In Lake Nona’s Medical City, Nemours Children’s Hospital hosted a ceremony to welcome the second group of physicians in training for its three-year residency program. The ceremony was held June 15 and honored social distancing practices. 12 white coats were distributed to each of the incoming members, who were recruited by Nemours from throughout the country.

Program director Dr. Amber Hoffman verbalized her faith in the incoming residents at the ceremony: “This class has a strong dedication to serving their communities and underserved populations to eradicate long-seen healthcare disparities. Many of them have been teachers, tutors, and educators.

“Additionally, they have demonstrated a thirst for accelerating knowledge for pediatric research,” Dr. Hoffman continued. 

Dr. Heather Fagan, the interim chief of pediatrics at Nemours, went on to explain the importance of having a diverse range of pediatric residents to represent and care for the diverse population that Nemours serves everyday.

Dr. Fagan is an award-winning medical educator responsible for developing the graduate medical education infrastructure at Nemours Children’s Hospital. The hospital was awarded institutional accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in 2016 under her leadership and has been granted continued accreditation.

Dr. Fagan explained, “Welcoming a second class of residents allows Nemours to ensure that they continue to contribute to the long-term goals of serving the children of central Florida. In order to have a pediatric academic medical center, we need to have excellence in clinical care, groundbreaking research that is ongoing, and a strong medical education program to train the future generation of physicians.”