Articles

The new year brought with it the planned succession in program leadership of the Internal Medicine residency program at Baptist Memorial Hospital – North Mississippi. On January 1, Estefania Lara Garcia, MD, assumed the role of Program Director, with the continued support of founding Program Director Seger Morris, DO. The change ensures that the program continues to be positioned for long-term success.

A native of Venezuela, Dr. Lara Garcia received her medical degree from the Universidad Central de Venezuela Escuela de Medicina Luis Razetti in Caracas, Venezeula. She completed her Internal Medicine residency training at Southern Illinois University in Springfield, Illinois. 

She also served as an intern at the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education in Chicago, Illinois, working with the senior Scholars-in-Residence group in areas such as resident well-being, interprofessional team-based training, physician workforce issues, health policy, and leadership training. 

Dr. Lara Garcia spends her clinical time as a Hospitalist on both the academic and non-academic services at Baptist North Mississippi, as well as in the Baptist Medical Group Oxford Internal Medical clinic. She joined the residency program as a core faculty member immediately upon her appointment to the medical staff, and led the substantial successes in scholarly activity within the program through curriculum and resource development. Most recently, Dr. Lara Garcia served as Associate Program Director. 

Dr. Morris will continue to serve both the program locally as an Associate Program Director and Baptist system Graduate Medical Education efforts as the Division Chief of Mississippi Internal Medicine Programs and Chief of Mississippi Program Development.