Articles

We are pleased to announce that the next class of Internal Medicine Resident Physicians have matched to Baptist Memorial Hospital – North Mississippi. The 12 trainees who will make up the third class will join the current 24 Resident Physicians and bring the program to the full complement of 36 resident physicians. The group will begin their three years of training in July 2023 following a two-week orientation period. A full class announcement will be forthcoming.

Throughout the recruitment process, program leadership focused on the whole candidate, with the most important criteria being “mission fit,” including applicants who are natives of the Mid-South, were educated in the area, have a strong connection to loved ones in Mississippi or the Mid-South, and those who have a strong desire to live in and serve the state and region after training.  Each of the 12 incoming resident physicians possesses their own unique combination of characteristics and connections that made them an ideal candidate to train at Baptist North Mississippi.

The recruitment season wrapped up on March 1, 2023, with the certification of the final rank order list in The National Resident Matching Program’s Main Residency Match. Through the process, a dynamic group of candidates from across the globe shared their life stories, motivation for pursuing medicine, and professional aspirations. Nearly all of the candidates traveled in person to Oxford, MS, to tour the community and BMH-NM facilities. All 12 positions were filled in the Main Residency Match.

The program’s mission remains to train clinically and procedurally competent physicians in the specialty of Internal Medicine who will provide high quality, safe, cost-effective, and patient/family-centered care for adults in North Mississippi, upholding the greater Baptist Memorial Health Care mission of “Healing, Preaching and Teaching.”

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) plans to conduct a site review to determine the next progression in accreditation of the Internal Medicine program at Baptist North Mississippi on Tuesday, March 7, 2023.

New residency and fellowship programs must first undergo a site review to receive initial accreditation by the ACGME after applying to establish the program. The BMH-NM program received initial accreditation in January 2021 after undergoing a site review in the fall of 2020. This paved the way to recruit the first class of resident physicians who joined the program in June 2021.

Once a program has received initial accreditation, the ACGME schedules a follow-up review within two years to ensure compliance with requirements established by the council. After a successful inspection, a new program is awarded continued accreditation. 

"Achieving ACGME Continued Accreditation status is a foundational step in the success of our residency program because it serves as the external validation of our standard of excellence," said Program Director Seger S. Morris, DO. "Our program is innovative, mission-driven, and grounded with the growth and wellbeing of our stakeholders at heart. We look forward to this opportunity to discuss our early success, and to demonstrate our substantial compliance with ACGME Program Requirements."

The accreditation field staff representative will meet virtually with the program director and associate program directors, leadership, core and key faculty members, as well as resident physicians. The ACGME staff member will collect and aggregate data based on documents and information previously provided by the program ahead of time, as well as from the conversations and interviews held the day of the site visit. 

At the conclusion of the review day, the site visitor will submit a report to the ACGME Review Committee who will confer the accreditation status upon the program. This group meets several times each year, with September 2023 as the next meeting date when the BMH-NM program would be anticipated to be placed on the RC agenda. With this timeline, a decision would be tentatively expected that same month. 

Garrett Hadley, DO, has been appointed for an additional year to serve as Chief Resident in the 2023-2024 academic year. Dr. Hadley was first appointed to the position for his PGY2 year, and will remain in the leadership role in his PGY3 year.  

Dr. Hadley assists with administrative operations of the program, as well as coordinates residents’ clinical and didactic schedules and serves as a leader in the training of resident physicians and medical students, among other duties. For both years, he was selected for the position by Program Director Seger S. Morris, DO, faculty and resident physicians, and program administration after a nomination and voting process at the beginning of the calendar year.

"Dr. Hadley is respected as a leader by faculty, students, and residents alike, as he strives for excellence across the academic, clinical, and leadership settings of residency," Dr. Morris said. "He has been instrumental in the early success and growth of our residency program, and I look forward to working with him for the 2024 Academic Year as he leads our inaugural class to their graduation."

To enhance his skills in this role, Dr. Hadley will attend the annual Chief Residents Meeting hosted by the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine in April. Previously, he completed the leadership skills training program for Chief Residents hosted by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

As the program prepares for an accreditation site review, new academic year, space expansion, and bringing in the third class of resident physicians, Dr. Hadley has proven to be instrumental. 

As a member of the inaugural class, Dr. Hadley entered the program in the summer of 2021 and moved to Oxford, Miss., from Ft. Smith, Ark., where he earned his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree at the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine. A native of Shawnee, Okla., he received a B.S. in Chemistry at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark. 

Nazneen Ahmed, MD, presented a Grand Rounds session focused on nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and colon cancer screening on February 3, 2023. Dr. Ahmed serves as a gastroenterologist at the VA Medical Center, as well as an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, both in Memphis, Tenn. She completed both her Internal Medicine residency and Gastroenterology and Hepatology fellowship training at John Stroger Hospital in Chicago, Ill. 

She led the trainees and attending physicians through understanding the epidemiology and pathology of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and NASH, identifying populations at high risk for these conditions, and reviewing management and latest therapies for the condition. In a second session, Dr. Ahmed provided up-to-date guidance on ways to optimize the colorectal cancer screening process. 

Dr. Ahmed performs inpatient GI consultation rounds at the VA Medical Center, teaching residents and fellows during clinical rounds and discussions, as well as providing presentations. 

Garrett Hadley, DO, was appointed as Chief Resident for the upcoming Academic Year. 

In his new role, Dr. Hadley will be involved in administrative operations of the program, as well as coordinating residents’ clinical and didactic schedules and serving as a leader in the training of resident physicians and medical students, among other duties. He was selected for the position by Program Director Seger S. Morris, DO, faculty and resident physicians, and program administration after a nomination and voting process this Spring. 

"Dr. Hadley has demonstrated the organizational skills, desire for continuous improvement, as well as clinical and academic excellence necessary to serve in this important role," Morris said. "Most importantly, he has garnered the trust of his peers, faculty, and administrative team to consistently act selflessly, with the interests of our patients and the program always paramount. I look forward to his leadership growth through this experience."

In preparation for the new role, Dr. Hadley attended a leadership skills training program for Chief Residents in May that was hosted by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in Philadelphia, Penn. He has already been instrumental in preparing for the new academic year and expansion of the program. 

"I’m very excited to serve as Chief Resident this coming academic year," Hadley said. "I feel honored to have the privilege. I look forward to working alongside our incredible faculty and staff to continue to improve the program."

Dr. Hadley joined the program in the summer of 2021 as part of the inaugural class. He hails from Shawnee, Okla., and received a B.S. in Chemistry at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark. He received his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree at the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Ft. Smith, Ark., in 2021. 

"Primarily, I hope to serve as a strong advocate for my fellow residents," Hadley said. "I also look forward to taking part in the academic curriculum, facilitating resident career development, and serving as a mentor to incoming residents and medical students."