Medical College of Georgia Program

Augusta, GA

Specialty:Rheumatology

ACGME Code:1501221002

NRMP Code:-

Status:Continued Accreditation

Overview

Rheumatology Fellowship Overview

The Rheumatology program at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University is dedicated to providing comprehensive evaluation and management of a wide array of adult and pediatric rheumatological diseases. Established in 1967, this program is supported by seven full-time adult rheumatologists and one pediatric rheumatologist, offering services through various healthcare facilities including the Augusta University Medical Center, the Charlie Norwood Veterans Administration, and the Children's Hospital of Georgia. A fully accredited fellowship program is designed to train the next generation of specialists in the field of rheumatology.

Curriculum and Rotations

The curriculum of the Rheumatology fellowship is structured to equip fellows with the necessary skills in diagnosing and managing rheumatological conditions. The program emphasizes both clinical practice and didactic learning, ensuring a well-rounded training experience. Fellows are expected to engage in numerous clinical rotations that cover both inpatient and outpatient settings, providing a thorough understanding of the complexities of rheumatological diseases.

Research Opportunities

Research is a cornerstone of the fellowship, encouraging fellows to participate actively in ongoing projects that span basic, clinical, and translational research. This engagement allows fellows to contribute to the evolving body of knowledge in rheumatology, as well as to gain valuable experience in research methodologies. Mentorship from experienced faculty fosters an encouraging environment for fellows to develop their research skills.

Unique Aspects of the Program

One of the unique features of the Rheumatology program is its commitment to a multidisciplinary approach to rheumatology care. This is exemplified by collaboration among diverse specialists which provide a broader perspective on patient management. Furthermore, the program supports fellows’ involvement in various community outreach initiatives which enrich their training and enhance their understanding of the public health aspects of rheumatological care.

Training Sites

The training sites for the Rheumatology fellowship include the Augusta University Medical Center, the Charlie Norwood Veterans Administration Medical Center, and the Children’s Hospital of Georgia. Each site offers varied experiences that equip fellows to handle a diverse patient population with differing needs, ranging from acute clinical scenarios to chronic disease management.

Visa Support

The program provides visa sponsorship for international medical graduates (IMGs). Typically, the Rheumatology fellowship can sponsor J-1 and H-1B visas, allowing qualified international candidates to participate in the fellowship and gain essential training in the United States.

Competitiveness and Application Requirements

The Rheumatology fellowship at the Medical College of Georgia is considered to be highly competitive. Candidates with diverse backgrounds, including DO and IMG graduates, are welcomed and encouraged to apply. Special application requirements include a graduation from medical school within a certain timeframe, and a limited number of failed STEP exams may be acceptable depending on individual circumstances. It is prudent for applicants to review the specific eligibility criteria carefully before applying to ensure they meet all specified requirements.

Department of Medicine Overview

The program operates within the Department of Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia, which prioritizes education, patient care, and research. The Department continually enhances its educational programs, ensuring that residents and fellows receive training that is aligned with the most current practices in medicine.

Web sources

1. Rheumatology Program Overview 2. Department of Medicine Overview

SmartPick

Program data

ACGME History ^[2]

Accreditation Last updated: Jul 16, 2026

Initial accreditation0

Full accreditation0

Continued24

Warning3

Probationary Accreditation0

Withdrawal0

#	Academic Year	Status	Effective Date
01	2000 - 2001	Continued	May 31, 1998
02	2001 - 2002	Continued	May 31, 1998
03	2002 - 2003	Continued	Jan 31, 2003
04	2003 - 2004	Continued	Jan 31, 2003
05	2004 - 2005	Continued	Jan 31, 2003
06	2005 - 2006	Continued	Jan 31, 2003
07	2006 - 2007	Warning	May 19, 2006
08	2007 - 2008	Warning	May 19, 2006
09	2008 - 2009	Warning	May 19, 2006
10	2009 - 2010	Continued	Oct 1, 2009

Program

Program Size

-- (2 years)^[1]

Accreditation Status

Continued Accreditation

(Effective: January 23, 2026)

Composition

Training

Fellowship Rate:--

Faculty-to-Residents Ratio:2X^[1]

Residents Career Path

Quality of Life

First Year Paid Sick Leave: --

First Year Paid Vacation: --

First Year Salary: $64,399^[1]

First Year Maximum Consecutive Hours on Duty: 12 hours ^[1]

First Year Average Weekly Hours: 40 hours^[1]

Admission

USMLE Step 2 Score: --

Visa Sponsorship:--

YOG Cutoff:3^[1]

Race / Ethnicity

No race data available.

