Houston Healthcare welcomes new residents into program

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Houston Healthcare’s Residency Program welcomed a new class of residents on June 27 in the Cary Martin Conference Center.

The night began with dinner and a speech by Chaplain Jerry Bisping, where he congratulated the new trainees.

Afterwards, Dr. LaToya Jackson, the program director, gave a speech likening the medical journey to the 108 sun salutations done in yoga. Essentially, she said to persevere in the face of difficulty because of what you’ll get out of it in the end: experience.

“Doubt kills more dreams than fear ever will,” said Jackson as she ended her speech.

The new trainees include Leslie Flores Otero, Kristen Lee, Christine Nwoke, Nneka Onyejekwe, Andrew Powell and Ana Rivera Betancourt. They were all awarded their white coats at the ceremony.

The program is meant to help students transition from medical school into full-time work. Started in 2012 by Dr. William Woolery, the program was carried into the present by Dr. Jackson, who has directed the program for over seven years.

“It’s very good to have medical education in a community, because it enhances everything that we’re trying to do in taking care of patients, because it drives us to stay up with the latest innovations and latest knowledge in the various fields of medicine,” said Dr. Dan Stewart, the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Medical Affairs.

Residency is a three-year program, where the recipients will work in the clinic and hospital doing a variety of tasks. They will cycle between various disciplines to help get a better practical understanding of what is done in each. In addition, they will perform pre-natal and postpartum continuity care, where a trainee will stay with a person throughout pregnancy, delivery, and infant care during return visits to the clinic.

It caters to each individual trainee; in their second and third years of residency, they choose where they work based on their interests.

Residency programs vary in length depending on what a person seeks to go into. For family medicine, which all the trainees are doing, it takes three years, but for neurosurgery — the highest end — it takes seven years.

Fourth year medical students are selected for their individual residency programs based off “the match,” designed to match the preferences of applicants with the preferences of residency program directors. All residency programs across the country participate in “the match.”

Houston Healthcare also said farewell to program graduates on Friday, June 23. After graduation, residents will go on to be full-time doctors.

“Like all the rest of the people who practice medicine in Houston County, they completed their residency program,” said Dr. Stewart.

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