MOULTRIE, GA —Participating residents represented Colquitt Regional’s Georgia South Family Medicine and Psychiatry programs; SGMC Health’s Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Transitional Year programs; the Medical College of Georgia–Archbold Internal Medicine Residency; and Coffee Regional Medical Center’s Internal Medicine program. More than 120 residents, program directors, faculty members, and GME staff participated in a day of educational sessions, scholarly presentations and collaborative discussions focused on advancing graduate medical education throughout the region.
“Graduate medical education is an important investment in the future of healthcare for our region,” said Colquitt Regional Health System President & CEO Jim Matney. “By bringing residents, faculty and medical education leaders together, we are strengthening relationships among our regional programs and helping prepare the next generation of physicians to serve communities like ours.”
The conference opened with a discussion on public policy and the state’s role in supporting the growth of residency programs in Southwest Georgia. State Rep. Darlene Taylor (District 173), State Rep. Chas Cannon (District 172) and State Sen. Sam Watson (District 11) joined attendees to discuss strategies for encouraging physicians to remain in the region and practice in rural and underserved communities.
“Strong residency programs help build a stronger healthcare workforce for Southwest Georgia,” said Colquitt County Hospital Authority Chairman John Griffin. “Continued collaboration among our regional healthcare organizations is essential to expanding opportunities for physician training and improving access to care close to home.”
Residents participated in forums covering meaningful supervision and feedback, cross-program collaboration, artificial intelligence in residency and rural program innovation. Program directors, associate program directors and faculty members also participated in dedicated discussions addressing moonlighting, remediation, professionalism, and the balance of supervision, autonomy, and faculty expectations.
Facilitators included Kent Posey, MD, associate program director, Georgia South Psychiatry; Kirby Smith, DO, program director, Georgia South Family Medicine; Leslie Lamptey, MD, and Timothy Sobukonla, MD, associate program directors, SGMC Health Internal Medicine; and Clay Sizemore, MD, associate program director, Medical College of Georgia–Archbold Internal Medicine Residency.
“This is our fourth annual meeting regionally,” said Georgia South Family Medicine Program Director Kirby Smith, DO, who facilitated a resident remediation case and participated in the Innovation Spotlight. “What a remarkable opportunity to collaborate, share resources and provide support to each other. It is how we keep raising the standard of training in Southwest Georgia.”
The GME Innovation Spotlight featured faculty members from Georgia South Psychiatry, Georgia South Family Medicine, SGMC Health Family Medicine and the Medical College of Georgia–Archbold Internal Medicine Residency. Participants included Posey; Anthony Cimmino, MD; Raul Santos, MD; Smith; and Madison Hill, DO, who shared ideas and approaches to innovation in residency education.
Residents also showcased their scholarly work during a poster competition featuring four judging categories: Innovation and Originality, Clinical and Educational Impact, Visual Appeal and Design, and Clarity and Quality of Scholarly Presentation. Peers and faculty members evaluated the presentations and selected a winner in each category.
The conference concluded with the first SimWars Tournament, a new competition designed to challenge residents’ clinical knowledge, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities. Four teams began with a knockout round of clinical jeopardy, with the top two advancing to the championship rounds, which featured a clinical escape room and a high-fidelity simulation challenge.
The Medical College of Georgia–Archbold Internal Medicine Residency emerged as the inaugural SimWars champion, earning the traveling GME SimWars Cup. The team will hold the trophy for the next year before returning to defend its title at the next conference.
The annual conference continues to strengthen collaboration among graduate medical education programs across Southwest Georgia, providing opportunities for residents and faculty to share knowledge, exchange ideas and support the development of the region’s future physician workforce.
“Graduate medical education in Southwest Georgia has grown tremendously over the past decade, and this conference reflects the value of bringing our programs together,” said Georgia South Graduate Medical Education Administrator and conference panel moderator Kristoff Cohran. “By sharing ideas, strengthening partnerships and creating opportunities for residents to learn from one another, we can continue to advance medical education and prepare physicians to meet the needs of our communities.”
