Tyler Barrett, MD, MSCI, associate professor of Emergency Medicine, has been named executive medical director of Vanderbilt Emergency Services and Vanderbilt University Adult Emergency Department, which is on track to treat close to 70,000 adult patients in 2021, and is currently undergoing a renovation to create a patient centered, optimally efficient health care experience.
Barrett joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2005 and has served as its Quality and Patient Safety director since 2015 and medical director of the Adult Emergency Department since 2017.
“I am pleased Dr. Barrett will be in this position of leadership,” said Erik Hess, MD, MSc, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine.
“He has a track record of exemplary professionalism and collaboration, leading organizational level projects that have delivered measurable results. He has demonstrated an outstanding work ethic and developed a network of trusting relationships across the Medical Center that will help take VUMC to the next level.”
In his new position, Barrett will continue to work with clinical leaders in other departments to ensure high quality care for patients visiting the emergency department who require multidisciplinary expertise. He will also develop institutional-level projects to improve care delivery and outcomes for service lines whose patients seek ED care.
“He is the total package,” said Ian Jones, MD, associate professor of Emergency Medicine and Biomedical Informatics, clinical director of IT Health for Emergency Medicine and former executive director of the Adult Emergency Department.
“He is an excellent clinician, he communicates well, he is really well-liked by the faculty, other departments and administration. If you are liked by all three of those groups, you’ve got to be doing something right.”
Barrett, a Boston native, received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and his medical degree and Master of Science in Clinical Investigation from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Barrett completed his internship and emergency medicine training at Harbor-UCLA and UCLA/Olive View.
“I love being an emergency medicine physician and helping people often during some of the worst or most anxiety-provoking times of their lives,” said Barrett. “Those experiences are often life-changing, not only for the patient but also for their family and our ED team.”
Board-certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine, Barrett is a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and the Heart Rhythm Society. He serves as an associate editor and Journal Club section founding editor of Annals of Emergency Medicine.
Barrett is a member of the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine, the Nashville Academy of Medicine and the American Heart Association.
Combining his passions of emergency medicine and hockey, Barrett is one of four emergency physicians for the Nashville Predators, and is vice president of the Nashville Youth Hockey League board of directors.
He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed publications including articles on the dangers of opioid misuse, and continues to be a lecturer at annual youth hockey league team meetings.
The Emergency Department, the Vanderbilt Trauma Center and Vanderbilt Regional Burn Center, combined, offer Level I adult and pediatric trauma services in Middle Tennessee.
“I have never been prouder of our team than during this pandemic, when the entire team has stepped up and provides outstanding care to our patients,” said Barrett.
“I genuinely enjoy solving problems and looking for solutions that address a broader scope and may benefit a wide range of VUMC patients and the enterprise as a whole.”
