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Stephanie Hatcher, MD, Internal Medicine
Assistant Professor
University of Tennessee/Baptist
Hospital Internal Medicine Residency Program

As a specialist in hospital medicine, Dr. Stephanie Hatcher’s work days are divided between clinical care, training young physicians and implementing performance improvement projects.

“I really have the perfect job,” she said. “Caring for acutely ill patients and seeing the immediate impact that lifesaving medical treatment can have, combined with close interaction with a young and energetic house-staff, is very rewarding.”

Many of the patients in Hatcher’s care are indigent and haven’t received regular medical attention.

“When I am seeing them, they are often fearful … not just because of their illness but because of the unknown and dealing with a system they are unfamiliar with,” she noted. “This can be challenging, but I look at it as an opportunity to help alleviate their fears and misconceptions by showing them care and compassion.”

Improving care –– both within the hospital setting and on a broader industry level –– is of keen interest to Hatcher. A member of the inaugural class of the Tennessee Medical Association’s Leadership College, Hatcher has also recently joined the board of the Nashville Academy of Medicine.

“I would like to become more involved in healthcare policy,” she said. “I believe that physicians, rather than politicians or insurance companies, should be helping to shape the future of healthcare in our country.”

Putting her specialized knowledge as a hospitalist to work, Hatcher has worked on numerous quality initiatives. Earlier this year, she was instrumental in implementing a new computer program to standardize patient hand-offs. More recently, she has begun working on an improvement project focused on the removal of Foley catheters.

For Hatcher, the bottom line as a teacher, clinician and patient safety advocate is to truly hear what the patient is saying.

“It is so easy in this day and age of productivity concerns and time constraints to miss that important piece of information that could be monumentally important to the patient,” she pointed out.

She also believes faith plays an important role in her ability to deliver quality care.

“I don’t think healthcare personnel should be fearful of having discussions of faith with patients,” Hatcher said, adding, “A lot of times we kind of suppress that and feel like it’s off limits to talk about.”

While providers have to take cues from patients, she believes faith can be an integral part of the care plan. “I often see patients who are facing devastating diagnoses and terminal illness who are in need of spiritual support. I am fortunate to work in an institution that recognizes this part of a person’s value system.”

Another aspect Hatcher loves about her work at Baptist is being able to split her schedule with another physician to allow more time with husband David and young sons Ethan and Jacob.

“As a wife and mother, balancing career and family is always challenging,” she said. “I work every other week so my time off is truly my time off,” she added of job sharing.

Whenever the family has the opportunity, they escape to their farm in McEwen, Tennessee where there are no phone lines and no television. “It is a slower-paced lifestyle that really allows us to regenerate and enjoy one another,” Hatcher noted.

Recharging is important. After all, there are always new residents to train, patients to care for, initiatives to launch and homework to oversee.



May 2008

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