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Margaret “Meg” Rush, MD, Chief of Staff
Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt

Growing up in Ohio, Meg Rush was exposed to health professions through a co-ed Explorer Troop based out of the VA Hospital. “Each night after the meeting, I came home with a new career choice,” she recalled.


Although physician was on the list, it really took a father’s nudging to get her to commit.

“I can remember having these long conversations,” Rush said of sailing with her dad while on family vacations. On one outing her father asked why she wasn’t thinking about medical school since she clearly loved healthcare. She replied there weren’t very many female physicians, and she didn’t know how she’d manage a doctor’s hours with motherhood.

Rush recalled him telling her, “You’ll just sort of have to figure that out, but you’re the kind of person who can.”

… And so she did.

Rush, a neonatologist, and her husband, Charlie, both graduated from the University of Cincinnati Medical School, where they were in the first group nationally to participate in the “couples match” aimed at keeping married physicians in the same city or program. Happily, the two matched at Vanderbilt, where they continue to practice today.

“First, I consider it a privilege to care for children and to partner with families to ensure the best possible outcomes whether in my clinical home of the NICU or as I work with families on other services as Chief of Staff,” she said. “Second, I love the people with whom I work. I am blessed to work with some of the best pediatric subspecialists in the country. I believe we have some of the most dedicated physicians, nurses and staff and that we all share essentially one goal –– making a difference in the lives of children.”

Despite her teenage fears, Rush did figure out a way to balance the dual demands of home and hospital. She and Charlie juggle the busy schedules of two doctors and two teenage daughters, Katie and Libby.

“Often our family time is meal time, even if it’s at 8:45 p.m. when everyone is finally home,” she said. “We enjoy sharing in each other’s lives … the ups and the downs.”

Although Rush is the first to admit time management remains one of her biggest challenges, she also says multi-tasking is among her strengths … so ultimately, it balances out.

In addition to the central role of caring for patients and leading the staff, she also loves having the opportunity to work with the next generation of pediatricians and neonatologists.

For Rush, there have been many mentors and role models that she credits in helping her move forward professionally and personally including Dr. Mildred Stahlman and the late Dr. Tom Hazinski. Today, she serves as a role model and mentor to many in her capacity as Chief of Staff.

“While I am certainly not the wisest person in healthcare, I have learned from my experiences … sometimes the hard way,” she noted wryly. Rush often passes along this bit of hard-earned wisdom, “Discover your passion and/or talent and follow it for as long as you can but recognize that it might change. When this happens, be willing to let go of one passion and follow a new one. Be kind to yourself by recognizing you cannot do or know everything. Finally … and perhaps most importantly … take time for yourself and those you love each and every day because if you don’t do this, you won’t be able to nurture your passion.”



May 2008

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