Academic Partnership Council

James H. Quillen College of Medicine

Academic Partnership Council Membership

2012-2013

MEMBER DEPARTMENT TERM COMMENTS
Philip Bagnell, MD Dean of Medicine ex officio chair
T. Watson Jernigan, MD Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology and
Assoc Dean for Clinical Affairs 		ex officio  
George Brown, MD Chief, Psychiatry Service, VA ex officio non-voting
David Hecht, MD Chief of Staff, VA ex officio  
Charlene Ehret Director, Veterans Affairs Medical Center ex officio non-voting
Ronald Hamdy, MD Assoc Chief of Staff Extended Care, VA ex officio non-voting
Roger Jones, MD Chief of Medical Service, VA ex officio non-voting
Pradeep Kumar, MD Chief of Radiation Oncology Service, VA ex officio non-voting
Thomas Massello, MD Chief of Surgical Service, VA ex officio non-voting
Jimmy McGlawn Assoc Medical Center Director, VA ex officio non-voting
Louis Cancellaro, MD (Interim) Chair, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences ex officio  
Linda McConnell, RN Assoc Director for Patient/Nursing Services ex officio non-voting
I. William Browder, MD Chair, Surgery ex officio  
Steve Loyd, MD
Chief of Staff for Education, VA
ex officio
non-voting
John Schweitzer, MD Chair, Pathology ex officio  
Mousa Al-Abbadi, MD Chief of Laboratory Service, VA ex officio  
Wendy Nehring, RN, PhD Dean, College of Nursing ex officio  
Greg Wilgocki, Macc, CPA Assoc VP for Finance & Administration ex officio non-voting
George Youngberg, MD Research Coordinator, VA ex officio non-voting
J. Kelly Smith, MD (Interim) Chair, Internal Medicine ex officio


STRUCTURE

The Academic Partnership Council is appointed by the VA Director and is comprised of deans and senior faculty members of the affiliated medical and dental schools and other academic institutions as appropriate, representative(s) of the full-time medical/dental staffs of the VA facility, and such other faculty of the affiliated schools and staff of the VA facility as are appropriate to consider and advise on the full range of the committee's responsibilities. Veterans service organization representation is strongly recommended. Affiliations between the VA facilities and educational institutions offering programs in associated health professions other than medicine and dentistry have been highly productive. In view of the growing importance of these professional groups in modern health care, the Academic Partnership Council is encouraged to include representatives of these schools among its membership. The selection of appropriate representatives from among the non-medical/dental schools will be based on the nature and extent of their educational activities in the VA facility. The council membership should include representatives of those health care professions in which major training programs are conducted at the VA facility. Nominees acceptable to the VA facility director will be appointed by letter. A copy of each appointment letter will be sent to the chair.

The dean of the affiliated medical school or the vice president for health affairs of the university will be the chair of the Academic Partnership Council.

Representatives of the affiliated academic institutions and the VA facility are nominated by letter from the chair of the Academic Partnership Council to the VA Director. Nominees acceptable to the VA Director will be appointed.

Representatives of the full-time (8/8ths) VA physician/dentist staff are nominated by a letter from the chair of the Academic Partnership Council to the VA Director. Nominees acceptable to the VA Director will be appointed.

Temporary appointments to the Academic Partnership Council for acting department chairs at the affiliated medical school and acting chiefs of service at the VA facilities are made by a letter from the chair of the council to the individual. All temporary appointments will terminate automatically when temporary appointees are replaced by permanent appointees.

The VA Director, associate director, chief of staff, chief of nursing service, and others they may designate are ex officio members without vote and will be in regular attendance at Academic Partnership Council meetings. The council should also include personnel involved in the administration of education and research as associate chief of staff for education, associate chief of staff for research and development, and the chiefs of the four major medical services (medicine, surgery, neurology, and psychiatry). Others may also be designated by the VA Director. Appointment is made by a letter from the council chair to the individual.

Veterans service organizations representation is very strongly recommended. It is important that communication be maintained between affiliated academic institutions and the veterans service organizations. The VA Director is in a key position to establish such communication at the local level and is encouraged to find effective ways of accomplishing this goal. A representative of the veterans service organizations should be appointed as an ex officio, non-voting member of the Academic Partnership Council by a letter from the chair to the individual. Representation of the consumers of VA health services should provide an important contribution to the overall understanding of the VA's goals for patient care, education, and research.

At the chair's discretion, other employees of the VA and representative members of the VA house staff may be invited to attend as participants/observers in order that their opinions may be considered. These participants/observers may attend regularly, but they may not be voting members.

The VA Director will acknowledge by letter the newly appointed dean or vice president for health affairs as chair of the Academic Partnership Council.

CHARGE

The Academic Partnership Council shall have as its charge the evaluation of strategic and operational issues which materially affect the academic relationship between the College of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The council will serve in an advisory capacity to both the Director of the VA and the Dean of the College of Medicine.