The clinical experience at Southern Medical Group differs fundamentally from hospital employment models where your day is compartmentalized into discrete tasks. Here, you manage your entire practice. During a typical clinic day, you will see 15-20 patients and read/interpret your own studies. The physicians who thrive in this environment appreciate the continuity, the ownership, and the direct relationship between effort and outcome. Those accustomed to showing up, seeing a patient list, and going home may find the pace and breadth demanding.
The patient population reflects the demographics of North Florida and South Georgia: an older population with significant cardiovascular disease burden, limited access to subspecialty care, and genuine appreciation for providers who stay and invest in the community. You will see the full spectrum of non-invasive cardiology, from preventive care and risk stratification to complex heart failure management and pre-procedural evaluation. The referral base extends across a 90-mile radius, and patients often travel considerable distances specifically to see SMG cardiologists.
The imaging capabilities here rival academic centers. The practice performs over 1,000 cardiac MRIs annually, making it one of the most prolific private practice cardiac MRI programs in Florida. Echocardiography, nuclear stress testing, and cardiac CT round out the diagnostic portfolio. If you have formal fellowship training in cardiac CT or MRI, you will have ample volume to maintain and grow those skills. The group prefers candidates with fellowship-level CT training rather than weekend course certifications, though this is not an absolute requirement.
Beyond diagnostics, the Heart and Vascular Institute provides nearly every cardiovascular service short of transplant and mechanical circulatory support. Structural heart, electrophysiology, interventional cardiology, vascular surgery, and CT surgery all operate under the same umbrella. When you identify a patient who needs an intervention, the specialist is down the hall or in the next building. Cases that would require transfer at most community hospitals get handled here.
The call structure reflects years of negotiation and represents one of the practice's genuine advantages. Your call responsibilities are limited to non-invasive matters, and the interventionalists handle STEMI activations and acute interventional needs.
Night call runs approximately three nights per month, typically aligned with your hospital week so you already know the patients generating calls. Most calls can be handled by phone with remote EMR access. Weekend coverage rotates to approximately six to seven weekends per year. On call weekends, two physicians split the duties: either two non-invasive or one non-invasive and one EP physician functioning in a non-invasive capacity. One covers Friday night and Saturday daytime; the other covers Saturday night and Sunday. Both round on Saturday, then the Sunday physician completes rounds and discharges.
When you rotate to your inpatient week, you take full responsibility for the non-invasive cardiology service. The typical census runs 10-20 patients depending on volume fluctuations. You round on established patients, field new consults, and perform inpatient diagnostic procedures including transesophageal echocardiograms and stress testing. The separation from clinic duties is complete; your outpatient patients are covered by colleagues, and you focus entirely on inpatient care.
During clinic weeks, you have two days per month reserved for elective hospital procedures such as TEEs and cardioversions. This keeps your procedural skills current without fragmenting your clinic schedule.
Tallahassee Memorial invested $234 million in Epic implementation, and the system is now fully operational across inpatient and outpatient settings. The transition required adjustment, as any major EMR change does, but the platform now provides the documentation, ordering, and communication infrastructure expected of a modern cardiovascular program. Voice recognition is the standard for documentation; legacy transcription services remain available but are rarely used by newer physicians.
FSU College of Medicine residents rotate through the cardiology service, providing teaching opportunities for physicians who enjoy medical education. Supervision compensation runs $250 per day when residents are present, typically adding $5,000 - $10,000 annually for physicians who participate. The hospital and FSU are actively developing a cardiology fellowship program, though implementation awaits adequate staffing levels. Physicians with academic interests will find a program positioned to grow its teaching mission as the FSU partnership matures.
The clinical environment here demands physicians who want to practice at the top of their license, manage complexity, and take ownership of outcomes. The volume is real, the acuity is genuine, and the support structure exists to let you focus on patient care rather than administrative burden.