Sixteen 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.
Three internal medicine graduates will remain at BRG, and one family medicine graduate will return to complete a fellowship with BRG’s Sports Medicine Fellowship Program, one of just a few similar programs in Louisiana.
The internal medicine graduates are Abhishek Alluri, MD; Galina Clous, MD; Eric Frusha, MD; Victor Gasia, MD; Yasmin Hajja, MD; Chenna Nalabolu, MD; Gabriel Randall, DO; and Gaetano Ruggiero, MD.
The family medicine graduates are Michelle Becnel, MD; Audrey Billeaud, MD; Brian Callihan, MD; Monali Pandya, MD; Andrew Parks, Sr.; MD, Roxanne Varnell, MD; Katherine Whittaker, MD; and Carita Winn, MD.
“Our training program at BRG has been in place for decades, and our residents work side-by-side our doctors to contribute to exceptional patient care,” said Dr. Vincent Shaw, program director of BRG’s Family Medicine Residency Program. “We have the same dedication to making the healthcare system better as we do to helping each patient’s quality of life.”
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, the 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.
Pictured are BRG Internal Medicine Residency Program graduates (front row, left to right) Yasmin Hajja, MD, and Galina Clous, MD; (back row left to right) Gabriel Randall, DO; Chenna Nalabolu, MD; Eric Frusha, MD; Gaetano Ruggiero, MD; Abhishek Alluri, MD; and Victor Gasia, MD.