Meritus Psychiatry Residency Program matches with five new doctors

New program joins Meritus Family Medicine Residency Program

HAGERSTOWN, Md. — Meritus Health’s new Psychiatry Residency Program has matched with its first class of five doctors. They’ll be joining the six doctors who matched with the existing Meritus Family Medicine Residency program.

“We are excited to welcome our first class of Psychiatry residents,” said Heather Theibert, D.O., program director for the Meritus Psychiatry Residency. “There is an obvious need for mental health professionals in this region and nationally. We are proud to be educating the next generation of psychiatrists to help meet this need with a focus on training psychiatrists who will stay and serve the Washington County area.”

Each year, on the heels of graduation, medical students nationwide eagerly await announcement for where they “matched,” meaning where they will spend their next several years in residency.

Residency programs serve as structured apprenticeships leading to board certification in a particular specialty. A resident is a physician who is enrolled in this apprenticeship or residency and is overseen by board-certified faculty physicians.

The highly selective process results in five medical school graduates being matched with the psychiatry program at Meritus, along with six being matched with the family medicine program.

The psychiatry residency is a four-year program for a total of 20 residents once the program is filled out. The family medicine program is a three-year program for a total of 18 residents.

“It is a joy to welcome another class of promising doctors into the Meritus Family Medicine Residency Program,” said Stacy Ross, M.D., program director. “The highly skilled faculty physicians and colleagues here are eager to help guide them over the next three years. And these physicians will be working in our family medicine practice, meaning patients get to participate in their educational journey, too.”

The Meritus Psychiatry Residency Program of class of 2029 includes graduates from Maryland, Florida and Iowa:

·        Crist Cuffee, D.O., Ankeny, Iowa; Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine

·        Claudia Jensen, D.O., Tampa, Fla.; Liberty College of Osteopathic Medicine

·        Ramya Kolagani, M.D., Ellicott City, Md.; Penn State University College of Medicine

·        Judy Lau, M.D., Germantown, Md.; Saint Louis University School of Medicine

·        Oluwaseun Oyewo, M.D., Silver Spring, Md.; University of Medicine and Health Sciences, St. Kitts

The Meritus Family Medicine Residency Program class of 2028 includes graduates from Maryland, Virginia, Ohio and Nigeria:

·        Eyimofe Fakoyede, M.D., Lagos, Nigeria; Medical University of Plovdiv Faculty of Medicine

·        Luke Horning, D.O., McLean, Va.; West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine

·        Madeleine Miller, D.O., Cleveland, Ohio; Campbell University Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine

·        Sofia Paniagua, D.O., Gaithersburg, Md.; New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine

·        Idongesit Usoroh, M.D., Eket, Nigeria; All Saints University School of Medicine, Dominica

·        Doopashika Welikala, D.O., Gaithersburg, Md.; Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine

Meritus Health plans to launch more residency programs in the coming years as it prepares to welcome the inaugural class of students to the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine this summer. The school, the first to open in Maryland in more than 100 years, is meant to help close the gap in the number of physician openings regionally and nationwide.

To learn more about the Psychiatry and Family Medicine residency programs, visit www.meritushealth.com/residency. To learn more about the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine, visit msom.org.

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Meritus Health, Western Maryland’s largest health care provider, is located at the crossroads of Western Maryland, Southern Pennsylvania and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The mission of Meritus Health is to improve the health of the region by providing the best healthcare, health services and medical education. As an anchor organization for the community, Meritus has 4,000 employees and serves more than 200,000 residents of the tristate region through Meritus Medical Center, Brook Lane Health Services, Meritus Medical Group, Meritus Home Health, Meritus Equipped for Life, and the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine. More information can be found at www.MeritusHealth.com or visit our Facebook page or LinkedIn page.