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As teaching physicians, we take our role as Faculty members very seriously. As medicine continues to change, we must keep current with quality measures, patient satisfaction trends and best practice recommendations. In doing so, we are able to provide our Residents with the skills they need to treat and care for their patients and the community.
Faculty
Kirby O. Smith, DO
Dr. Kirby Smith is the Program Director for the Georgia South Family Medicine Residency Program in Moultrie, Georgia. In 1995, he started in Moultrie as a physician with primary care. Five years later, he was inspired to start his own practice in hopes of leaving a legacy to others. As the residency director, his favorite experience is watching the residents develop into strong, confident doctors as they apply everything that they have learned throughout medical school and during their residency experience. Some strengths of our program are that we are a small rural, hometown community hospital. As an unopposed program, there is no competition on treating patients between other fellow residents. As a resident at Georgia South, you will work side-by-side with each attending. One of the most important parts that you will practice during our Family Medicine Residency Program will be building relationships with your patients, fellow residents, and faculty.
EDUCATION
MEDICAL SCHOOL
Southeastern University of Health Sciences/COM, Lakeland, FL
RESIDENCY
Sparrow Family Medicine Residency at Michigan State
BACHELORS
University of South Florida
CERTIFICATIONS
Board Certified – American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians
Lisa Rudolph-Watson, MD
Jessica Mitchum, DO
Dr. Mitchum is a former resident of the Georgia South Family Medicine Residency Program and joined the residency’s core faculty after she graduated. She was a part of the inaugural residency class here at Georgia South, and is proud to continue practicing in the community where she was trained. Dr. Brumfield Mitchum is passionate about health equity and the elimination of health disparities. Her medical interests also include women’s health and rural medicine, which is rooted in her upbringing in a small Louisiana town with limited access to medical resources.
EDUCATION
MEDICAL SCHOOL
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Georgia Campus, Suwanee, GA
RESIDENCY
Georgia South Family Medicine Residency Program, Moultrie, GA
GRADUATE
Drexel University College of Medicine – Master of Science
UNDERGRADUATE
Xavier University of Louisiana – Bachelor of Science
CERTIFICATIONS
Board Certification – American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians
Melissa E. Cardwell, DO
Dr. Melissa Cardwell is a part of our faculty at Georgia South and loves to teach our residents about Wellness. She has been an advocate for whole person wellness for as long as she could remember. It is her privilege and a blessing to bring physician wellness components to our program. Her favorite part of teaching, besides learning from the residents, is helping them avoid mistakes that she has already made as a physician. She loves being apart of each resident’s journey and helping make an impact on their life. She counts it as a blessing to be faculty at Georgia South. Outside of teaching our residents, Dr. Cardwell loves spending time with her husband and children. Her husband also enjoys teaching and learning medicine. In the wee hours of the morning, you can usually find Dr. Cardwell reading or writing for pleasure where usually they all contain some sort of wellness.
EDUCATION
MEDICAL SCHOOL
Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine, Kansas City, Missouri
RESIDENCY
Via Christi Family Medicine Residency, Wichita, KS
BACHELORS
William Penn University, Oskaloosa, IA
CERTIFICATIONS
Board Certified – American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians
Jared Cardwell, MD
Dr. Jared Cardwell enjoys teaching our residents about inpatient and hospital medicine. Our hospital is called Family Medicine Residency Service. His desire each and every day is to make the Family Medicine Residency Service the best that it can be for our residents so that they have all of the resources that they need to adequately take care of our patients. Dr. Cardwell takes his role as a faculty member at Georgia South very seriously. He takes pleasure in having the opportunity to invest in the resident’s lives and to help them become the best physician that they possibly can be, but also as individuals. One of Dr. Cardwell’s favorite teaching moments was when our residents awarded him with Preceptor of the Year.
EDUCATION
MEDICAL SCHOOL
Medical College of Georgia
RESIDENCY
Via Chrisiti Family Medicine Residency, Wichita, KS
BACHELORS
Valdosta State University
CERTIFICATIONS
Board Certified – American Board of Family Medicine
ADDRESS / LOCATION:
Colquitt Regional Medical Center
3131 South Main Street
Moultrie, 31768
O: (229) 985-3420
Kayla Batchelor, DO
Dr. Batchelor is a former resident of the Georgia South Family Medicine Residency Program and joined the residency‘s core faculty after she graduated. She received her medical degree from the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine. With a particular interest in women’s health and in-office procedures, Dr. Batchelor enjoys the ever-changing nature of Family Medicine, which allows her to be apart of the unique events of her patients’ lives.
EDUCATION
MEDICAL SCHOOL
Alabama School of Osteopathic Medicine
RESIDENCY
Georgia South Family Medicine Residency Program, Moultrie, GA
UNDERGRADUATE
Bellhaven University
CERTIFICATIONS
Board Certification – American Board of Family Medicine
Nick Carden, PhD
Dr. Carden is a Georgia licensed psychologist with over 30 years of clinical experience. He has been involved in teaching and coordinating Behavioral Medicine Services for Family Medicine Residency programs for over 25 years. He is married and has one son, who is a commercial airline pilot. Dr. Carden enjoys coaching and teaching baseball during his free time and is also involved in breeding and showing Arabian show horses.
EDUCATION
DOCTORAL PROGRAM
Ph.D. in Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
POST DOCTORAL TRAINING
Silber Psychological Services, Raleigh, North Carolina
Child and Adolescent Psychology
BACHELORS
B.S. in Psychology, Emory and Henry College, Emory, Virginia
M.S. in Psychology, Radford University, Radford, Virginia
CERTIFICATIONS
PhD Counseling Psychology Florida State University
Masters Clinical Psychology Radford University
Kent Posey, MD
Muhammad Alam, MD
James Drury, MD
Robert Maydell, MD
Joe Morgan, MD
Wendy Vandemark, MD
Administrative Staff
Victoria Gallagher
Jordan Key
Caleb Moore
Kristoff Cohran
