In high school, Christina Cain-Swope fell in love with the beauty of the Spanish language and dreamt of travelling the world as a diplomat, stationed at the embassy in Madrid or Lisbon.

At Father Ryan Academy in Nashville, where she ran cross country track and was involved in Model U.N., Mock Trial and Youth Legislature activities, her Spanish teacher inspired her to really learn to speak and understand Spanish and not “just phone it in.”

She continued her studies at Vanderbilt University, where she worked on the Alternative Spring Break program and practiced her language skills in Spain for a semester. She graduated from Vanderbilt magna cum laude with a degree in Latin American and Iberian Studies and was selected for Phi Beta Kappa along the way. Her path seemed right on track to pursue her diplomatic career.

Then, while Cain-Swope was still in college, she stayed at the hospital with a friend who was having her first baby. It turned out to be a life changing experience for Cain-Swope, as well as mother and baby.

“The doctors and nurses in the room were amazing — calm and comforting. The entire experience was uplifting and energizing so I decided to get involved with people like that.”

Cain-Swope changed her course and applied to medical school. She graduated from Georgetown University Medical School in Washington D.C., where she was inducted into the schools’ prestigious academic honor society, Alpha Omega Alpha.

She returned to Nashville to complete her training as a house officer in obstetrics and gynecology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and received the Housestaff Clinical Teaching Award given annually by the student body at the medical school.

Well-known in the Tennessee medical community, Cain-Swope is currently focusing on gynecologic surgery, contraception and endocrine issues.

Last month, after several years in private practice, she moved to the position of associate professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Vanderbilt Center for Women’s Health, based at Vanderbilt Health One Hundred Oaks facility.

She recalled, “(my) first ‘paycheck’ job was dipping ice cream at the Bressler’s located in the old 100 Oaks Mall when I was about 15 or 16 years old — so working in this facility again is like coming full circle!”

 Cain-Swope continued, “The move to Vanderbilt just felt right. I needed to edge away from private practice a little and expand out to the public a bit more. Vanderbilt is my home away from home — especially after my time here as an undergrad, years as an OB/GYN resident, and now as an attending MD here.

“I will be teaching and mentoring in the Resident Clinic, just like Dr. Cox on Scrubs — only I’m meaner than he is!” she said with a laugh. “This is the part of the job that I am most excited about,” she added on a more serious note.

Cain-Swope has increasingly turned her attention to issues impacting the broader population. She was recently appointed by Mayor Karl Dean to the seven member panel of “the convention of medical physicians” required by law to recommend qualified candidates for the position of Davidson County Medical Examiner. The convention will recommend one or two candidates to the mayor, who will then submit the nominee to the Metro Council for confirmation.

She is also a new member of the board of directors of the Tennessee Justice Center (TJC), a non-profit public interest law and advocacy firm serving the poor. In announcing Cain-Swope’s connection to the TJC, Michele Johnson, managing attorney, commented,  “Dr. Cain-Swope’s extraordinary gifts will be a great asset to TJC families. Her medical expertise, strong faith, and experiences as a mother will provide our board of directors with unique and critical insights.” 

Cain-Swope said, “They are a wonderful group, and I’m very proud to be a part of what they do … especially for patients in need.”

In her ‘spare time,’ Cain-Swope likes to hike and camp with her family. “We are on a mission to see all the national parks.” Over the next few years, you’ll find husband, Bobby, who keeps the home fires tended, and their children — Melody, age 15; Abbey, 11; and Miles, 8 — around campfires across the country, checking off names from Acadia to Zion.

As Cain-Swope looks to the future, she said she is “excited and hopeful for the changes in the healthcare system. Fully realizing that very smart and nice people disagree with me, I believe that access to affordable, quality healthcare should be the right of all people.”

She continued, “I want to contribute in some way to assure that kind of future for my children and everybody else’s children. I want to help bring about change in this country’s healthcare system that will have a lasting impact on the generations that come after me. This issue is uncomfortably polarizing. I face that fact daily with peers, friends, family, and patients. A lot of my fellow physicians did not want to become a lightening rod in the healthcare reform debate, and that is understandable.

“But I’m ready to do what I can to help the uninsured and medically needy. I want to know that the thousands of babies I have delivered will grow up knowing that quality, affordable healthcare is their right,” she concluded.

Much of her practice has always provided care for uninsured patients. Her special love is for the Hispanic population, to whom she has reached out in many ways to provide treatment and healthcare management.

So in a way, her early ambition has been fulfilled as she now serves as an ambassador delivering good healthcare to mothers who share the language she loves.

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