In addition to her duties as a general surgeon at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the adjoining VA Hospital, Dr. Kyla Terhune also is responsible for more than 70 surgical residents. She oversees their curriculum and professional development and evaluates their performance. On top of that, she oversees all education initiatives in the Section of Surgical Sciences, ranging from undergraduate and graduate courses to continuing medical education.

In her own career, Kyla says, she had come to understand that “graduate medical education is very distinct from traditional educational formats; it is more similar to education that occurs within the corporate world, training skilled workers to carry out the mission of the organization, with measurable outcomes.”

Given her responsibilities, it made great sense to Kyla “to see what I could learn from the business world.” An MBA, she believed, “could give me the translational knowledge I needed to lead educational initiatives within the confines of a larger enterprise with a broader mission.” Particularly, she says, she wanted to broaden her understanding of strategic organizational behavior and human resources, both of which connect closely to her position at Vanderbilt.

Kyla described the program as “intensive,” but she quickly adds that it gave her “tools that I otherwise would not have obtained, and the Vanderbilt name to back them up.” She learned new perspectives and gained new insights about herself. “However, what was most valuable was the new language I learned. It opened doors and helped me understand motivations behind large enterprises. I learned how I could push the limits of an otherwise very rigid setting, justifying it by speaking the same language as those who were at the table listening.”

Fun Fact: As the head of Hank Ingram House on the Vanderbilt campus, Kyla shepherds nearly 300 students through their first year.  

“What was most valuable was the new language I learned. It opened doors and helped me understand motivations behind large enterprises.”