Southeast Georgia Health System has received full accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for its new Graduate Medical Education (GME) Internal Medicine Residency Program, set to launch in July 2025.
Sary Beidas, MD, MBI, FACP, Associate Program Director, Graduate Medical Education and Aftab Ahmad, MD, MBA, CPE, FACP, FACHE, Designated Institutional Officer & Program Director Internal Medicine Residency Program
Designed to address the growing need for essential clinicians, particularly in rural communities, residency training after medical school allows graduating physicians to specialize in specific areas of medicine and surgery. Residents work alongside experienced physicians, complete research projects, and provide increased availability of health care services to the community.
“We are very excited to receive full accreditation for our internal medicine residency program and welcome our first 13 residents in July 2025,” says Program Director Aftab Ahmad, MD, MBA, CPE, FACP, FACHE. “Our accreditation allows for an additional 13 residents each year until we reach full capacity at 39 residents.”
According to Ahmad, the residency program will enhance health care access and quality for the communities served by the Health System. “Many doctors choose to practice in the communities where they complete their training,” explains Ahmad, “Bringing Graduate Medical Education to Southeast Georgia Health System is the next step in the growth of our system to ensure that we not only become a Center of Excellence for our communities but also attract young medical students and graduates. We will train and retain these highly qualified students, residents and physicians to meet the future needs of our community.”
President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Raynes, MBA, MA, concurs, “The Health System has a rich history of serving our community since 1888. As the size and needs of our community have grown, so too has the number of providers and services the Health System offers. The addition of our internal medicine residency program is a testament of our unwavering commitment to deliver the highest level of quality care to our community.”
ACGME is a private, not-for-profit organization that sets standards for United States graduate medical education programs and the institutions that sponsors them. The mission of ACGME is to improve health care and population health by assessing and advancing the quality of resident physician’s education through accreditation.
Along with Ahmad, the Health System’s Internal Medicine Residency Program is overseen by Sary Beidas, MD, MBI, FACP, Associate Program Director. In addition to teaching and training residents, he will assist them with their research projects and presentations. Working alongside residents, he will see patients in the Health System’s GME Internal Medicine Residency Clinic.
“We were delighted when Dr. Ahmad and Dr. Beidas joined the Health System to help establish our residency program,” Raynes adds. “Their efforts, along with the members of the Graduate Medical Education Committee, are pivotal to the success of the program and the growth of our Health System.”
To learn more about the Health System’s Graduate Medical Education Internal Medicine Residency Program, call 912.466.7562 or email GME@sghs.org.
