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Lakeside Medical Center graduated five residents from its Family Medicine Residency Program on June 24. The 70-bed, all-private room hospital, which is owned and operated by the Health Care District of Palm Beach County, became accredited in 2011 to offer the program which trains family medicine physicians in a rural hospital, one of the few programs in the nation to focus on the special health care needs of rural areas.More than 70 people attended the graduation of Omar Mubaidin, D.O., Josephine Pearson, D.O., Tracy Romanello, D.O., Zeporah Sykes, D.O., and Na Ly Vang, D.O. These five graduates are the members of the first graduating class to have completed all three years of the program at Lakeside Medical Center.
"You have learned the science of medicine but it is my sincere hope that you will always practice the art of compassion in this new road that you are about to begin as full-fledged physicians,” Nikerson Geneve, D.O., Lakeside Medical Center’s Family Medicine Residency Program Director and Director of Medical Education.
Omar Mubaidin, D.O., the program’s Chief Resident spoke on behalf of his fellow graduates about the academic advantages of learning medicine in an underserved region so rich in charm, optimism and community spirit.
“It’s going to be very hard for any of us to really leave Belle Glade,” Dr. Mubaidin stated. He thanked each of the attending physicians, adding, “I know I speak for all of us when I say we are very lucky to have trained here.”
This year’s graduation included a keynote speech from Shino Bay Aguilera, D.O., Aesthetic Dermatologist and Clinical Assistant Professor of Dermatology, Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Aguilera, who helped train the graduates during their clinical rotations, praised each of them for their work as healers and for choosing to receive their medical education in the rural Glades communities.
