HCA Healthcare-Mercer University School of Medicine-Summerville Hospital Program

Program Identity & Fit

This is a new, community-based HCA Healthcare/Mercer University School of Medicine family medicine program in the Charleston, SC area, built around a 36-month continuity panel split across two federally-supported clinics (Liberty Doctors and Fetter Health Care), giving residents substantial exposure to underserved and community health populations. The curriculum layers structured research time (5-10% per block) into every rotation, reflecting HCA GME's system-wide scholarly-activity infrastructure (national research coordinators, access to 30+ million patient encounters, HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine) rather than a purely community-service model. Training spans a broad primary-care scope—inpatient medicine, OB, pediatrics, geriatrics, sports medicine, dermatology, and behavioral health/addiction medicine—across multiple community sites (Summerville Hospital, Trident Medical Center, Fetter clinics, Sweetgrass Pediatrics), suggesting a generalist, full-scope family physician output rather than a subspecialty pipeline. As an inaugural program, it appears to value residents comfortable helping shape a new culture, with explicit institutional emphasis (via HCA's "Pathways to Flourishing" framework) on autonomy, belonging, and well-being alongside clinical training.