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July 3, 2025

 

Dear School of Medicine community:

 

Join me in welcoming the 480 new residents and fellows joining Emory this summer. Many have already arrived on campus, while some programs begin later in July and August. Our exceptional trainees play a critical role in our academic health system, caring for patients and families while also honing their clinical expertise and collaborating with faculty on important research.

 

Emory’s Graduate Medical Education (GME) program is among the largest in the U.S., with 1,465 residents and fellows in 122 programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Emory also provides oversight for 100 non-ACGME programs. During their training, which can range from one to nine years after medical school, residents and fellows become progressively more independent in providing skilled, compassionate care to patients. Fellowship training follows residency and provides even more specialized training.

 

Emory residents and fellows rotate at 68 training sites, gaining exceptionally broad exposure to a range of patient populations, conditions and acuity levels. Across our affiliated health care institutions, residents are routinely exposed to multi-disciplinary specialty care and acute care. Additionally, program leaders have developed collaborative relationships with rural hospitals, such as a surgical rotation with Colquitt Regional Medical Center, which allows surgical residents to learn what it’s like to practice in rural communities with limited access to subspecialty care.

 

I offer my heartfelt thanks to our program directors and faculty who are dedicated to training the next generation of physicians, as well as our associate and assistant deans of GME, Philip Shayne (emergency medicine) and Jamie MacKelfresh (dermatology), for their leadership. I also want to thank the GME staff members whose skill and support is vital to the success of GME at Emory, including Jianli Zhao, director of graduate medical education, and Taiwana Daniels, senior associate director of GME and ACGME institutional coordinator.

 

As we look ahead to the new academic year, I think about how inspired I am by our trainees. We remain unwavering in our commitment to the tripartite mission. We continue to develop outstanding clinicians and investigators who are lifelong learners, who will provide the highest quality compassionate care, and who will serve the needs of their community and the world in the best traditions of our profession. 

 

Thank you to our community for supporting our learners, our patients, and each other.

 

Sandra

 

Sandra L. Wong, MD, MS
Dean, Emory School of Medicine
Chief Academic Officer, Emory Healthcare

 
 
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