Gender

No gender data available.

Incoming Schools

No incoming school data available.

Rotation Duration by Site

Benchmarks

Roster

Publications

8 Publications (5 yr)

Peer-reviewed output from faculty and residents, last 5 years

8 Publications (5 yr)

Skin health and disease2026

Two inflammasomes as tumour markers for nonmelanocytic skin cancer: new hopes for early detection and targeted therapy.

Azadeh Khayyat,¹Seyed Amir Zohouri,²Mohammad Ali Esmaeil Pour,³Parvaneh Hatami,⁴

PMID: 42222687doi.org/10.1093/skinhd/vzaf106

The New England journal of medicine2026

A Phase 3 Trial of Brepocitinib in Dermatomyositis.

Ruth Ann Vleugels,¹Julie J Paik,²Iazsmin Bauer Ventura,³Aaron R Mangold,⁴

PMID: 41910335doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2503531

Location

Augusta, GA ^[4]

Population

140,467

Median income

$49,013Below

Education

26.1%Above

Employment

54%Above

Health

11.9%Above

Age

35On par

Above the national average
Below the national average
Similar to the national average

Housing — Rental prices ^[5]

Rental prices

Typical Observed Market Rent Index - ZORI Over Time

Date

Region - Augusta, GA

State - Georgia

United States

1/31/2015

$756

$990

$1,193

2/28/2015

$755

$995

$1,199

3/31/2015

$758

$994

$1,206

4/30/2015

$757

$999

$1,213

5/31/2015

$765

$1,003

$1,228

6/30/2015

$766

$1,007

$1,233

7/31/2015

$771

$1,011

$1,235

8/31/2015

$772

$1,016

$1,241

9/30/2015

$773

$1,021

$1,245

10/31/2015

$770

$1,026

$1,253

11/30/2015

$771

$1,030

$1,259

12/31/2015

$772

$1,032

$1,263

1/31/2016

$777

$1,037

$1,275

2/29/2016

$784

$1,046

$1,279

3/31/2016

$784

$1,052

$1,282

4/30/2016

$787

$1,055

$1,285

5/31/2016

$783

$1,051

$1,291

6/30/2016

$792

$1,058

$1,294

7/31/2016

$794

$1,062

$1,295

8/31/2016

$799

$1,067

$1,303

9/30/2016

$801

$1,070

$1,307

10/31/2016

$806

$1,077

$1,311

11/30/2016

$807

$1,079

$1,312

12/31/2016

$802

$1,083

$1,313

1/31/2017

$799

$1,076

$1,317

2/28/2017

$803

$1,077

$1,324

3/31/2017

$814

$1,086

$1,335

4/30/2017

$816

$1,092

$1,346

5/31/2017

$815

$1,097

$1,353

6/30/2017

$811

$1,103

$1,357

7/31/2017

$815

$1,109

$1,359

8/31/2017

$817

$1,113

$1,363

9/30/2017

$821

$1,119

$1,406

10/31/2017

$821

$1,121

$1,414

11/30/2017

$829

$1,126

$1,413

12/31/2017

$837

$1,134

$1,420

1/31/2018

$845

$1,145

$1,422

2/28/2018

$841

$1,154

$1,427

3/31/2018

$841

$1,158

$1,429

4/30/2018

$844

$1,162

$1,434

5/31/2018

$853

$1,168

$1,438

6/30/2018

$854

$1,173

$1,444

7/31/2018

$855

$1,178

$1,449

8/31/2018

$854

$1,182

$1,455

9/30/2018

$856

$1,184

$1,461

10/31/2018

$861

$1,191

$1,465

11/30/2018

$863

$1,197

$1,473

12/31/2018

$868

$1,203

$1,482

1/31/2019

$867

$1,205

$1,492

2/28/2019

$875

$1,210

$1,495

3/31/2019

$878

$1,214

$1,503

4/30/2019

$881

$1,219

