Shaney Bowers (photo by Donn Jones)
Shaney Bowers, MPA, is a pragmatic leader: She listens and learns about a problem, then works with her team to effectively resolve it.
Since starting administrative work at Vanderbilt Health two years ago, she’s left her mark by finding practical solutions to issues that affect her colleagues and patients alike.
Her leadership style is also tender and focused on people. As Associate Director of the Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery-Audiology Patient Care Center, she is a steady, calming presence. This powerful combination led to Bowers being one of two recipients of the C. Wright Pinson Leader Award honored during Vanderbilt Health’s quarterly Leadership Forum in May. The organization’s top leadership award is named for former Deputy CEO and Chief Health System Officer C. Wright Pinson, MBA, MD.
Bowers was hired to manage operations across the department’s patient care sites. Her leadership style quickly resonated with her fellow administrators, and she’s since been promoted to lead a larger team across the department.
“When you start managing managers, it becomes about mentorship and tapping into what people are good at,” Bowers said.
One team member that nominated Bowers echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that her role is a keystone in the structure of the department’s leadership.
“Shaney’s brilliance lies not only in her direct leadership, but in how she supports other leaders,” the nominator wrote. “She empowers supervisors to lead with confidence … and her approach reinforces trust, strengthens team cohesion and models the kind of leadership we all aspire to.”
Bowers said working in administration requires a certain calling: It’s a role made for someone who feels drawn to serve on the back end, out of the spotlight, where what matters most to patients is results. Even though her people-first mentality isn’t on direct display to those patients, Bowers ensures Vanderbilt Health’s mission of caring is evident through the work she does.
One nominator pointed specifically to Bowers’ effort to dramatically reduce delays in patients’ access to Otolaryngology care by redesigning the referral fax queue process, a workflow that hadn’t been working well for the team.
“Before her intervention, the queue regularly held 200–300 referrals, with patients waiting over 30 days for processing. Shaney redesigned the workflow with accountability measures and clearer expectations and tools.”
Now, the nominator shared, the queue consistently stays at around 50 referrals, which can be handled in a day, and referrals are processed within two days.
“This transformation has dramatically improved patient access and improved relationships with our outside referring offices, all thanks to Shaney’s strategic vision and hands-on leadership.”
Bowers has also helped optimize scheduling, with the average wait time for new patients dropping from 28 days to just under 17, and the percentage of new patients seen within two weeks jumping from 34% to nearly 60%. These are statistics that matter both to patients who are seen and treated sooner, and to the clinicians whose work becomes more efficient.
“It’s part of my job to make their jobs easier so they can do what they trained to do,” Bowers said. “It’s always good to feel good about the care that the people you’re helping support are able to give.”
It’s not just those on the clinical side, though, whose jobs are made easier because of Bowers’ work. She said some of the clearest indicators that her management tactics are paying off include seeing the staff grow and understand that those in leadership positions are invested in them.
Hearing feedback that the staff feel they have advocates in their leaders always “tugs at my heart,” Bowers said. “Everybody here wants the same thing: They want to be appreciated, they want to be valued, and they want to help the patient.”
Another thing those who report to Bowers in Otolaryngology administration wanted was for her to be recognized. The nomination form was written by two people, but they emphasized that the desire for Bowers to receive an award was universal.
“All of the managers and supervisors who report to Shaney worked together on the nomination packet,” one of the nominators wrote. “The fact that every one of Shaney’s direct reports came together to recommend her for this award speaks to her leadership more than anything.”
Bowers’ leadership strength is evident in the way she speaks about bringing people alongside her to create more leaders, not more followers.
“Leadership is leading by example,” said Bowers. “People are paying attention to you when you think they’re not, so it’s always good to lead with kindness, humility and empathy. … If you keep the patient first, everything falls in line.”
View Shaney Bowers’s video for her C. Wright Pinson Leader Award.
If you are a VUMC employee, you can nominate a colleague for a Credo Award, C. Wright Pinson Leader Award, or Vanderbilt Health Team Award. Visit the Leadership Forum website to fill out a nomination form. Employees demonstrate credo behaviors when: They make those they serve the highest priority; respect privacy and confidentiality; communicate effectively; conduct themselves professionally; have a sense of ownership; and are committed to their colleagues. Elevate award nominations are accepted year-round. If a nomination is received after the cutoff for an award selection period, the nomination will be considered for the next period. VUMC VOICE will post stories on each of the award winners in the weeks following their announcement.
