Graduates of BRG Residency Programs Transition into Healthcare System

BATON ROUGE, La. – Seventeen new physicians are beginning careers at health systems and physician practices across the country after graduating from Baton Rouge General’s (BRG) residency programs in Family Medicine and Internal Medicine. For the fourth year in a row, 100 percent of BRG’s Family Medicine residents who took the board examination have passed. BRG’s Internal Medicine residents will take their board exams in August.

Three graduates will remain at BRG – Stephanie Coleman-Lawrence, MD and Rachael Kermis, MD in Family Medicine and Swapna Varakantam, MD in Internal Medicine. Dr. Kermis will practice at Baton Rouge Family Medical and will also serve as a part-time FMRP faculty preceptor for the Family Medicine Residency Program. Dr. Coleman-Lawrence will practice at BRG’s Oak Grove clinic in Prairieville, and Dr. Varakantam will practice as a hospitalist at BRG.

The Family Medicine graduates are Aarti Attreya, MD; Stephanie Coleman-Lawrence, MD; Janice Dara, MD; Rachael Kermis, MD; Cory Lemoine, DO; Matt Mann, MD; and William Devin Owens, MD.

The Internal Medicine graduates are Shanti Akasapu, MD; Rajendra Boyilla, MD; Navya Eleti, MD; Matthew Casey Geiger, MD; Nic Latuso, MD; Venkat Kishore Mukku, MD; Bilal Saiyed, MD; Ramandeep Singh, MD; Swapna Varakantam, MD; and Prathyusha Yeturu, MD.

“Our residents work with our doctors to contribute to exceptional patient care,” said Dr. Vincent Shaw, Program Director of BRG’s Family Medicine Residency Program. “Their success is a representation of the culture of learning we’ve fostered for decades in our medical education programs.”

Family and internal medicine residency programs typically require three-year commitments following medical school. Upon completion of residency, physicians take exams to obtain board certification, then begin medical practice; or continue with additional fellowship training in sub-specialties such as sports medicine, geriatrics, cardiology, OB/GYN, global health, or others.

Through its education programs, BRG trains annually more than 500 medical students, residents, fellows, nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, certified registered nurse anesthetists, and radiation technologists, and provides instructional locations for medical students from other schools, including Tulane and LSU.

BRG’s Family Medicine Residency Program graduates are, from left to right, Aarti Attreya, MD; Stephanie Coleman-Lawrence, MD; Cory Lemoine, DO; Matthew Mann, MD; Devin Owens, MD; Rachael Kermis, MD; and Janice Dara, MD.

BRG Internal Medicine Residency Program graduates are (front row, left to right) Navya Eleti, MD; and Prathyusha Yeturu, MD; (middle row, left to right) Swapna Varakantam, MD; and Shanti Akasapu, MD; and (back row, left to right) Bilal Saiyed, MD; Venkata Kishore Mukku, MD; Nicholas Latuso, MD; Vasudev Tati, MD (Program Director); Matthew Casey Geiger, MD; Ramandeep Singh, MD; and Rajendra Boyilla, MD.

About Baton Rouge General Medical Center
Baton Rouge General Medical Center is the area’s first community hospital with 588 licensed beds between two campuses. Baton Rouge General opened its doors in 1900, and has provided the Greater Baton Rouge community with high-quality healthcare for generations. An accredited teaching hospital since 1991, Baton Rouge General serves as an affiliate of Tulane University School of Medicine, and offers other medical education programs, including a School of Nursing, School of Radiologic Technology, Family Medicine Residency Program, Internal Medicine Residency Program, and Sports Medicine Fellowship Program. For more information, visit BRGeneral.org, find us on Facebook at Facebook.com/BatonRougeGeneral and follow us on Twitter at @BRGeneral.

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