$1,509

5/31/2019

$882

$1,223

$1,514

6/30/2019

$889

$1,231

$1,519

7/31/2019

$893

$1,236

$1,526

8/31/2019

$900

$1,242

$1,531

9/30/2019

$903

$1,247

$1,534

10/31/2019

$906

$1,251

$1,541

11/30/2019

$907

$1,254

$1,545

12/31/2019

$909

$1,257

$1,552

1/31/2020

$913

$1,266

$1,560

2/29/2020

$915

$1,271

$1,565

3/31/2020

$928

$1,279

$1,565

4/30/2020

$935

$1,281

$1,566

5/31/2020

$938

$1,282

$1,563

6/30/2020

$942

$1,285

$1,562

7/31/2020

$950

$1,295

$1,571

8/31/2020

$961

$1,307

$1,574

9/30/2020

$974

$1,320

$1,586

10/31/2020

$982

$1,332

$1,593

11/30/2020

$990

$1,346

$1,602

12/31/2020

$1,000

$1,359

$1,606

1/31/2021

$1,011

$1,371

$1,613

2/28/2021

$1,016

$1,388

$1,620

3/31/2021

$1,019

$1,404

$1,629

4/30/2021

$1,031

$1,424

$1,649

5/31/2021

$1,053

$1,449

$1,663

6/30/2021

$1,075

$1,483

$1,686

7/31/2021

$1,090

$1,503

$1,707

8/31/2021

$1,105

$1,524

$1,729

9/30/2021

$1,113

$1,551

$1,752

10/31/2021

$1,126

$1,571

$1,767

11/30/2021

$1,131

$1,589

$1,777

12/31/2021

$1,136

$1,595

$1,791

1/31/2022

$1,138

$1,604

$1,800

2/28/2022

$1,153

$1,620

$1,820

3/31/2022

$1,163

$1,631

$1,829

4/30/2022

$1,171

$1,644

$1,841

5/31/2022

$1,175

$1,651

$1,852

6/30/2022

$1,183

$1,653

$1,861

7/31/2022

$1,187

$1,664

$1,868

8/31/2022

$1,185

$1,671

$1,872

9/30/2022

$1,183

$1,672

$1,875

10/31/2022

$1,184

$1,673

$1,873

11/30/2022

$1,195

$1,677

$1,875

12/31/2022

$1,205

$1,679

$1,874

1/31/2023

$1,220

$1,680

$1,877

2/28/2023

$1,223

$1,680

$1,879

3/31/2023

$1,237

$1,686

$1,884

4/30/2023

$1,238

$1,692

$1,886

5/31/2023

$1,239

$1,690

$1,886

6/30/2023

$1,235

$1,686

$1,886

7/31/2023

$1,245

$1,686

$1,891

8/31/2023

$1,252

$1,684

$1,908

9/30/2023

$1,263

$1,687

$1,912

10/31/2023

$1,259

$1,689

$1,916

11/30/2023

$1,261

$1,692

$1,918

12/31/2023

$1,258

$1,697

$1,921

1/31/2024

$1,252

$1,711

$1,928

2/29/2024

$1,252

$1,719

$1,932

3/31/2024

$1,252

$1,717

$1,935

4/30/2024

$1,260

$1,719

$1,942

5/31/2024

$1,264

$1,719

$1,946

6/30/2024

$1,267

$1,724

$1,973

7/31/2024

$1,271

$1,726

$1,958

8/31/2024

$1,269

$1,726

$1,992

9/30/2024

$1,279

$1,723

$1,993

10/31/2024

$1,294

$1,729

$1,995

11/30/2024

$1,302

$1,725

$1,999

12/31/2024

$1,313

$1,731

$2,003

1/31/2025

$1,319

$1,734

$2,006

2/28/2025

$1,330

$1,741

$2,007

3/31/2025

$1,333

$1,739

$2,016

4/30/2025

$1,336

$1,743

$2,019

5/31/2025

$1,341

$1,746

$2,022

6/30/2025

$1,348

$1,750

$2,026

7/31/2025

$1,348

$1,750

$2,029

8/31/2025

$1,354

$1,747

$2,027

9/30/2025

$1,348

$1,753

$2,030

10/31/2025

$1,343

$1,770

$2,052

11/30/2025

$1,338

$1,780

$2,095

12/31/2025

$1,332

$1,757

$2,086

1/31/2026

$1,330

$1,767

$2,160

2/28/2026

$1,321

$1,758

$2,178

Crime — All violent offences ^[6]

