Tidelands Health expands physician residency program

Feb. 6, 2025 

Contact: Dawn Bryant 

Tidelands Health  
(843) 652-1636 

dbryant@tidelandshealth.org 

News for Immediate Release: 

Tidelands Health expands physician residency program 

More physicians will have the chance to start their graduate medical training along the Grand Strand through a newly expanded Tidelands Health residency program. 

The Tidelands Health MUSC Graduate Medical Education Program has launched a transitional year residency program, which provides a broad clinical foundation through exposure to a variety of health care specialties including emergency medicine, internal medicine, surgery and more. A one-year transitional residency can give physicians experience to help determine which field of medicine to pursue and is required for many residents before they can pursue a residency in a specialty such as diagnostic radiology, anesthesiology, radiation oncology or dermatology. Tidelands Health’s transitional year residency program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, or ACGME. 

The first class of six physicians in Tidelands Health’s transitional year residency program will be announced on national Match Day on March 21. On the same day, the next class of eight physicians in the health system’s traditional three-year family medicine residency program also will be announced as graduating medical school students nationally learn their residency destination from the National Resident Matching Program. 

“We are eager to welcome our inaugural class of physicians into our Tidelands Health MUSC Transitional Year Residency Program this spring,” said Dr. Henry Lau, program director of the transitional year program. “Through our culture of excellence, collaboration and leadership, physician residents will learn, train and serve our patients and community in a vibrant growth environment.”   

During their residency, physicians in both the transitional year and family medicine residency programs receive robust clinical and leadership training that enables them to become transformational health care leaders. 

The Tidelands Health MUSC Family Medicine Residency Program, headquartered at Tidelands Health Family Medicine at Holmestown Road, also is accredited through the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. In 2023, residency program director Dr. Mike Malone was one of only 10 directors nationwide to earn the prestigious Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award from the accreditation council for fostering innovation and serving as an exemplary role model for resident physicians. 

“The addition of the transitional year residency program marks a milestone in the continued growth of our graduate medical education opportunities,” Dr. Malone said. “By bringing additional physicians to our rapidly growing region for their graduate medical education, we are not only providing a solid foundation for their careers but also introducing them to a region where they can flourish now and after they complete their training.” 

The residency program is part of Tidelands Health’s multi-pronged strategy through its McRoy and Jo Skipper Initiative for Learning and Teaching to invest in and help develop future health care professionals and leaders to serve the fast-growing region. After completing the residency program, many family medicine physicians have stayed with Tidelands Health and are seeing patients throughout the region. 

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About Tidelands Health 

Tidelands Health, in collaboration with MUSC Health, is the region’s largest health care provider, serving the Carolinas at four hospitals and more than 70 outpatient locations. More than 2,500 employee, physician and volunteer partners work side by side with our communities to transform the health of our region – promoting wellness, preventing illness, encouraging recovery and restoring health.