PCOM hosts first ‘Match Day’ for medical students to start their residency

MOULTRIE, Ga. (WALB) - The need for physicians in rural Georgia could be easing slightly, as the first class at PCOM South Georgia was recently matched with their residencies.

A lot of the students hope to apply what they learned at PCOM South Georgia in Moultrie to their future careers. Careers that keep them right here in Southwest Georgia.

“Something just sort of clicked one day shortly into doing that. And I thought this was the perfect blend of everything that I enjoy doing and studying and would allow me to have a kind of impact I wanted to have later down the road,” Trent Griner, doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) class of 2023, said.

After going through four years of medical school and rotations, students are then able to choose their area of specialization.

After they complete the requirements, they’re then matched with a medical facility to start their careers.

Woody Gramling is a doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) class of 2023 and was matched at Georgia South-Colquitt Regional in the field of psychiatry. He says he’s learned some valuable advice while in the program.

“You have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Just knowing that other people are in your position. It’s going to be tough, but at the end of the day, it will be worth it,” Gramling said.

Allison Tresner, another graduate who matched in Moultrie at Colquitt Regional, hopes more students will consider staying in South Georgia, even after their residencies are over.

“I get to stay here in Moultrie at Colquitt Regional Medical Center, which is great. They have been a great partner for PCOM, the school, and I just get to continue on with my education. It feels like a very full-circle moment for me,” Allison Tresner, DO class of 2023, said.

The process of going through medical school to match day can be hard, but a lot of the students would tell their younger selves “we did it.”

Joanne Jones, the chief of campus operations, shares how having community partners, such as Colquitt Regional, is vital to student success.

“We really rely on those faculty members and those attendees in those hospitals to train our students. They are rotating during third and fourth year getting that education from those physicians that are truly committed to this area,” Jones said.

One takeaway that some students hope to bring to their new careers is a feeling of trust.

“I feel like staying local in southwest Georgia, it’s just a good way to give back to the community that has helped me out these past four years. Just a great way to build that relationship and trust between doctor and patient,” Gramling said.

“It’s very nice to finally have that moment of I did it, I realized it all and I got a job as a family medicine doctor now, and I’ve earned the opportunity to go train and do this,” Griner said.

Advice that the medical students give is to hone in on understanding your background and taking that through your career.

“So I think it’s important to just kind of remember where you came from. And if you keep a little piece of you along the way that reminds you of that, then that’s great. So I‘m looking forward to continuing my journey right here,” Tresner said.

The mission of PCOM South Georgia is to train and educate those in rural areas.

The students who have matched into their specialties are scheduled to graduate in May.

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