Rate per 100,000 residents

Rate per 100,000 people Over Time

Date

Region - Augusta, GA

State - Georgia

United States

4/1/2021

5/1/2021

6/1/2021

7/1/2021

8/1/2021

9/1/2021

10/1/2021

11/1/2021

12/1/2021

1/1/2022

2/1/2022

3/1/2022

4/1/2022

5/1/2022

6/1/2022

7/1/2022

8/1/2022

9/1/2022

10/1/2022

11/1/2022

12/1/2022

1/1/2023

2/1/2023

3/1/2023

4/1/2023

5/1/2023

6/1/2023

7/1/2023

8/1/2023

9/1/2023

10/1/2023

11/1/2023

12/1/2023

1/1/2024

2/1/2024

3/1/2024

4/1/2024

5/1/2024

6/1/2024

7/1/2024

8/1/2024

9/1/2024

10/1/2024

11/1/2024

12/1/2024

1/1/2025

2/1/2025

3/1/2025

4/1/2025

5/1/2025

6/1/2025

7/1/2025

8/1/2025

9/1/2025

10/1/2025

11/1/2025

12/1/2025

1/1/2026

2/1/2026

3/1/2026

About Living in Augusta, GA

Crime Rate and Safety

Augusta has a moderate crime rate compared to national averages. Like any city, there are safe areas and neighborhoods to consider when choosing housing.

Fun Activities

Augusta is known for the Masters Tournament, which attracts golf enthusiasts from around the world. The city also offers outdoor activities like hiking, boating, and visiting the Augusta Canal National Heritage Area.

Climate

Augusta has a humid subtropical climate with hot summers and mild winters. Be prepared for high humidity in the summer months.

Races and Population

Augusta has a diverse population with various races and ethnicities. It offers a mix of cultural experiences and opportunities for community engagement.

Education

Augusta is home to Augusta University, offering educational and research opportunities. There are also public and private schools in the area for families with children.

Cost of Living

The cost of living in Augusta is generally lower than the national average, making it an affordable place to live.

Proximity to Major Cities

Atlanta is approximately 2 hours away from Augusta by car. Atlanta offers a wide range of cultural, entertainment, and career opportunities that residents can explore on weekends or for special events.

Pros

Affordable cost of living
diverse population
proximity to Atlanta for additional amenities.

Cons

Moderate crime rate in some areas
high humidity in summer.

FAQ

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Nearby programs

Rheumatology Programs Near Augusta, GA

University of North Carolina Hospitals ProgramChapel Hill, NCRheumatology University of Florida College of Medicine Jacksonville ProgramJacksonville, FLRheumatology Carilion Clinic-Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine ProgramRoanoke, VARheumatology Vanderbilt University Medical Center ProgramNashville, TNRheumatology University of Florida ProgramGainesville, FLRheumatology Medical University of South Carolina ProgramCharleston, SCRheumatology Prisma Health/University of South Carolina SOM Columbia (Columbia) ProgramColumbia, SCRheumatology University of Virginia Medical Center ProgramCharlottesville, VARheumatology University of Kentucky College of Medicine ProgramLexington, KYRheumatology University of Central Florida/HCA Florida Healthcare (Greater Orlando/Osceola) ProgramOrlando, FLRheumatology Emory University School of Medicine ProgramAtlanta, GARheumatology Duke University Hospital ProgramDurham, NCRheumatology Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science (Jacksonville) ProgramJacksonville, FLRheumatology University of Alabama Hospital (Birmingham) ProgramBirmingham, ALRheumatology HCA Florida Healthcare/USF Morsani College of Medicine GME - Tampa North/Bayonet Point Hospital ProgramHudson, FLRheumatology Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center ProgramWinston-Salem, NCRheumatology

Other specialties near Augusta, GA

References

1. Freida - https://freida.ama-assn.org/program/1501221002

2. ACGME - Accreditation Data System (ADS) - https://apps.acgme.org/ads/Public/Programs/Search

3. NRMP Results and Data: 2022-2026 Main Residency Match - https://www.nrmp.org/match-data/2026/03/program-results-2022-2026/

4. United States Census Bureau - https://data.census.gov/profile/City,_VS?g=060XX00US1324590168

5. Zillow Research - Observed Rent Index (ZORI) - https://www.zillow.com/research/data/

6. FBI - Crime/Law Enforcement Stats (Uniform Crime Reporting Program) - https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr