July 7, 2022
Twenty-two physicians were honored June 18, 2022, at the 47th annual graduation ceremony of The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency Program and Fellowships. The event was held at the North River Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa.
The College of Community Health Sciences provides graduate and post-graduate medical education through both the three-year Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency and year-long fellowships for family medicine physicians seeking additional training in behavioral health, emergency medicine, geriatrics, hospital medicine, obstetrics, pediatrics and sports medicine.
The 16 graduating residents and six fellows will begin their own practices in Alabama and other states or go on to fellowship programs. To date, the Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency has graduated 556 family medicine physicians.
“This is a very special class, and it’s been an honor to be your residency director for the past three years” Dr. Tamer Elsayed said as he welcomed graduates and their families. “You were interns in March of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. You helped us with the surge, you took care of patients and you took care of the community. I learned a lot from you all.”
Elsayed presented all graduates with a special award in recognition for their resilience “and your hard work on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Dr. Richard Friend, dean of CCHS and former residency director, echoed that sentiment. “The last three years have been an incredible journey and you were at the center,” he said to the graduating residents. “You took care of UA students in quarantine. You took care of patients in the hospital without family. You helped keep our patients, community, and College safe. This is an exceptional group.”
Dr. Robert Sheppard, director of the College’s Hospital Medicine Fellowship, was the guest speaker at the graduation ceremony. He imparted what he called “a few of life’s important lessons.”
Character, he said, is developed through interactions over a lifetime “and defines who we are and who we will become. All of these interactions help build character and help build relationships. Nothing will define your life more than relationships.”
Sheppard said take care not to have family take a back seat to medicine.
And, he said, there is always room to learn more. “When you think your brain is full and you can’t learn another fact, there is room. Never stop learning.”
In closing, Elsayed provided graduates with this advice: “Live life. Don’t try to win life. And leave your mark.”
2022 Graduating Residents
2022 Graduating Fellows
Residency Award Winners
Chief Residents Recognized
