The program will welcome its first class of 12 residents in July 2026, growing to a total of 36 trainees at full capacity. The program has received ACGME accreditation and will be filling the positions through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP Code 1587140C6).

“This new residency marks an exciting milestone for the Tallahassee medical community and for our statewide consortium,” says Stephen Cico, the College of Medicine’s associate dean for graduate medical education and designated institutional official for the UCF/HCA Florida Healthcare Graduate Medical Education Consortium. “Internal medicine physicians are at the heart of patient care, diagnosing and managing complex diseases, promoting preventive health, and coordinating care across specialties. Primary care is one of the physician shortage areas in the state. Training these physicians here in Tallahassee will improve access to primary care and strengthen the future physician workforce across North Florida and beyond.”

Training the Next Generation of Internists

Internal medicine physicians, or internists, specialize in the comprehensive care of adults and are trained to address both acute and chronic medical conditions. Residents in the new program will gain extensive experience across hospital, outpatient and subspecialty settings — including critical care, cardiology, endocrinology, infectious disease and primary care.

The three-year program emphasizes evidence-based, patient-centered care, interprofessional collaboration and scholarly inquiry. Trainees will also participate in case-based learning, journal clubs and simulation-based education designed to enhance diagnostic reasoning and clinical leadership.

“It is a privilege to help launch the Internal Medicine Residency at HCA Florida Capital Hospital,” says Saquib Anjum, program director of the new residency. “Our mission is to cultivate compassionate, evidence-based physicians who are not only exceptional clinicians, but also lifelong learners and leaders dedicated to improving patient outcomes and advancing the field of medicine.”

Expanding Graduate Medical Education in Florida

The new residency supports the growing need for internal medicine physicians across Florida, particularly in primary care and hospital-based practice. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Florida ranks among the states with the most significant projected physician shortages over the next decade.

By expanding graduate medical education opportunities, the UCF/HCA Florida Healthcare consortium continues to address these workforce challenges.

As the fastest growing GME program in the state, the consortium oversees 47 residency and fellowship programs. It is  training more than 700 physicians in a wide range of specialties at HCA hospitals in Greater Orlando, Tallahassee, Gainesville, Ocala, Fort Walton Beach, Pensacola and Sanford.

The two new programs recently received ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education) accreditation and are seeking applicants to begin training in July 2024. With the additions, the UCF-HCA Florida Healthcare Graduate Medical Education Consortium has 37 accredited programs from the Florida panhandle to Orlando, making it one of the fastest growing in the state. By July, the consortium will have 600 physicians in training in high-need specialties that include primary care, surgery, OB-GYN, psychiatry, endocrinology, emergency medicine and geriatrics.

Stephen Cico, UCF’s associate dean for graduate medical education and the consortium’s designated institutional official (DIO), says the programs will help improve patients’ access to care and address the state’s physician shortage.

“The internal medicine residency will fill the great need in Florida for access to primary care physicians especially in the panhandle,” he says. “Their clinics and hospital will care for some of those who have the hardest time accessing medical care. The GI fellowship will provide patients in Greater Orlando with additional access to GI physicians and procedures such as colonoscopies while also providing care for GI emergencies.”

The internal medicine residency will accept 12 physicians a year for its three-year program — training 36 doctors when at full complement — and will participate in this year’s National Match Day March 15. The GI fellowship will accept two physicians a year who have completed their internal medicine residency training for its three-year program — for a total of six at full complement.

Amanda Finley will lead the internal medicine residency. She completed medical school at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine and later completed residency training at Magnolia Regional Health Center in Mississippi, where she was chief resident and stayed to serve as faculty. She was founding program director and designated institutional official at Henry County Medical Center in Tennessee, where she worked with the Health Resources Service Administration to create a rural residency program.

“Our commitment to creating a healthy and innovative learning environment make our new residency an amazing place to train,” she says. “Our goal is to ensure that residents achieve clinical excellence in a supportive family environment where we focus on giving and receiving feedback that take our professional performance to the highest level.”

Vinay Katukuri will lead the GI fellowship. He completed his medical education in India and then pursued residency training at Wayne State şŁ˝ÇÖ±˛Ą in Michigan. Following this, he completed his gastroenterology fellowship at the şŁ˝ÇÖ±˛Ą of Michigan, followed by an advanced endoscopy fellowship at Thomas Jefferson şŁ˝ÇÖ±˛Ą in Philadelphia. He served as interventional faculty at Henry Ford Health System and actively participated in teaching residents and fellows, including those specializing in advanced endoscopy. While at Henry Ford Health System, he was chosen to participate in the inaugural fellowship program for entrepreneurs in digital health. Katukuri later relocated to Florida, where he established his own practice.

“In addition to meeting the community’s need for gastroenterology services, the new fellowship training program aims to improve access to colon cancer prevention, which is crucial given the rising incidence of cancer,” he says.

Graduate medical education programs are key to addressing Florida’s physician shortage because the majority of doctors locate their practices near where they completed their residency or fellowship training. Medical school graduates cannot practice medicine independently but must complete residency training in their field of specialty.