Kyla P. Terhune, MD, MBA, FACS

Kyla P. Terhune, MD, MBA, FACS, is the Senior Vice President, Education.

An ACS Fellow since 2014, Dr. Terhune has been a professor of surgery and anesthesiology and the associate dean for graduate medical education at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee; senior vice president for educational affairs and the Designated Institutional Official (DIO) at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC); and an associate chief of staff at Vanderbilt University Hospital. She has practiced acute care surgery at VUMC and was previously a staff surgeon and chief of general surgery in the Veterans Administration Tennessee Valley Healthcare System. She also served as program director for surgery residency at Vanderbilt.

After receiving her undergraduate degree in molecular biology from Princeton University in New Jersey, Dr. Terhune taught high school biology and chemistry, and coached basketball before earning her medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She completed her surgery residency and a critical care fellowship at VUMC. Dr. Terhune also earned a master of business administration degree from Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management.

A nationally renowned lecturer, Dr. Terhune has been the recipient of several distinguished teaching awards, including the inaugural David Leach Award from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the Philip J. Wolfson Outstanding Teacher Award from the Association for Surgical Education. She is a past president of the Association of Program Directors in Surgery, was a founding officer of the National Association of DIOs, and serves on the ACGME Board of Directors and on committees for the National Board of Medical Examiners.