Our Stories

Exploring a Once-‘Exotic’ Field

Hospitalist learns to see healthcare through wider lens

Snigdha Priyadarshi M.D.
Chairperson, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital

Vanderbilt MM Health Care 2022

Dr. Snigdha Priyadarshi took pride in her work over the course of two decades, as a hospitalist at a Nashville-area community hospital. Still, she felt like something was missing.

“I have a very fulfilling career as a physician, and I am proud of providing quality care and cutting-edge medicine to my patients,” she says. “But I still believed I could apply myself more. I had only a vague idea about business and how that field interacted with medicine, but I had never much looked into the possibilities of that world.”

When one of her colleagues recommended the Vanderbilt MMHC program, she decided to apply. “I saw an opportunity to challenge myself and grow,” Dr. Priyadarshi says.

After taking full advantage of that opportunity, she looked back as she neared completion of the program and noted how it had impacted both her knowledge and her approach to healthcare. “Working as a hospitalist for over 20 years, I have only known how to treat patients and think in a task-oriented manner,” she says. “This program brought me new experiences and new ways of applying myself to the field of healthcare. Business was an exotic world that I wanted to explore, and now I have an appreciation for the newfound knowledge and skills I have acquired while exploring this new (to me) and fascinating field.

“I was always willing to try new experiences, but now with this program, I am confident that I can step forward to a new path without any sense of unfamiliarity. The change from medicine to business might be seen as a massive change in my life path. However, through this program, I feel that I am furthering my career, rather than changing it.

“The program has prepared me to think critically about the problems around me, plan economically, build up a team, and have the confidence to lead.”



Fun Fact: Snigdha is a people person who enjoys interacting with people from all different backgrounds.

I feel that I am furthering my career, rather than changing it.