We are excited to spotlight Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) Internal Medicine Residency program faculty member Antonio Rios, MD. Dr. Rios is a practicing physician in Internal Medicine at NGMC and has been an integral part of Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) and Northeast Georgia Physicians Group (NGPG) since 1999. Dr. Rios currently serves as the chief physician executive for NGPG and as the Chairman of the Georgia Board for Physician Workforce.
Dr. Rios received his medical degree from La Salle University in Mexico City, Mexico, and went on to complete his residency and fellowship in internal medicine at Emory University.
When not seeing patients at NGMC, Dr. Rios teaches and mentors medical students from a variety of schools including Mercer University, Georgia Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Emory University and Kennesaw State University. He also volunteers at the Good News Clinics to provide healthcare for uninsured patients of Hall County. In his remaining free time, Dr. Rios enjoys spending time with his partner, Dr. Margaret Schutte—also a local physician—and his three children, reading fiction, cooking and learning about wine.
Dr. Rios says that he—and all of the NGMC physicians, administrators and faculty— are working to create a successful GME program that trains the physicians of tomorrow to be ready to practice upon graduation.
“Our goal is to create our own GME culture, where we put patients at the center of our practice and instill our core values in every resident,” said Dr. Rios. “We want to ensure that our trainees are competent, compassionate and seek to always be better tomorrow than they are today.”
Dr. Rios actively supports NGHS’s Quest for Excellence by serving on different committees such as the Physician Leadership Team, Finance Committee, Practice Review Committee and as the former Chief of Medicine.
Dr. Rios believes that because our GME program is new, residents at NGMC will be entering an atmosphere of energy and excitement that is unrivaled by other programs. He is looking forward to the high energy and continuous improvement atmosphere that our residency program will bring.
“I have always enjoyed teaching and being around students, residents and allied health professional students,” Dr. Rios said. “They push you to learn, to be proactive, to lead by example and to improve as a person.”
According to Dr. Rios, joining NGHS is the best thing that ever happened to him. He loves working for an organization that is “always trying to do the right things for the right reasons,” said Dr. Rios.
“I strongly believe in our mission statement,” said Dr. Rios. “This community has welcomed me and my family with open arms, and I feel blessed to be part of it. I am always amazed by how many people work so hard to improve our community.”
Dr. Rios loves the Gainesville community for its spirit, geography and its peaceful small-town atmosphere. In particular, he appreciates the kindness and altruism among people in the community and the array of nonprofit organizations that aim to improve the quality of life for all people.
Dr. Antonio Rios, Dr. Margaret Schutte and Dr. Rios’ daughters
Learn more about the NGMC Internal Medicine residency program and living in Gainesville.
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- Why did Northeast Georgia Medical Center start a GME program?
- Meet John Delzell Jr., MD, MSPH, Vice President of Medical Education
- Meet James Kruer, Jr., MD – Internal Medicine Residency Program Director
- Meet Ngoc Phan, DO, Internal Medicine Associate Program Director
- Meet Idopise Umana, MD, Internal Medicine Associate Program Director
- Northeast Georgia Medical Center Internal Medicine Program video
About Northeast Georgia Medical Center’s GME program
Northeast Georgia Medical Center’s (NGMC) GME program is currently accepting applications for the Internal Medicine and General Surgery Residency Programs and will match the inaugural class in the spring of 2019. NGMC’s Graduate Medical Education program is designed to train residents to be leaders in the medical field as well as in the community. Learn more about the NGMC GME program.
About Northeast Georgia Health System
Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) is a non-profit institution on a mission of improving the health of our community in all we do. Our team cares for more than 800,000 people across the region through three hospitals and a variety of outpatient locations. Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) has three hospital campuses – NGMC Gainesville, NGMC Braselton, and NGMC Barrow – with a total of 713 beds and more than 700 medical staff members representing more than 50 specialties. Learn more at www.nghs.com.