Myrick C. Shinall, Jr., MD, PhD, FACS
Dr. Shinall joined our surgical faculty in the Vanderbilt Division of General Surgery after completing his fellowship in hospice and palliative medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Dr. Shinall is a board-certified general surgeon who completed his general surgery residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He is also board-certified in hospice and palliative medicine from the American Board of Surgery. He is a member of the American College of Surgeons, the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, the American Geriatrics Society, and the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities. In addition to broad-based elective and emergency general surgery, his clinical interests include palliative surgery and palliative care consultation.
Research
Dr. Shinall's primary research interests are in using health services research methodologies to identify surgical patients who benefit from early consultation of palliative care specialists. His work is currently funded by the NIH Paul B. Beeson Emerging Leaders Career Development Award in Aging. His past work has been supported by a GEMSSTAR Award from the National Institute on Aging and a K12 Career Development Award from the National Cancer Institute via the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center (VICC). In addition to his work in health services research, Dr. Shinall also has a strong interest in biomedical ethics and humanities and is a faculty member of Vanderbilt's Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society. He is currently the principal investigator of the Surgery for Cancer with Option of Palliative Care Expert (SCOPE) Trial (NCT03436290). He has published his work in the Annals of Surgery, JAMA Surgery, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, and Health Affairs. He has served on the editorial boards of PC-FACS and the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management and has been a member of the AAHPM Research Committee and the Health Services Quality and Effectiveness study section of the NIH. His work has been recognized through an AAHPM Research Scholars Award, an NIH Rising Star Award, and a VICC Star Award. Further information on his research program can be found at https://surgicalpalliativecarelab.org.
Education
Dr. Shinall received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University, Cambridge, MA and his medical degree from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN. Concurrent with his medical degree, he earned a Masters of Divinity from Vanderbilt Divinity School. During his surgical residency he earned a Ph.D. in religion from Vanderbilt University’s Graduate School.