Thirty physicians are set to graduate from Piedmont Macon Medical Center’s residency program later this week in a downtown Macon ceremony.

The commencement is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday, June 12, at Fall Line Station, 567 Plum St. Nine years ago, Piedmont Macon’s Graduate Medical Education program began with 10 Internal Medicine residents and four Psychiatry residents. The program now includes 63 residency spots, including Transitional Year opportunities.

Each residency program has training for residents – those who have completed medical school and are undergoing intensive training in a specific medical specialty. That training ranges from one to four years, depending on the specialty: Internal Medicine is three years, and Psychiatry is four. Transitional Year is a single year designed to be a foundation for a resident to prepare for an advanced residency that’s completed at another hospital in specialties such as Dermatology, Anesthesiology and Radiology.

Jonathan Smith, M.D., the Designated Institutional Official for the GME program at Piedmont Macon, said resident graduation is a meaningful occasion because it marks two very different but equally important milestones.

“For some of these physicians, Friday’s graduation represents the beginning of their careers as practicing doctors. For others, it is the next step as they continue into fellowships and advanced specialty training,” Dr. Smith said. “No matter where their paths lead next, we are incredibly proud of the dedication, professionalism and compassion they have demonstrated during their time at Piedmont Macon in our residency program.”

Piedmont Macon Chief Medical Officer Claire Paris, M.D., said one of the goals of the Piedmont Macon residency program is for doctors to remain in the community once their residency ends. This year, seven of the 17 graduates (not including Transitional Year doctors who are going on to continue their training) plan to practice in Georgia. Four of those are planning to work in Macon, including three at Piedmont Macon Medical Center.

“It is paramount for a hospital like Piedmont Macon to support graduate medical education to ensure a future pipeline of well-trained physicians,” Dr. Paris said. “This is especially critical in an era where we are facing a physician shortage. I am so proud to see these bright and well-trained young physicians graduate and enter practice to deliver excellent healthcare to patients and communities like ours.”

INTERNAL MEDICINE

Bibi Alli-Ramsaroop, M.D.

Farwa Asim, M.D.

Abdishakur Hussein, M.D.

Khadijat Kasumu, M.D.
Chantelle Martin, M.D.
Sidra Memon, M.D.

Sindhu Naresh, M.D.
Darshit Patel, D.O.

Mihir Patel, M.D.

Shubham Patel, M.D.
Bhaavya Pinnala, M.D.

PSYCHIATRY

Uzma Beg, M.D.

William Harrington, M.D.

Mohummed Kazmi, M.D.
Hamid Shirazi, D.O.

Robyn Cotney, M.D.

Zahra Naderi, M.D.

TRANSITIONAL YEAR

Christopher Aduwari, M.D.

Edem Ankudey, M.D.
Neermala Dassrath-Bheodari, M.D.

Neena Edupuganti, D.O.

Christelle Eliacin, D.O.

Crystal Goodall, M.D.

Haroon Latiff, M.D.

Jay Dinesh Patel, D.O.

Nicholas Robinson, D.O.

Om Sakhalkar, M.D.

Lokesh Seth, M.D.

Chloe Tate, D.O.

Charles Teames, M.D.