The return

It was like a warm memory. Gone, but never forgotten. The steps of Winnie Davis and the walk to the Niche. The corridors of Russell Hall and a sacred open parking spot.

As a 2018 graduate of the Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership, the Health Sciences Campus is a place that Dr. Justin Belk knew well. And now, Belk has made his return to the hallowed ground off Prince Avenue.

In June, Belk accepted a position as an assistant professor of medical education at the University of Georgia School of Medicine. With this new role, Belk became the first Medical Partnership graduate to return to the campus in a full-time capacity.

Belk said it feels surreal to return to the campus he used to call home, and he’s excited to see changes take shape.

“Navigating Russell Hall came back to me like riding a bicycle,” said Belk. “The renovations have been really nice to see, and I can’t wait to work in the new medical school building.”

After graduating from the Medical Partnership, Belk completed an internal medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital in 2021. Before returning to Athens, he was a chief hospitalist at Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center in Virginia.

Belk said the Medical Partnership shaped him into the physician and instructor he is today, and he’s excited to carry that excellence forward. He said the low student-to-faculty ratio and small-group, case-based learning were instrumental in his growth.

“Having the perspectives of both the biomedical scientists and the physicians throughout the pre-clerkship years was huge, and it was a great introduction to the skill set of working with a multidisciplinary team that is so crucial to success in modern medicine,” he said.

But perhaps above all else, Belk always remembered the supportive environment of the Medical Partnership and being taught by professors who instilled their love of medicine in students.

“I distinctly remember the faculty here being so welcoming and helpful,” he said. “They were never intimidating; rather, they were excited to share their knowledge and help us grow. That’s something I’m trying to replicate now in my own educational career.”

Belk said it is an incredible feeling to come full circle and return to the place that built him into who he is today.

“I looked up to the faculty and local physicians here in Athens so much when I was a student. Now to be able to work and teach alongside them is an incredibly fulfilling experience,” he said.