The Lakeland Regional Health Transitional Year Residency program is a one-year program providing residents with a well-rounded, personalized clinical training experience in multiple specialties. Graduates will develop clinical practices, professional skills, and individualized mentorship to prepare them to deliver outstanding, efficient medical care with compassion, integrity, and respect in whichever discipline they choose.
As one of the largest hospitals in Florida (910 beds) in a rapidly growing diverse population, the patient and pathology variety is unmatched. Our board-certified faculty are equally as diverse, and eager to teach and mentor in more than 35+ specialties. As a newly formed academic program, residents will receive direct hands-on experiences and access to a plethora of research opportunities without much competition from other trainees. We’re committed to providing a personalized experience for each TY resident both clinically, professionally, and personally.
Rotation blocks are 4 weeks long. Can be modified to meet your personal training needs.
General Internal Medicine – 3 blocks
Night Float – 1 block (split in two 2-week rotations)
Medical Intensive Care Unit – 1 block
Emergency Medicine – 2 blocks
Trauma Surgery – 1 block
General Surgery – 1 block
Ambulatory Urgent Care – 1 block
Ambulatory Primary Care (Family Medicine or Internal Medicine) – 1 block
Electives – 10 Weeks
4 weeks vacation
No 24-Hour call
Transitional Year residents will have the ability to personalize and create new experiences based on career goals.
Transitional Year
Residency Program Director
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Dr. Melissa Rusli is a board-certified Internist with a focused practice in Ambulatory Internal Medicine/Primary Care. She completed her medical school training at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, NY, followed by Internal Medicine Residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, and served as Ambulatory Chief Resident from 2018-2019.
Dr. Rusli is currently board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, is a member of several professional societies, and has authored several publications/presentations. She is a graduate of the Society of General Internal Medicine’s TEACH program and received several teaching awards at both the undergraduate and graduate medical education levels.
Prior to joining Lakeland Regional Health, Dr. Rusli was an Assistant Professor in Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Associate Clerkship Director of the Primary Care clerkship. She was actively involved in faculty development skills with new clerkship preceptors and strengthening Resident-as-Teacher skills among Internal Medicine residents.
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Where are you originally from?
Brooklyn, New York
Where did you Attend Medical School and what year was your graduation?
UMDNJ- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, 2009
Where did you attend residency?
Cooper University Hospital
What is one reason residents should choose LRH EM Residency?
This is one of the busiest departments in the world with a diverse population and good pathology. It is a level 2 trauma with excellent sub specialty care. Very few patients, if any, are transferred.
What are your favorite hobbies?
I love watching sports. I enjoy wine tastings.
What is your favorite thing about living in Lakeland or Central Florida?
I enjoy the weather, especially in the winter. Really enjoy close access to many attractions including the beach.
Do you have any special interests in EM or medicine?
I am interested in simulation and teaching procedures
What is your favorite activity in central Florida?
Going to the beach
What is your favorite beach in Florida?
Longboat Key
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Zachary Boucher, MD is a board-certified general surgeon at our Medical Center and Grasslands Campus. He practices in the areas of general surgery, including hernia repairs of all types, gallbladder surgery, acid reflux disease, skin and soft tissue lesions, and diseases of the stomach, small intestines and colon.
Dr. Boucher attended the University of Florida for his undergraduate education and continued there for medical school. He then completed his surgical training at the University of South Florida in Tampa. His practice focuses on robotic surgery due to the advantages for patients including smaller incisions, faster time to recovery, and fewer complications.
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Where are you originally from?
Rhode Island
Where did you Attend Medical School and What year was your graduation?
Nova Southeastern University in 2013
Where did you attend residency?
Tampa General Hospital
What is one reason residents should choose LRH EM Residency?
Well established community hospital which is rapidly growing and encompasses a diverse patient population. Top-notch EM staff with a deeply entrenched community feel and broad range of experiences.
What are your favorite hobbies?
Spending time with family, vacationing, cooking, home building projects. Playing sports with my kids.
What is your favorite thing about living in Lakeland or Central Florida?
Tampa provides a little bit of everything. Sports arena, great restaurants, close to beaches, availability of boating. Fast growing and constantly evolving city. Close to Disney and other major attractions.
Do you have any special interests in EM or medicine?
Education, cutting-edge EM research and practices.
What is your favorite activity in central Florida?
Spending time at the beach
What is your favorite beach in Florida?
St Pete beach
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Dr. Luis Daniel Lugo is a Board-Certified Internist with a focused practice in Hospital Medicine. Dr. Lugo earned his medical degree from Saba University School of Medicine in the Netherlands. He completed his Internal Medicine Residency at Roger Williams Medical Center, an affiliate of Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. Lugo also completed a Medical Affairs physician fellowship program specializing in Cardiovascular and Renal (CVR) at Bayer Pharmaceuticals through Rutgers Institute for Pharmaceutical Industry. He holds a Master’s in Business Administration in Healthcare Management and is a former high-school Chemistry teacher with a long-standing passion for education.
Prior to joining Lakeland Regional Health, Dr. Lugo served as Associate Program Director for the Categorical Internal Medicine Residency Program at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. Dr. Lugo dedicated his skills to serving veterans at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Brooklyn and at a culturally diverse population at the Mount Sinai Health System in Manhattan. Dedicated to education, he served as Clinical Associate Professor at these institutions and worked with residents and students from SUNY Downstate College of Medicine and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Lugo is recipient of various honorable positions and has repeatedly been awarded “Teacher of the Year”. He is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Emergency Medicine Ultrasound Director
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Where are you originally from?
WV
Where did you Attend Medical School and What year was your graduation?
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 2005
Where did you attend residency?
Jacobi and Montefiore Medical Centers, Albert Einstein University School of Medicine, the Bronx, NY
What is one reason residents should choose LRH EM Residency?
Exciting opportunity to be a part of steering the course of a new program at a center with a good variety of patient pathology.
What are your favorite hobbies?
Table-top and role-playing gaming, learning guitar
What is your favorite thing about living in Lakeland or Central Florida?
Great opportunity to connect with family and friends.
Do you have any special interests in EM or medicine?
Ultrasound, International/Global Emergency Medicine, Austere and Wilderness Medicine, Public Health
What is your favorite activity in central Florida?
Using the nieces as an excuse to go to theme parks and Comic-Con.
What is your favorite beach in Florida?
Big Talbot Island State Park and Boneyard Beach
Lakeland Regional Health offers a competitive benefits package. Click here to view the benefits package provided to LRH team members.
Beyond our standard tuition reimbursement program, retirement plans, paid time off and a comprehensive health and benefit plan, we also offer the following extended benefits for residents of our Graduate Medical Education Program:
We will be recruiting 18 PGY1 transitional year residents for the 2025-2026 academic year. Applicants must submit a complete application via ERAS. Residents will be chosen through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP).
NRMP program code: 2323999P0
Required Supporting Documents:
We are excited to welcome all candidates to apply for our Graduate Medical Education programs. However, please note that applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment Visas at this time. Thank you for understanding.
Our GME programs are affiliated with NSU-KPCOM
