College welcomes back residency graduates as fellows

July 31, 2017

Dr. Blake DeWitt
Three recent graduates of The University of Alabama Family Medicine Residency are returning to the College of Community Health Sciences as fellows. Drs. Carrie Coxwell and Blake DeWitt join the College’s Obstetrics fellowship, and Dr. Keirsten Smith joins the Sports Medicine fellowship. The college operates the UA Family Medicine Residency, which is the third largest family medicine residency in the country and one of the oldest. The Obstetrics and Sports Medicine fellowships, along with Behavioral Health, Emergency Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, Hospital Medicine, and Rural Public Psychiatry comprise the seven fellowships offered by the College. Each fellowship is a year-long program designed to offer additional, specialized training to physicians.
Dr. Carrie Coxwell
The College’s Obstetrics Fellowship for family medicine physicians, one of the first in the country, aims to address the need for obstetric and gynecological care in rural areas. As the attrition of obstetricians in the United States exceeds the number of obstetricians completing residencies and entering practice, programs that train family medicine physicians to provide quality obstetrical care will continue to grow in importance. The College’s OB fellows are supervised by board-certified OB/GYNs and train for 12 months to complete the requirements for certification. During the year, fellows master high-risk, operative obstetrics and office OB/GYN procedures, including ultrasound, colposcopy, cryotherapy and endometrial biopsies. Coxwell and DeWitt also join University Medical Center, which the College operates, as members of the family medicine practice and will care for patients and teach medical students and residents. Coxwell is a graduate of the University of Alabama School of Medicine and DeWitt is a graduate of Texas Tech University Science Center. Both Coxwell and Dewitt completed their residency training at the College.
Dr. Keirsten Smith
The College’s Sports Medicine Fellowship offers education, training and certification to family medicine physicians, who are often called to serve as team physicians for high school sports programs in their communities. During the year-long Sports Medicine Fellowship, Smith will work under the supervision of Dr. James Robinson, who holds the College’s Endowed Chair in Sports Medicine, and will receive training in sports medicine care. Sports Medicine fellows work with The University of Alabama athletic team physicians, coaches, trainers and athletes, and with local high school athletes. Fellows see patients at the College’s Dr. Bill deShazo Sports Medicine Center, located within University Medical Center, which is operated by the College. Smith earned her medical degree from American University of the Caribbean in Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles and completed her residency at the College of Community Health Sciences.