Anupama Patil

Vanderbilt University, Owen Graduate School of Management

“Pathologist-MBA bridging the lab and the boardroom to improve healthcare.”

Hometown: Pondicherry, India

Fun Fact About Yourself: Trained Indian classical dancer and certified open-water scuba diver.

Undergraduate School and Major: Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER), India – MBBS (equivalent to U.S. MD)

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Consultant Hematopathologist, Dr Rela Institute & Medical Center, Chennai, India

What has been your favorite part of Nashville so far? Why? Nashville has the perfect duality – it’s big enough that I’m never bored, but not so big that I feel lost. As an international student, I was worried about adjusting to a new city, but Nashville made it easy. Whether it’s discovering a new restaurant, catching live music on Broadway, or just exploring a different neighborhood, there’s always something to do without the city ever feeling overwhelming. It’s a place that lets you find your rhythm quickly, and that’s made all the difference in making it feel like home.

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of Vanderbilt Owen’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Owen’s Healthcare concentration stood out because it teaches strategy, operations, and policy within real healthcare systems – not in the abstract. As a physician, I spent years focused on what happens at the patient level, but I kept seeing how decisions made far from the patient (around financing, staffing, delivery models), shaped the care that could be provided. I came to Owen specifically to understand that side of healthcare. The fact that Nashville is a healthcare hub means I’m not just learning from textbooks – I’m surrounded by the industry. For someone making the jump from clinical medicine into the business of healthcare, that combination was a perfect fit.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at Vanderbilt Owen? The course I’ve enjoyed most so far is Leading Teams & Organizations with Professor Vogus. In medicine, I was trained in rigid hierarchies where decisions flow from the top down. This course challenged me to rethink leadership by exploring more collaborative and adaptive approaches through cases and class discussions. I began to understand how effective leaders build alignment across teams, a skill very different from what medical training emphasizes. That shift in perspective has been one of the most valuable takeaways from Owen and will shape how I lead going forward.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: During COVID, supply shortages and staffing cuts threatened to halt our hospital’s diagnostic operations when testing was most critical. With only a third of the usual staff, I helped sustain capacity by sourcing alternative reagents, coordinating across departments, and redesigning workflows to keep pace with surging demand. It required fast decisions under pressure while ensuring quality never slipped, because behind every test was a patient whose treatment depended on it.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far? As an Admissions & Recruiting Fellow, I get to connect with prospective students as they work through their MBA decision. I genuinely enjoy those conversations, whether virtually, or during campus visits, because I remember how much they mattered when I was in their shoes. Being able to share my experience at Owen and help candidates figure out if the program is the right fit for them has been incredibly rewarding. What’s surprised me most is how many of those conversations have turned into real relationships that go well beyond the admissions process.

What has been your best memory as an MBA so far? One of my favorite MBA memories so far was the Diwali party organized by the South Asian Business Club. Seeing the Owen community show up, try the delicious Indian food, learn about the traditions, and jump into the dancing made it an unforgettable night. As an international student, getting to share a piece of my culture with classmates who were genuinely curious and excited to be part of it meant a lot. It was one of those moments where Owen really felt like home.

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