Family, friends and colleagues gathered June 21 at Lakeside Medical Center, Palm Beach County’s only public hospital, to celebrate the graduation of four residents from its Family Medicine Residency Program. Richard Roche, hospital administrator and chief administrative officer with the Health Care District of Palm Beach County, welcomed the more than 70 attendees.
This is the fourth class of residents to graduate from the program, which was established at the acute-care facility in 2011 and is one of the few of its kind to focus on the special healthcare needs of rural, underserved areas.
“Your training gave you a broad opportunity to learn the best practices of healthcare for patients with a variety of medical conditions,” said Darcy Davis, the Health Care District’s chief executive officer. “We appreciate your commitment to Lakeside Medical Center, to the health of the residents of the Glades and for choosing to advance your medical careers right here in this rural, agricultural region.”
The graduates, Shaun Nazar (chief resident), Donoffa Nelson, Sholem Palevsky and Monique Samuel, completed a rigorous three-year curriculum that included rotations in emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, geriatrics, general surgery, internal medicine, neonatology, community and sports medicine, cardiology, diagnostic radiology, orthopedics, ENT, urology, ophthalmology and critical care. Lakeside Medical Center, owned and operated by the Health Care District, is the program’s primary clinical training site.
“Being a physician is challenging,” said Dr. Nikerson Geneve, Lakeside’s chief of medical education. “You have all learned the science of medicine, but it’s my hope that you will practice the art of compassion. Only then will you be a great physician.”
The ceremony featured two keynote speakers: Dr. Lesly Desrouleaux, senior physician with the Florida Department of Health Palm Beach County, and Dr. Anthony Silvagni, professor emeritus and former dean of Nova Southeastern University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine.
“There is a huge difference between being an ordinary doctor and a special doctor,” Desrouleaux said. “It’s a very special club being a special doctor. You need to practice good medicine 100 percent of the time.”
“Medicine is magic,” Dr. Silvagni said. “People will trust you with things they won’t tell anyone else. Every patient who walks out of your office, you will change the quality of their life. Enjoy this profession. Enjoy your accomplishments.”
In his graduation remarks, Dr. Nazar thanked the attending physicians and hospital staff. “I will always be proud to come from this institution. It will always be a special place, and I’ll remember how much I’ve improved and learned,” he said.
Following the ceremony, the four graduates, along with Geneve, took part in coating five incoming residents to the program: Kimala Harris, Roy Barski, Hayley Baum, Ron Mathew and Caitlin White.
For more information about Lakeside Medical Center, visit www.lakesidemedical.org or call (561) 996-6571.
ABOVE: (L-R): Lakeside Medical Center Administrator Richard Roche; gradates Donoffa Nelson, Shaun Nazar, Sholem Palevsky and Monique Samuel; Program Director Dr. Nikerson Geneve; and Health Care District CEO Darcy Davis.
