A new Transitional Year Residency Program, based at Ocala Regional Medical Center in Ocala, FL has received initial accreditation and is seeking immediate applicants.

This program is part of a UCF College of Medicine-Hospital Corporation of America consortium seeking to add more than 600 residency slots to Florida by 2020. In the last three years, the consortium has added 17 graduate medical education programs that are currently training about 250 physicians in Central and North Central Florida.

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medicine Education (ACGME) approved the Transitional Year program for a total of 13 residents who will train for one year. The program will be directed by Dr. Alan Hamza, who completed his residency at Monmouth Hospital in NJ

Specialties such as ophthalmology, dermatology and anesthesiology require medical school graduates to complete a Transitional Year Residency Program to provide them with a well-balanced, foundational educational experience before they begin specialty training.

"Educating tomorrow's physicians is a key priority for HCA's North Florida Division, and as the nation's leading hospital network, we are proud to dedicate our resources and expertise to the task," said Joel Jeffries, M.D., Vice President of Graduate Medical Education. "Together with UCF, we are committed to providing our residents with an exceptional training and mentorship experience at Ocala Regional Medical Center."

The Transitional Year program is the fifth UCF-HCA residency program at Ocala Regional Medical Center. The first program, Internal Medicine, was accredited by the ACGME in 2015.

"Residency and Fellowship programs are part of the promise we made to this community," said Dr. Deborah German, UCF vice president for medical affairs and founding dean of the College of Medicine. "If we have more residencies and fellowships, we'll have more trained doctors in our community. We'll become a net importer of medical talent."

Ocala Regional Medical Center is a 222-bed facility and Verified Level II Trauma Center that offers a host of medical services including bariatric surgery, cardiac and vascular, emergency, neurological and rehabilitation services. ?It is accredited by the American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer, the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, the Society of Chest Pain Centers and the Joint Commission, as well as the Joint Commission's designation as a Primary Stroke Center

Applications are now open for the 2018-2019 year and should be submitted through ERAS. The NRMP program code is 1587999P1. Qualified applicants will be selected for interviews.

To learn more about the TY program at Ocala Regional Medical Center, please contact Melissa Lamb, Program Coordinator at melissa.lamb@hcahealthcare.com or via phone at: 352-401-8323