From Memphis Training to Nashville Leadership, Dean Advances Tennessee Medicine

After 25 years as a heart surgeon and health care leader, A. Brian Wilcox, Jr., MD, asked himself a question: "How do I give back to what was given to me?"

The answer brought him to his current role as associate dean of Clinical Affairs and Graduate Medical Education of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine - Nashville. He spent 11 years at the UT Health Science Center in Memphis in the 1980s and 90s. Now he's helping develop the next generation of Tennessee physicians.

Dr. Wilcox chose the university for medical school because it offered the most broad-based training in the state.

"It was the best place to train for somebody who wanted to care for Tennesseans," he says. "In my view, it was perfect."

He completed medical school as well as two residencies in general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery within several Memphis hospitals. Each operated differently with distinct clinical cultures, different operational approaches, and various performance standards. Even within one city, his training spanned wide territory. What shaped him clinically came from his UT Health Sciences professors and clinical instructors.

The shift from clinician to leader wasn't part of his original plan, he says. Health care leadership evolved through opportunities that emerged as he matured in practice and worked within medical staff and community roles. It wasn't what he started in a community-based, clinical, high-acuity practice to do.

"Dr. Wilcox represents exactly what our College of Medicine stands for: a physician trained in Tennessee, who built a career serving Tennesseans and is now helping shape the next generation," says Michael Hocker, MD, executive dean of UT Health Sciences' College of Medicine. "As we grow one College of Medicine across all our campuses, leaders like Dr. Wilcox are essential to expanding training opportunities and strengthening the physician workforce for the entire state. His experience with Ascension Saint Thomas and his deep understanding of academic medicine and health system partnership make him a key part of how we continue to grow in Nashville while advancing our statewide mission."

Tennessee includes 95 counties as one of the longest states geographically in the country. Communities in East Tennessee look different from Middle Tennessee, which looks different from West Tennessee. One location can't capture that range, Dr. Wilcox says. His experience helps him understand what UT Health Sciences offers students and patients today in dozens of counties - training opportunities, career growth, and patient access to quality care stretched across the state.

"A student who makes a choice for UT Health Sciences really has a far more robust statewide series of choices for training during and after medical school," Dr. Wilcox says. "It's a remarkable series of options we offer students, and that's better for students and trainees as well as hospitals, clinics, educators, and patients."

Training benefits everyone involved, Dr. Wilcox emphasizes. He mentions how Ascension's health system gains from the academic drive. Students and trainees get exposure to varied patient populations. Rural Tennessee communities receive better care. Collaborative research is propelled further.

Dr. Wilcox practiced heart surgery in Nashville for almost 25 years. As chief clinical officer for Ascension Saint Thomas in Middle Tennessee, he saw how academic medicine and health system operations could align. When the academic leadership opportunity at UT Health Sciences arose, his background and values matched what the role required.

"That's what really resonates with me," he says. "How do I contribute? How do I give back to what was given to me in a way that prepares Tennesseans for serving additional generations?"

The university and Ascension Saint Thomas have worked together for more than 40 years in Nashville. The partnership started with a single residency program. Ten years ago, it expanded to include multiple residencies and fellowships. The arrangement puts rigorous academic training inside a premier health system serving Middle Tennessee's patient population.

"Within the Ascension Saint Thomas health system in the middle part of the state, we have an extraordinary need for patient care," Dr. Wilcox says. "Our hospitals benefit from the quality our academic partnership with UTHSC brings. It makes us better. And it's better care for patients."

The partnership extends beyond the College of Medicine. Dr. Wilcox sees opportunities to expand relationships with other UT Health Sciences colleges, strengthening workforce development in multiple health care disciplines.

"Ascension Saint Thomas and UT Health Science Center share a decades-long commitment to training physicians who will serve communities across Tennessee," says Fahad Tahir, president and CEO of Ascension Saint Thomas. "Dr. Wilcox understands how education and patient care intersect, and that perspective helps our partnership continue to grow in ways that prepare physicians in training to meet the needs of patients across the state."

The goals are straightforward. Train practitioners, keep them in Tennessee, develop the health care workforce the state needs. If graduates move from Nashville to Memphis or Knoxville after training, that still counts as success, Dr. Wilcox says. They're serving Tennesseans.

Ascension employs thousands of physicians as part of its medical staff, plus thousands more who are nurses and other caregivers. The health system sees UT Health Sciences as critical to creating that workforce while maintaining standards of excellence.

For prospective students, Dr. Wilcox points to the university's unique position as the only institution in the state offering statewide, diverse training access, backed by cost-effective tuition. The majority of Tennessee's clinical workforce was trained by UT Health Sciences, and he wants to contribute to that growing legacy.