Making the Rounds 24

spring 2024

KERN MEDICAL RECEIVES ACCREDITATION FOR NEWRESIDENCY AND FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMS

Amber Jones, DO, MPH, FACS, FCCP

Sarah Gonzalez, MD, FASAM Addiction Medicine Program Director

General Surgery Program Director

Kern Medical is proud to be accredited to start a General Surgery Residency and an Addiction Medicine Fellowship to train physicians in these specialties by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The General Surgery Residency Program is five years in duration, and will have 12 resident physicians. The first class will graduate in June 2030. The program is led by Amber Jones, DO, MPH, FACS, FCCP Program Director. Dr. Jones started at Kern Medical as a 3rd year medical student and returned to Kern Medical to lead the General Surgery residency as its Program Director. Dr. Jones also serves as the Director of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit and performs Trauma and Acute Care operations in both pediatric and adult patients. This residency program has been several years in the making. Kern Medical is dedicated to excellence in clinical practice, continuous quality improvement, medical education and research. Our faculty and residents are committed to the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and compassion in their treatment of the most vulnerable and underserved members of our community. The program aims to produce highly-trained, well-rounded, and

empathetic surgeons who will continue to serve upon graduation. We will accomplish this by working in close partnership with our trainees, colleagues, patients, and our community. In addition, our Addiction Medicine Fellowship will see its first fellow on July 1, 2024. This fellowship seeks to train physicians that will increase awareness, treatment, and access to care for those who suffer from substance and alcohol use disorders as well as behavioral addictions. It is a one-year program led by Sarah Gonzalez, MD, FASAM, who serves as its Program Director. Dr. Gonzalez is a Bakersfield native and a graduate of our Emergency Medicine residency program. In addition to the general surgery program and addiction medicine fellowship, Kern Medical has a total of 110 residents and fellows. An additional 125 medical students are also in training at Kern Medical as part of their third- and fourth-year clinical rotations. These are all part of our major advancements as a teaching hospital to train and bring more physicians to serve our Kern County community.