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All cite the unique and supportive environment in the Department of Surgery as a major factor in their decision to come back as attendings.
“The sense of community throughout the entire system – specifically within the Department of Surgery and especially the residency program – feels like home to me,” said Mark Ward Jr., M.D., who served as an administrative chief resident at USA Health before leaving for a fellowship in advanced GI minimally invasive surgery and bariatrics in Tampa. “Reconnecting with former attendings and co-residents has been both fun and fulfilling. It’s the kind of environment where I want to build a long-term career.”
Along with Ward, other recently returning surgeons include William Ricks, M.D.; Parker Mullen, M.D.; Johnson Hardy III, M.D.; and Crawford Cox, M.D.
USA’s five-year general surgery residency program — the oldest in the state of Alabama — accepts five categorical residents each year. The program promotes its individualized training and first-time passing rates on written board exams, but its leaders are also proud of the family atmosphere they have worked so hard to foster.
“It’s a healthy sign of a flourishing department if you can recruit the best of your own trainees,” said Lee Grimm Jr., M.D., residency program director since 2018. “They know what your program is like from the inside, and they have a very informed long-term view of the department, and yet they still want to come back.”
Ricks, who is from Huntsville, and Mullen, of Jasper, graduated from the Whiddon COM together in 2017 before matching in general surgery at USA Health and serving as administrative chief residents during their final year of training in 2021-2022. Each left to pursue three-year fellowships — Ricks in cardiothoracic surgery in Florida and Mullen in thoracic surgery in Mississippi — before rejoining the department as attendings.
Ricks said returning to USA Health and Mobile feels like coming home. “USA Health played an important role in my training, and I’m grateful for the chance to give back and be part of this team again,” he said.
Hardy, an Auburn native and 2018 Whiddon COM graduate, finished his surgery residency at USA Health in 2023, a year behind Ricks and Mullen. During his training, Hardy was active in outdoor wellness experiences and participated in the Christian Medical Ministry of South Alabama. He went on to a two-year fellowship in vascular surgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson before returning to USA Health and the Department of Surgery.
Ward, a Biloxi native, earned his medical degree from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine before matching in surgery at USA Health in the same cohort as Cox, a Birmingham native who graduated from the Whiddon COM in 2019.
Cox said his training under William Richards, M.D., chair of surgery, piqued his interest in bariatrics, so he went on to complete a minimally invasive surgery and bariatric fellowship at the University of Missouri. After finishing one-year fellowships, Ward and Cox recently returned as attendings.
“It has been my goal to return to Mobile and USA Health on both a professional and personal level,” said Cox, whose wife is from the area. “I also wanted to return to the academic health system where I trained to provide care to the population as well as provide mentorship and teaching to residents similar to what I experienced.”
In addition to Grimm, other leaders of the general surgery residency program include associate directors J. Harrison Howard, M.D., a surgical oncologist, and Maryann Mbaka, M.D., MBA, a trauma surgeon.
