After more than three decades of service to Vanderbilt, Bonnie Miller, MD, MMHC, Senior Associate Dean for Health Sciences Education at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Executive Vice-President for Educational Affairs at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has decided to retire from her leadership positions July 1.
Miller will be succeeded in these roles by Donald Brady, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education (GME) and Continuing Professional Development, and VUMC’s Senior Vice President for Educational Affairs.
Miller will remain on the faculty full time to help with a variety of special projects. She plans to stay involved with medical student activities and serve as an adviser for individuals and student organizations.
Miller, who is also professor of Medical Administration and Clinical Surgery, has served on VUSM’s faculty continuously since 1987 and describes the decision to step down as personal.
“I remain deeply grateful for the tremendously rewarding career I’ve had here at Vanderbilt. At this point, however, I hope to be able to focus my efforts on specific interests, and I also hope to spend more time with my family,” she said. “With Donald coming into these roles, I’m completely confident that our educational programs will thrive.”
Brady and Miller have worked closely together for more than a decade leading Vanderbilt’s programs in medical education. Over the coming months they will collaborate with Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of VUMC and Dean of VUSM, to assure a smooth transition of responsibilities.
Miller was named Associate Dean for Medical Students in 1999 and served in that position until 2005, when she was appointed to the newly created position of Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education. In that role, she led the first major curriculum revision at VUSM in over 30 years.
In 2008, she was elevated to Senior Associate Dean for Health Sciences Education. She was appointed Associate Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs in 2013, and with the reorganization of VUSM and VUMC in April 2016, she became VUMC’s Executive Vice President for Educational Affairs.
Miller oversaw the transformation of VUSM’s educational programs into Curriculum 2.0, introducing interprofessional education to VUSM, and leading VUMC’s efforts to increase the effectiveness of continuing medical education. She also helped attain accreditation status for VUMC’s Programs in Allied Health. She, Brady and other leaders are collaborating to bring greater awareness of the importance of advance directives and end-of-life care to the VUMC community.
Brady, who is also professor of Medicine and Medical Education and Administration, is VUMC’s Designated Institutional Official for relationships with the American College of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the National Resident Match Program.
He is a graduate of VUSM and completed his residency in internal medicine at Vanderbilt. In 1993, he joined the faculty at Emory School of Medicine and helped establish the school’s internal medicine residency primary care track, serving as director there for a decade.
A general internist, Brady’s primary interests are in medical education, doctor-patient communication and physician wellness. He has received numerous teaching awards, including Clinician-Educator of the Year by the Southern Society of General Internal Medicine and has twice been a finalist for the Parker Palmer Courage to Lead Award.