Fifteen residents and six fellows were honored June 30, 2024, at the 49th annual graduation ceremony of The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency Program and Fellowships. The event was held at UA’s Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The residents and fellows will begin their medical practices in Alabama and in other states and countries or enter fellowship programs. To date, the UA Tuscaloosa Family has graduated 588 family medicine physicians.
“This is a great class, who came to us in June of 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Dr. Tamer Elsayed, residency director, said in welcoming remarks to the graduates and their families. “You’ve worked hard and became a part of a system. Soon, you will become independent and work by yourself.”
Elsayed said he learned much from the 2024 class about change, and that he will always be available to them for advice. “We’re happy to be here for you as a source and to welcome you as an alumni of the University.”
The Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency is one of the oldest and largest family medicine residencies in the United States. The residency is operated by the UA College of Community Health Sciences, which provides graduate and post-graduate medical education through the three-year family medicine residency and through year-long fellowships for family medicine physicians seeking additional training in behavioral health, emergency medicine, geriatrics, hospital medicine, obstetrics, pediatrics, psychiatry and sports medicine.
The guest speaker at the graduation ceremony was Dr. Jennifer Clem, associate professor of family, internal, and rural medicine at CCHS and a practicing family medicine physician at University Medical Center in Northport, which the College operates. She told the graduates that while physicians often focus on their failures “we cannot allow ourselves to do that because I guarantee there are going to be many more victories than failures each day you practice medicine. Most of your victories may seem very small and not important to you, but they are not going to be small for your patients.”
Clem continued: “Even after 15 years, I still love being a family medicine doctor. “As much as I enjoy teaching, mentoring and filling out evaluations, it is the patient care that fulfills me, that sustains me and that awards me every day.”
Dr. Richard Friend, dean of the College, also spoke to the graduates. “Some of you will be staying for fellowships with us and others will be going to other institutions or going out into practice, and we are very proud of that,” he said.
2024 Graduating Residents
- Dr. Gurpreet Atwal
- Dr. Gabrielle Cordaro
- Dr. Mitchell Currie
- Dr. Aishwarya Daniels
- Dr. Hunter Dulaney
- Dr. Colton Eubanks
- Dr. Ana Frambach Simão
- Nathalie Francis
- Merna George
- Nicholas Goodwin
- Jillian Kelly-Motamed
- Muhammad Khan
- Nicole Lally
- Elizabeth Scott
- Joshua Washington
2024 Graduating Fellows
- Dr. Olufunke Adebayo – Hospital Medicine Fellow
- Dr. Pamela Angelo – Family Medicine Obstetrics Fellow
- Dr. Savannah Giovane – Family Medicine Obstetrics Fellow
- Dr. Natasha Mathew – Family Medicine Obstetrics Fellow
- Dr. Dalton Lohsandt – Sports Medicine Fellow
- Dr. William Tremlett – Sports Medicine Fellow
Residency Award Winners
- William R. Willard Award – Dr. Chase Britt
- Internal Medicine-Intern Award – Dr. Alicia Amerson
- Internal Medicine-Best Resident – Dr. Joshua Washington
- Pediatrics Award – Dr. Elizabeth Scott
- Psychiatry Award – Dr. Joshua Washington
- Psychiatry/R3 Award – Drs. Jillian Kelly-Motamed and Muhammad Khan
- Obstetrics and Gynecology Award – Drs. Gabrielle Cordaro and Muhammad Khan
- William F. deShazo III Sports Medicine Award – Dr. Joshua Washington
- Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors Award for Scholarship – Dr. Joshua Washington
- William W. Winternitz Award in Geriatrics – Dr. Elizabeth Scott
- Society of Teachers in Family Medicine Resident Teaching Award – Dr. Aishwarya Daniels
- Clinical Competency Committee Awards – Drs. Nicholas Goodwin, Andy Thomas, Alicia Amerson
- William Owings Award for Excellence in Family Medicine – Dr. Joshua Washington
- 360 Award – Dr. Joshua Washington
- Robert E. Pieroni, MD, and Family Compassionate Care Award – Dr. Elizabeth Scott
- Special Award Presentation – Dr. Robert Sheppard, Hospitalist Fellowship Director and associate professor with CCHS
- Highest Scores Award – Dr. Muhammad Khan
Chief Residents Recognized
- Dr. Mitchell Currie
- Dr. Nicholas Goodwin
- Dr. Nicole Lally
- Dr. Joshua Washington
