PCOM South Georgia Faculty Focus: Dr. George Fredrick continues to educate

Published 2:15 pm Friday, August 14, 2020

Editor’s note: This is the first in a monthly series spotlighting faculty at the South Georgia campus of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Moultrie.

MOULTRIE, Ga. — There’s one sentence that keeps George Fredrick, MD, teaching: “I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.”

These words are from the Hippocratic Oath, an oath he took nearly 40 years ago that he upholds today in his position at PCOM South Georgia. Coming from a past career of solo practice and residency program director positions, Fredrick joined the college in 2019 as the primary care skills site director.

“I thought it would be interesting to start from a blank slate,” he said of the decision to join PCOM South Georgia. “Dr. Craver [Dean/Chief Academic Officer of PCOM South Georgia] showed me the blueprints of the building during one of my interviews, and it hit me: This was going to be a real medical school right here in Moultrie. I always want to continue learning and educating, and I’m able to do that here.”

With a background in medical practice and education as well, Craver knows first-hand the depth of knowledge that Fredrick brings to the students of PCOM South Georgia. 

“Dr. Fredrick is such an asset to our college,” he said. “His years of experience in teaching residents has translated well to our first- and second-year students, and he steadily continues to build their education.”

As site director of PCS, Fredrick teaches first- and second-year DO students primary care skills such as gathering a patient’s history and performing a physical examination.

“I can give them real life experience of what I’ve learned and what works from a personal standpoint,” he said. “That’s really how you learn medicine: You choose what works best for you. I teach the students to develop routines and internal checklists each time they see a patient because once you skip over something, that’s when you start making mistakes.”

Throughout his medical career, Fredrick has been teaching. Whether it’s teaching a patient, colleague, nursing staff, resident or student, he said it’s his duty as a physician. 

“When I taught residents, they had years of medical knowledge under their belt. Now that I’m teaching medical students, I’ve had to start at the lowest level of medical education. It’s been fun,” Fredrick said. “Students won’t be prepared for everything. They can’t learn everything, but I can teach them how to learn, which is what they will do for the rest of their lives.”

Fredrick was born and raised in Louisville, Ky. After completing his family medicine residency, he opened a solo family medicine practice in Cynthiana, Ky. After four years of practice, he accepted a faculty position in the family medicine residency program at United Hospital Center in Clarksburg, W.Va. After three years, he was promoted to director of the residency program where he served for nine years. 

Fredrick returned to private practice in Bridgeport, W.Va., and, five years later, was offered and accepted a faculty position in the family medicine residency program at West Virginia University, Morgantown, W.Va., and was promoted to residency program director after one year. He received the Department of Family Medicine Faculty Award for Excellence in Student Teaching for 2006-2007.

He was recruited by Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, Ga., to take the position of director of the family medicine residency program in 2008. Fredrick was recognized as Residency Teacher of the Year at Southwest Georgia Family Medicine Residency in 2012. In 2019, he accepted a position as primary care skills site director at PCOM South Georgia.

A new resident of Moultrie, Fredrick and his wife, Mary Ann, have four sons, four daughters-in-law, five grandsons and their first granddaughter due in February 2021. 

In his free time, he enjoys spending time outdoors, camping, hiking and backpacking.