Macon resident doctors contribute to local medicine

Dr. Brooke Eck got plenty of hands-on medical experience long before she graduated medical school.

Eck grew up in Culloden, a small town in Monroe County with a population of about 200. She watched her mother work as a nurse from a young age.

As Eck spent more time in the hospital during her stint as a medical scribe in Houston County, she discovered she enjoyed learning about what the profession had to offer.

She received her undergraduate degree from Mercer University in 2014, then attended Mercer’s medical school in 2020.

When Eck graduated, she applied for residency and wound up close by at Piedmont Macon. She’s part of last year’s cohort.

The hospital announced its newest class of residents last week, totaling 28 physicians across three programs — internal medicine, psychiatry and transitional year — the latter of which is for doctors moving into advanced specialties like dermatology or radiology.

Jonathan Smith, Piedmont Macon’s designated institutional official for the graduate medical education program, oversees the resident applications and “Match Week,” when doctors learn about which hospital/institution will host their residency.

A residency is similar to an apprenticeship. Residents come out of medical school and work with doctors on their rotations or in one-on-one situations, slowly gaining more autonomy and experience.

Smith said many of the residents continue to serve Georgia, whether at Piedmont or another hospital, and help fill the need for rural doctors.

“We have a doctor shortage in a lot of areas,” he said. “From a mission-driven type perspective, we’re really at the forefront of making sure we are filling these communities that are going without doctors.”

Dr. Abigail Owens, a transitional year resident looking to specialize in radiology, is also a Georgia native from Rochelle.

Owens knew she would be a doctor from a young age, despite nobody else in her family working in medicine. Her brother had a brain tumor when he was younger and she spent lots of time in hospitals. The sporadic imaging scans piqued her interest in radiology.

As a resident, she said she’s been able to get a better understanding of the importance of radiology to other departments and the challenges and responsibilities of being a medical professional.

Owens, also a Mercer graduate, said she plans to practice in Georgia. She said she thinks it’s important to be able to serve many of these areas without a hospital or doctors.

Eck, a first-year resident at Piedmont’s psychiatry program, said it’s important in her job to “advocate” for people experiencing mental health crises and encourage them to seek help.

“It matters to me to know all of someone’s well-being, not just their physical well-being,” she said. “I like the interconnection between physical and mental well-being.”

Eck said she’s a big “cheerleader” for Macon, as her husband owns a small artisan business. They have family in the area.

“You always think about what your community does for you, what you can get out of the city you’re living in,” she said. “He [her classmate] said ‘why aren’t we looking at it the other way?’ Like what can we do for our community?”