Asmar received the award during the group鈥檚 annual scientific meeting this fall, where one of his residents received first place for research on improving patient access to heart rehabilitation services.

The American College of Physicians is the world鈥檚 largest medical specialty organization and is committed to advancing 鈥渢he science and practice of internal medicine.鈥� The Florida chapter鈥檚 Teacher of the Year is presented to a physician who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and dedication to medical education.

鈥淒r. Asmar has proven to be a most influential teacher. His passion for medicine and lifelong learning is tangible and unwavering, inspiring his residents to strive to be the best they can be,鈥� his award nomination noted.

Board certified in internal medicine and nephrology, Asmar is program director of the . The residency, established in 2014 as 麻豆原创鈥檚 first graduate medical education (GME) program, trains internal medicine specialists at the Orlando VA Medical Center and HCF Florida Osceola Hospital.

Asmar serves as vice chairman of GME for the College of Medicine and also cares for patients at . He earned his doctor of medicine degree at Kaunas Medical University in Kaunas, Lithuania. He did his residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, where he was named chief resident. He received his fellowship training in clinical nephrology at the University of Florida.

鈥淚 am thankful, humbled and honored to receive this award,鈥� Asmar says.

The ACP Florida Chapter鈥檚 annual meeting included research presentations. Inman Squires, a resident at the 麻豆原创-HCA Florida Healthcare Internal Medicine Residency Program of Greater Orlando/Osceola won the QI Poster Award for a quality improvement project: Unbreak My Heart: Increasing Cardiac Rehabilitation Referral Rate.

The two new programs recently received ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education) accreditation and are seeking applicants to begin training in July 2024. With the additions, the 麻豆原创-HCA Florida Healthcare Graduate Medical Education Consortium has 37 accredited programs from the Florida panhandle to Orlando, making it one of the fastest growing in the state. By July, the consortium will have 600 physicians in training in high-need specialties that include primary care, surgery, OB-GYN, psychiatry, endocrinology, emergency medicine and geriatrics.

Stephen Cico, 麻豆原创鈥檚 associate dean for graduate medical education and the consortium鈥檚 designated institutional official (DIO), says the programs will help improve patients鈥� access to care and address the state鈥檚 physician shortage.

鈥淭he internal medicine residency will fill the great need in Florida for access to primary care physicians especially in the panhandle,鈥� he says. 鈥淭heir clinics and hospital will care for some of those who have the hardest time accessing medical care. The GI fellowship will provide patients in Greater Orlando with additional access to GI physicians and procedures such as colonoscopies while also providing care for GI emergencies.鈥�

The internal medicine residency will accept 12 physicians a year for its three-year program 鈥� training 36 doctors when at full complement 鈥� and will participate in this year鈥檚 National Match Day March 15. The GI fellowship will accept two physicians a year who have completed their internal medicine residency training for its three-year program 鈥� for a total of six at full complement.

Amanda Finley will lead the internal medicine residency. She completed medical school at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine and later completed residency training at Magnolia Regional Health Center in Mississippi, where she was chief resident and stayed to serve as faculty. She was founding program director and designated institutional official at Henry County Medical Center in Tennessee, where she worked with the Health Resources Service Administration to create a rural residency program.

鈥淥ur commitment to creating a healthy and innovative learning environment make our new residency an amazing place to train,鈥� she says. 鈥淥ur goal is to ensure that residents achieve clinical excellence in a supportive family environment where we focus on giving and receiving feedback that take our professional performance to the highest level.鈥�

Vinay Katukuri will lead the GI fellowship. He completed his medical education in India and then pursued residency training at Wayne State University in Michigan. Following this, he completed his gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Michigan, followed by an advanced endoscopy fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. He served as interventional faculty at Henry Ford Health System and actively participated in teaching residents and fellows, including those specializing in advanced endoscopy. While at Henry Ford Health System, he was chosen to participate in the inaugural fellowship program for entrepreneurs in digital health. Katukuri later relocated to Florida, where he established his own practice.

鈥淚n addition to meeting the community鈥檚 need for gastroenterology services, the new fellowship training program aims to improve access to colon cancer prevention, which is crucial given the rising incidence of cancer,鈥� he says.

Graduate medical education programs are key to addressing Florida鈥檚 physician shortage because the majority of doctors locate their practices near where they completed their residency or fellowship training. Medical school graduates cannot practice medicine independently but must complete residency training in their field of specialty.

After completing medical school, physicians must enter a graduate medical education program of between three and seven years depending on their specialty. Physicians, particularly in internal medicine, often go on to fellowship training in a subspecialty such as cardiology.

