Transitional Year Residency

Welcome Letter from our Program Director, Dr Dennis Besong

I welcome you to the Summerville Medical Center Transitional Year residency program. Our work every day is driven by a single mission: Above all else, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life.

Summerville Medical Center, part of Trident Health System, is a 124-bed, acute-care hospital serving families across Charleston, SC for the past 30 years. The hospital has a 24-hour emergency room, including a dedicated ER for children, a wide range of surgical services, and comprehensive medical services. Summerville Medical Center is recognized for its emergency, cardiac, imaging, women’s and children’s, orthopedic, and stroke services for the growing Lowcountry community.

The Transitional Year residency program is comprised of 13 residents for one year of post-graduate training that focuses on medical and surgical sub-specialties. Across Trident Health we offer residency programs in Family Medicine, OB/GYN, Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, General Surgery, and Pharmacy. This year we are excited to welcome our first Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation class along with our first Transitional Year class.

We have a great collaborative and cohesive working relationship across our GME programs to prepare residents to explore inpatient and outpatient clinical experiences. We have developed a diverse and shared transitional year didactic curriculum and weekly board review sessions especially tailored for the Step 3 board exam.

I am excited to welcome you to Summerville Medical Center and support your career path in healthcare.

Best,
Dr. Dennis Besong

Program overview

The new one-year Transitional Year Residency Program at Summerville Medical Center is an engaging and dynamic evidence-based program designed to provide trainee with high-quality instruction and experience in preparation for their advanced residency program.

The residency program accepts 13 residents each academic year for one year of post-graduate training to prepare them for subsequent residencies in other specialties. Our goal is to teach well-rounded physicians to provide outstanding medical care efficiently and compassionately and prepare them for lifelong careers in the specialty of their choice.

We believe the best way to learn medicine is one patient at a time, treating the whole patient, not the symptom.

The curriculum is tailored to meet all ACGME requirements for PGY2 advancement while providing broad exposure to a variety of surgical and medical subspecialties. We have a diverse didactic curriculum drawing upon evidence-based medicine, USMLE/COMLEX Step 3 review sessions, journal clubs, and the fundamentals of the business of practicing medicine. Residents will have the opportunity to participate in scholarly activities, simulation labs, and procedure workshops during their training.

We proudly provide resident physicians with the diverse clinical training experience necessary to advance their fundamental clinical skills and prepare them for their future training programs. We provide residents with a solid foundation of knowledge to further build upon with advanced training and expose residents to comprehensive experiences so they may better serve their communities. We equip residents to practice in academic and community hospitals, private practice, and ambulatory settings, with culturally diverse patient populations in urban, suburban, and medically underserved areas. We have a great team of faculty members dedicated to the education and advancement of our future physicians.

Salary & benefits information

AY 24-25

PGY-1: $60,736 + $950 on-call meals
Total: $61,686

Why Summerville, SC?

Known for its small–town charm and southern hospitality, Summerville, SC is a rapidly growing community 30 minutes from downtown Charleston. While the town continues to grow and thrive with new retail, breweries and restaurants added every year, Summerville maintains its historic, small–town ambiance that is perfect for families.

Do you love the outdoors? Summerville is located 30 minutes inland from the beaches of Charleston and has numerous rivers and hiking trails that offer activities for avid adventurers as well as families looking for a day trip. Summerville has a robust golfing, fishing, and boating community as well as the perfect flat terrain for runners with a Sweet Tea Half Marathon and Charleston Half and Full Marathon.

Are you a foodie? Summerville is known as the "Birthplace of Sweet Tea" and in addition to this refreshing beverage, the town offers a variety of breweries and restaurants. Summerville is only 30 minutes away from numerous James Beard Award winning restaurants located in the Charleston area.

Interested in history? Look no further than Charleston, which was founded in the 1670s and entices visitors with cobble-stoned streets, ghost tours, historic carriage rides, and much more. Summerville was first settled in the 1830s and is part of the historic trail for the Lowcountry.

Sports fan? Charleston is home to the Charleston Riverdogs, a minor league baseball team, 2 hours from the Atlanta Braves, 4 hours from the Carolina Panthers and NASCAR Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, and hosts numerous college and high school level sports teams.

Looking for an avid arts & culture community? Charleston is the home to numerous arts and culture centers including the N. Charleston Performing Arts Center, Children's Museum, Gibbes Museum of Art, International African American Museum, SC Aquarium, plantation tours, dance companies, symphony orchestras, theaters, and more.