member, Asmar said he was thrilled to be see his former medical students train as physicians. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an amazing opportunity to teach them as medical students and then see them grow into real doctors caring for patients,鈥� he said.

The 麻豆映画传媒-HCA consortium now has 21 residencies and fellowships. The partnership hopes to add more than 600 residency positions to the state by 2020 to help address Florida鈥檚 physician shortage.

Through a partnership with HCA, 麻豆映画传媒 now has 11 accredited residency programs in Central and North Central Florida with more on the way. Through the HCA consortium, the medical school hopes to add approximately 600 residency spots in Florida by 2020 to help relieve the state and nation鈥檚 physician shortage.

鈥淲e鈥檙e very pleased to have so many 麻豆映画传媒 students in our consortium programs,鈥� said Dr. Diane Davey, associate dean for graduate medical education. 鈥淭oday means we are going to be adding 100 physicians who will be training and serving patients in the Central Florida area.鈥�

The bulk of the 麻豆映画传媒 graduates are entering a transitional year residency based at Osceola Regional Medical Center. A transitional year 鈥� also called an internship 鈥� is required for many specialties such as dermatology and ophthalmology before residents go on to more specialized training.

麻豆映画传媒 medical student Jae Kim will do his ophthalmology residency at Wayne State University and was thrilled to match at 麻豆映画传媒, his first choice, for his transitional year. 鈥淢y heart is here,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e established connections here and am excited to continue the work to help build 麻豆映画传媒鈥檚 program.鈥�

Kim came to 麻豆映画传媒 after getting his graduate engineering degree at UCLA and working to build faster, cheaper cell phones. He decided he wanted to use his scientific training to help people and came to the College of Medicine because it requires all medical students to do research. While in medical school, he developed a machine that can test uric acid levels in the blood of gout patients and a computerized imaging process that could help doctors diagnose diseases of the eye earlier and more accurately. The inventions have earned state and national honors.

Joseph Caravaglio will do his dermatology residency at Brown University after completing his transitional year at the 麻豆映画传媒-HCA residency program. 鈥淚鈥檓 absolutely excited,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great opportunity to train in Orlando for another year because I love Orlando and I love 麻豆映画传媒.鈥�

Dr. Abdo Asmar is program director for the College of Medicine鈥檚 first residency program, internal medicine, in partnership with Osceola Regional Medical Center and the Orlando VA Medical Center. Transitional year residents will spend a great deal of time working in Dr. Asmar鈥檚 program.

鈥淭hese are pioneers who have taken a chance on a new program and want to work with us to create a legacy,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e very excited to have so many of our outstanding students join us in providing excellent care to our patients and expanding our educational programs.鈥�

鈥淚 would like to thank the College for honoring me with the Lifetime Achievement Award,鈥� Davey said. 鈥淢any great pathologists have mentored me over the years, and I am glad I have been able to give back to the profession.鈥�

She was one of the founding members of the CAP Cytopathology Resource Committee and served as the Committee鈥檚 chair from 1998-2001, having previously serviced as vice chair.聽 Her focus is in cytopathology and hematopathology with her research concentrated on cervical cytology and new cytology laboratory techniques and quality improvement efforts for better patient care.

Davey served as president of the American Society of Cytopathology from 2001-2002. She also has served on several committees of both the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology and the American Cancer Society, and has developed management guidelines for Pap tests and the HPV vaccine. She has been an adviser for both the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and serves on editorial boards for four journals, including Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine.

In addition to her teaching and leadership role at the College of Medicine, 聽Davey is a practicing pathologist at the Orlando Veterans Affairs Medical Center. In addition, she serves as vice president and trustee for the American Board of Pathology and is a member of the Pathology Residency Review Committee for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

Davey received a B.S. with distinction from Cornell University and a B.S. in Medicine from the University of South Dakota. She received her M.D. from Washington University in St. Louis and completed her residency at the Indiana University Medical Center and the University of Iowa.