These 麻豆原创 residents will begin their fellowship training in July 2017:

The residents were in the first cohort of a partnership residency program that began in 2014 between the medical school, Osceola Regional Medical Center and the Orlando VA Medical Center. Since then, the College of Medicine has joined Hospital Corporation of America, owner of Osceola Regional, in creating other residency programs across Central and North Central Florida. By 2020, the 麻豆原创-HCA consortium is expected to add 580-plus residency slots to the state to help ease the physician shortage.

In addition to the 100 percent match rate for residents seeking fellowships, both of 麻豆原创鈥檚 chief residents who were seeking fellowship training matched. They are:

Dr. Abdo Asmar, program director of the 麻豆原创-HCA Consortium Internal Medicine Residency Program in Orlando, applauded the new fellows as pioneers. The three matched residents took a chance on a new program and helped build it from scratch, he said, while the chiefs 鈥� who did their residency training elsewhere 鈥� developed as leaders and educators through their work with 麻豆原创 and its partners. He noted that all five matched into highly competitive programs in locations and specialties that were their top choices. 鈥淚 am so proud of them,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hese are skilled, compassionate physicians who are tomorrow鈥檚 health leaders. Through their hard work and that of their faculty members and mentors, they have taken the next step in achieving their dreams. They have been important partners in our journey to improve the health of all.鈥�

鈥淭his funding specifically for graduate medical education is another way Governor Scott has demonstrated his commitment to education, health care and jobs,鈥� said AHCA Secretary Liz Dudek. 鈥淚t will improve access to and quality of care for all Floridians, expand graduate medical education on an equitable basis, and increase the supply of highly trained physicians statewide.鈥�

Funding from the new program is available to all hospitals that sponsor residents.

The 麻豆原创 College of Medicine will begin its first graduate medical education training in the summer of 2014 with a new Internal Medicine Residency Program in partnership with the Orlando VA Medical Center and Osceola Regional Medical Center. The residency will train a total of 60 residents, and applicants are being interviewed beginning this month.

麻豆原创鈥檚 Dr. Abdo Asmar is associate program director for the new residency program. A board-certified specialist in internal medicine and nephrology, Dr. Asmar is an honored medical educator who also practices nephrology at 麻豆原创 Pegasus Health, the college鈥檚 physician practice. He served as chief resident at Cook County Hospital in Chicago and says the Orlando community needs additional residency programs to attract the best M.D. graduates.

鈥淲e are training amazing young people to be physician leaders of the 21st century and we need strong residency programs in our community for these talented young healers to continue their training in Central Florida,鈥� Dr. Asmar said at the AHCA event. As he spoke, he pointed to third-year College of Medicine student Katerina Boucek, who is doing her family medicine clerkship at Florida Hospital and attended the residency event. Katerina hopes to train to become a pediatric cardiologist after medical school graduation.

Funding of residency programs is a big issue in Florida because the number of available residencies has not kept pace with the state鈥檚 growing population and its increasing number of medical schools. Dr. Asmar pointed out that Florida ranks 42 of the 50 statues in number of residents per 100,000 people. And he pointed to 麻豆原创鈥檚 medical school enrollment 鈥� which has grown nine-fold in just five years 鈥� in showing the need for more graduate medical training, which is required for physicians to be licensed.

Florida Hospital officials agreed that sufficient dollars for training is critical, noting that they have over 150 residents in their programs each year. Hospital and educational leaders pointed out that residency programs increase the number of qualified physicians in a community.

鈥淥ver the years we鈥檝e learned that if you establish residency programs in a community, the physicians are more likely to open practices in the same areas they completed their residency,鈥� said Dr. Patricio Bruno, program director of the Florida Hospital East Orlando Family Medicine Residency.聽 鈥淚n some cases as many as 65 to 90 percent of the residents remain in the local area to provide medical care for the community.鈥�

One of those residents in Dr. Jeff Chiu, a fifth year general surgical resident at Florida Hospital. He went to high school in Lake Mary, did his undergraduate work in the Northeast and wanted to return to Orlando for medical school. He noted at the press conference that the 麻豆原创 College of Medicine was not yet opened, so he was delighted to be accepted at Florida State University鈥檚 medical school, which has programs in several areas including Orlando.

鈥淚t has been such a wonderful experience completing my residency at Florida Hospital,鈥� he said.聽 鈥淩ight now, my plans include staying here in the local community to practice medicine and give back to this area.鈥�

As he closed his remarks, Dr. Asmar noted that resident training offers another community advantage 鈥� better doctors. 鈥淏eing a teacher and being surrounded by learners makes us better physicians,鈥� he said.