Over a career spanning 15 years, Russelle Bradbury served as a consultant who helped organizations—from large public school systems and universities to public service organizations and arts nonprofits—secure and manage grant funding.

Then, in 2023, she took a leap, hired as the sole employee of a new commercialization incubator at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Under Russelle’s guidance, the incubator expanded from four initial projects to 60 in her first year, supporting over 75 faculty members and involving corporate C-suite partners, consultants, and administrative colleagues.

Managing multiple projects and myriad details was nothing new for her. “But I was new to healthcare,” she says, “and I was learning healthcare and the business of healthcare for the first time.”

Vanderbilt’s MMHC program provided a way to bridge that knowledge gap. “I had been thinking about an MBA,” Russelle says. “Then I learned about the MMHC and loved that I could complete the program in one year. I could also hit two birds by learning the specific healthcare applications of business while also learning business.”

On top of that, she says, “there was the prestige of Vanderbilt’s reputation, the location close to work and home, and the tuition benefit I enjoyed as a Vanderbilt University Medical Center employee.”

Russelle found the professors in the program to be highly supportive. “They connect with all the students, are open to feedback, and make themselves available for after-hours communications,” she says. In addition, “many of them have professional experience at VUMC, so the information they share is timely and relevant to themes that resonate with us at this moment in our careers.”

By the program’s end, Russelle believed she was well equipped to advance both the VUMC incubator and her career. “The program exposed me to a depth of healthcare business, where I had only skimmed the surface previously,” she says. “It boosted my confidence in what I already knew and helped me grasp new concepts. It gave me a comprehensive understanding of finance and business at the intersection of healthcare—including vocabulary, themes, and strategies to leverage my position in leadership projects and conversations. Earning an advanced degree has strengthened my qualifications and expanded my opportunities for career growth.”