Southwest Georgia has long struggled with a shortage of physicians, especially in rural areas lacking adequate primary care and specialists. In response, the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) established its first regional clinical campus in Albany in 2005 to address these gaps.
Since becoming a residential campus in 2010, MCG’s Southwest Campus has graduated 12 cohorts of physicians. Augusta University President Russell T. Keen said the campus has helped improve health care access in the region. “Our goal is for every Georgian – regardless of zip code – to have access to exceptional health care delivered by highly trained physicians,” Keen said. “MCG’s Southwest Campus is not only meeting that challenge, but it’s also setting a powerful example of what’s possible when we train physicians in the very communities where we hope they’ll one day serve.”
Luke Guy, a fourth-year medical student at the Southwest Campus who grew up in Fitzgerald, Georgia, spoke about his motivation: “Since I’m from a rural area, I realize that the residents living there don’t always have access to health care.” He added, “That’s what made me interested in going back. I wanted to treat the patients who are from my area.”
The regional clinical campus was designed for third- and fourth-year students to complete their training locally with hopes they would return to practice medicine in southwest Georgia after graduation. In 2023, support from U.S. Rep. Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) provided resources for MCG’s Southwest Campus to strengthen relationships with local hospitals and clinics and expand training opportunities for students. This initiative also included leadership development experiences for students.
“One of my top priorities in Congress is to make sure our rural and underserved communities have the health care professionals, equipment and facilities they need to ensure residents have all of their medical needs met at or as close to home as possible,” Bishop said.
Doug Patten, MD, associate dean at the campus, explained that students are based at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany or Archbold Hospital in Thomasville and rotate through other sites across southwest Georgia such as Columbus, LaGrange, Tifton, Valdosta, Americus and Cordele. Students also participate in public health outreach programs aimed at inspiring local high school and college students toward careers in medicine.
“This immersive experience helps our medical students shape their thinking around future practice opportunities,” Patten said. “The students see that the doctors teaching them are also serving as leaders in their communities. This experience provides our students with a different perspective on what it would be like to practice in this region, while strengthening their connection to the communities.”
Ayanna Turner from Shiloh is part of MCG’s 3+ PGY-1 program—an accelerated track allowing qualified students to finish core MD coursework early and enter primary care residency with a commitment to serve underserved areas of Georgia after training. Turner noted her personal experience: “Being from Shiloh, Georgia…the residents in this community struggled with access to health care,” she said. “It’s one of the reasons why I chose to come to MCG’s Southwest Campus.” She added that after her residency she will work two years in an underserved area and receive scholarship support for her medical education.
Turner recently began participating in the Longitudinal Integrated Curriculum (LIC), which allows students year-long exposure across multiple specialties by following patients through various settings.
“I definitely see myself as a physician somewhere in a rural, underserved area,” Turner said. “I want to be able to help as many people as I can.”
Students at the Southwest Campus also gain leadership skills through experiences such as visits to Washington D.C., organized by Monty Philpot Brock, Augusta University’s director of federal relations for Government Relations.
“As future physicians, these students begin to understand that their patients, colleagues and communities will look to them as leaders,” Brock said. “I want them to see themselves that way too – and recognize how these skills can help them create positive change in nearly any situation.”
Rithwik Koppaka participated both as a volunteer at student-run clinics and through MCG’s Professional Scholars Program (BS/MD), earning his Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine degrees over seven years instead of eight.
“I love working with populations that are underserved…that made me want to go to the regional campus because I didn’t have a lot of exposure to rural medicine,” Koppaka said.
He observed firsthand how factors like housing or transportation affect community health: “I clearly see in the rural areas where people might have minimal access to care…It was a very eye-opening experience.”
Fourth-year student Vani Senthil sought out Albany specifically for its focus on rural medicine and close interaction with attending physicians.
“The reason I got into medicine was to help people who were not able to fully help themselves,” Senthil said.
Through volunteering with organizations like Women on a Mission and Helping Mamas during her time at Southwest Campus she engaged directly with women about mental health topics: “Afterwards several women came up…‘We never see physicians out here…It really means a lot that you’re out here.’”
Senthil described these experiences as transformative: “It was important being from the MCG Southwest Campus…letting people know ‘I do care about you’…That’s what I won’t ever forget.”
President Keen concluded by emphasizing MCG’s responsibility: “These students and this campus offer an incredible return on investment for Georgia,” he said. “The MCG Southwest Campus is giving them the training and community connections they need to make a meaningful impact in the places that need them most.”
