Macon, Ga. (March 15, 2024) – Piedmont Macon Medical Center will add 36 physicians to its roster later this year, the result of Match Week, when candidates learn whether they’ve been matched with a hospital to complete their residencies.

The new residents will join Piedmont Macon on July 1 in the Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, Psychiatry and Transitional Year residency programs. Match Week culminated Friday, March 15, with Match Day, when residents were officially matched with a hospital.

“Match Day is a momentous occasion, marking the culmination of years of dedication and the exciting beginning of a new chapter for these talented individuals,” said Jonathan Smith, M.D., the Designated Institutional Official for the Graduate Medical Education program at Piedmont Macon. “We are thrilled to welcome the incoming resident class and eager to support them as they continue on their journeys to becoming exceptional physicians in their respective specialties.”

The Piedmont Macon residency program offers tracks of one to four years and has increased the number of doctors who serve Macon and the state of Georgia by retaining many of the doctors who complete their medical training here. Of the 36 resident physicians, 11 of them are from Georgia and another seven are from other states in the Southeast.

Although Piedmont Macon is a large 310-bed hospital, residents still are given the opportunity to get one-on-one time with attending physicians and specialty coordinators. Piedmont Macon’s attending physicians typically take only one resident per rotation, giving residents a good opportunity to learn and grow in their field. Piedmont Macon also has a full-time scholarly activity coordinator who works one-on-one with residents on research and publication.

The new residents who will join Piedmont Macon this summer are:

EMERGENCY MEDICINE

• Bernard Emuze, M.D., from Fort Worth, Texas;
• Aleksandre Gvetadze, M.D., from Tucker, Georgia;
• Ruoa Hafid, M.D., from Orlando, Florida;
• Julio Hanze, M.D., from Atlanta, Georgia;
• Shatif Hughes, M.D., from Jamaica, New York;
• Soroosh Parsa, D.O., from Marietta, Georgia;
• Erin Streeter, D.O., from Locust Grove, Georgia;
• Bryan Turner, M.D., from Palestine, Texas.

INTERNAL MEDICINE

• Manoj Allala, M.D., from Princeton, Texas;
• Mohsin Hajjaj, M.D., from Gujrat, Pakistan;
• Jalila Hussain Jafri, M.D., from Macon, Georgia;
• Navsin Kasmani, M.D., from Valsad, India;
• Geetha Keshav, M.D., from Chapel Hill, North Carolina;
• Hamza Khan, M.D., from Evans, Georgia;
• Nehal Nadeem, M.D., from Islamabad, Pakistan;
• Shanzae Naeem, M.D., from Lahore, Pakistan;
• Louise Orth, M.D., from Hackettstown, New Jersey;
• Ashish Punshi, M.D., from Mirpur Mathelo, Pakistan.

PSYCHIATRY

• John Michael Brown, M.D., from Miami, Florida;
• Kerry Marie McFadden, M.D., from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
• Rachel Leggett, M.D., from Bainbridge, Georgia;
• Brooke Eck, M.D., from Macon, Georgia;
• Jennifer Sherrill, D.O., from Statesville, North Carolina.

TRANSITIONAL YEAR

• Christine King, D.O., from Diamond Bar, California;
• Stephanie Wang, M.D., from Newton, Massachusetts;
• Felipe Castaneda, D.O., from Yakima, Washington;
• Nataki Duncan, M.D., from Springdale, Maryland;
• Rainer Jones, M.D., from Tuscaloosa, Alabama;
• Sterling Lee, M.D., from Greensboro, North Carolina;
• Christopher McMahan, D.O., from Biddeford, Maine;
• Katherine Niel, D.O., from Montgomery, Alabama;
• Abigal Owens, M.D., from Pitts, Georgia;
• Hussein Sheikh-Aden, M.D., from Ypsilanti, Michigan;
• Emily Sparks, M.D., from Berwyn, Pennsylvania;
• Akash Thaker, M.D., from Cumming, Georgia;
• Boris Velimirovich, M.D., from Milledgeville, Georgia.

Piedmont Macon began its Graduate Medical Education program in 2017 with 10 Internal Medicine residents and four Psychiatry residents. Since then, the hospital has added Emergency Medicine and Transitional Year programs. With those coming on board this summer, Piedmont Macon will employ 81 residents.