Strength, courage, character, confidence and dignity. Those were the words of encouragement and guidance given to three new physician graduates of Lakeside Medical Center’s Family Medicine Residency Program.
“You have a tremendous opportunity to make a big impact on society,” said Dr. Duclos Dessalines, the keynote speaker at the graduation ceremony, which also welcomed five new residents to the program.
Dessalines, pediatric services director of the C.L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics, told graduating residents that during their residency they demonstrated “hard work, sacrifice, dedication and commitment.” Nearly 90 family members and guests attended the June 17 event at the Wanderers Club in Wellington.
Lakeside Medical Center in Belle Glade is an acute care facility and is Palm Beach County’s only rural teaching hospital. The residency program was established in 2011 and is now one of the few of its kind to focus on the healthcare needs of rural, underserved areas.
The three graduates, Dr. Roy Barski, Dr. Kimala Harris and Dr. Ron Mathews, completed a rigorous three-year curriculum that included rotations in emergency medicine, women’s healthcare, pediatrics, psychiatry, general surgery, internal medicine, community and sports medicine, cardiology, dermatology, radiology, orthopedics, ENT, urology, ophthalmology and critical care.
“We see high-acuity patients with seven or nine diagnoses, which you wouldn’t normally see in other residency programs,” said Barski, the chief resident, who plans to practice in South Florida. “It’s a more nurturing learning environment and you become part of the community.”
Following the ceremony, the three graduates took part in coating the program’s five incoming residents: Dr. Thy Bui, Dr. William Draper, Dr. Jesse Grieb, Dr. Benjamin Kosubevsky and Dr. Anna McClain.
