Merit Health Wesley Celebrates Graduate Medical Education

7/19/2021

27 Residents Graduate; 28 New Residents Arrive in Hattiesburg

HATTIESBURG - Merit Health Wesley’s Graduate Medical Education (GME) residency program, which has seen great success since its inception in July 2015, recently held graduation for 27 resident physicians. At the same time, the GME program welcomed a new class of 28 first-year residents. The program now includes 24 emergency medicine, 30 internal medicine and 12 transitional year residents.

The program started with two areas of focus, Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine. The Transitional Year Program was added in 2018, growing the program’s size and scope. In 2019, the programs earned accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and began accepting Doctors of Medicine, in addition to Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine.

These residencies are led by internal medicine physician, Deepu Thoppil, M.D., who was named the Designated Institutional Officer in 2020 and also acts as the Program Director for the internal medicine residency program. The emergency medicine residency is led by Program Director Emily Nix, M.D., and the transitional year residency is led by Program Director Gagandeep Grewal, M.D.

“We are very proud of the accomplishments of this year’s graduates,” says Deepu Thoppil, M.D., “Graduating amid a pandemic has set this class up to make a tremendous difference. It is an honor to send them off knowing that they received a solid foundation of training at Merit Health Wesley."

This year's graduates will continue their medical careers across the nation, including appointments as military physicians and fellows at the Mayo Clinic. Several physicians will remain in Hattiesburg. Umar Razzaq, M.D., will join Merit Health Medical Group's team of hospitalist physicians, providing inpatient medicine at Merit Health Wesley. Carlos Cambo Cortez, D.O., will continue his training in Hattiesburg with Merit Health Wesley's emergency medicine residency program and Vashishtha Patel, D.O., will be joining the organization's internal medicine residency program.

"These physicians are playing a vital role in creating a healthier Hattiesburg," says Thoppil.

About Merit Health Wesley’s Resident Programs
Residents spend three years in the internal medicine program at Merit Health Wesley. The program focuses on general internal medicine, which is a specialty that deals with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. The program’s goal is to provide a well-rounded experience for physician residents who want to pursue a career as a community-based internist or those who intend to pursue a subspecialty field such as cardiology, gastroenterology, nephrology (kidney disease), or other specialties. The emergency medicine program is a four-year program focusing on quality emergency medical training. The curriculum includes education in obstetrics, surgery, trauma, pediatrics, critical care, and other skills. The transitional year residency is a 1 year program which provides graduating interns with the skills and knowledge to continue with the post graduate medical education of their choosing. Intern residents rotate through OB/GYN, surgery, pediatrics, family medicine, internal medicine, emergency medicine, ICU, and cardiology to provide them a broad spectrum, well rounded foundation of post graduate medical education. To learn more about graduate medical education at Merit Health Wesley, visit www.merithealthwesley.com/medical-education-and-residency.

2021-2022 Resident Physicians, Attending Physicians, and Administrative Staff, Merit Health Wesley Graduate Medical Education Department

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