Transitional Year

Welcome to the Kern Medical Transitional Year Residency Program

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Kern Medical Transitional Year Residency Program.

A Transitional Year is more than a year between medical school and your future specialty. It is an opportunity to strengthen your clinical foundation, develop confidence in patient care, and discover the kind of physician you want to become. At Kern Medical, our goal is to make this year both challenging and rewarding—one that prepares you not only for the next step in your training, but for a lifetime of compassionate and competent patient care.

Our program offers a broad, hands-on clinical experience in a supportive learning environment. Through rotations in Internal Medicine, Critical Care, Emergency Medicine, Surgery, Ambulatory Medicine, and a variety of elective experiences, our residents are exposed to diverse clinical settings and patient populations. Working alongside experienced faculty and multidisciplinary teams, residents are encouraged to take ownership of their patients, develop sound clinical judgment, and progressively grow in independence while always knowing that support and mentorship are available.

What makes Kern Medical special is our commitment to our community and to the education of the next generation of physicians. Our patients come from diverse backgrounds and often present with complex medical and social needs. Caring for this population teaches lessons that extend far beyond textbooks and clinical guidelines—it teaches adaptability, compassion, teamwork, and the importance of seeing the whole patient.

As Program Director, I am committed to building a residency environment where residents feel respected, supported, and challenged to reach their full potential. We value professionalism, curiosity, teamwork, accountability, and above all, patient safety. I want our residents to finish their Transitional Year feeling more confident, more capable, and genuinely prepared to excel in their chosen specialty.

Bakersfield also offers an opportunity to enjoy life outside the hospital. With its affordable cost of living, proximity to the mountains and the California coast, and access to a growing and diverse community, it is a wonderful place to spend this important year of your training.

If you choose Kern Medical for your Transitional Year, you will become part of a program that is growing with purpose and a community that is deeply invested in its patients and its physicians.

We look forward to welcoming you to Kern Medical and to being part of your journey toward becoming the physician you aspire to be.

Marah Sukkar, MD
Program Director, Transitional Year Residency Program
Kern Medical