Building a Dream Team to Change Medical Education in Southern Nevada
Meet Victoria VanMeetren, Special Assistant to the Dean & GENESIS Business Development
Vicky VanMeetren is a long-term resident of Southern Nevada with an impressive and varied 30+ year career in healthcare. Starting first as a Registered Nurse after graduating from UNLV, VanMeetren then pursued a healthcare administration degree, later earning an MBA with her sights on her ultimate goal to become a hospital president.
A longtime employee of both Valley Health system & Dignity Health, VanMeetren was instrumental in the design and build of the Siena campus of St. Rose and the San Martin Campus’ before she ultimately became president of St. Rose’s San Martin campus, a position she held for the hospital’s first ten years.
Today, VanMeetren works closely with the Dean of Roseman University College of Medicine, Dr. Pedro “Joe” Greer, who is reimaging medical education in Southern Nevada with a proprietary program called GENESIS that gives credence to social determinants of health and teaches future doctors and medical professionals to treat the whole household with sensitivity to cultural and community needs.
According to VanMeetren, her role in helping to establish an innovative and forward-thinking medical school in Southern Nevada is the ultimate capstone to what has already been an interesting and rewarding healthcare career.
“Just as I was 30 years ago when I first became a nurse, I am driven by my desire to help people in their most vulnerable time,” said VanMeetren. “It’s no secret we need more doctors to treat our growing population. By recruiting locally and helping local diverse students to reach their potential, we will help to fill the pipeline with young doctors who want to stay close to home and give back to their community. It’s a simple but critical model.”
Particularly as many Southern Nevada physicians are nearing retirement, VanMeetren believes the time is right for Roseman to join other valley medical schools, including UNLV and Touro, to begin to train and prepare a whole new generation of doctors. “We enjoy a very good relationship with Nevada’s other medical schools – we are all working toward the same goal: to develop more doctors and healthcare workers who we hope will stay in Southern Nevada and improve the healthcare in our valley and state. “
VanMeetren is also working to recruit physician leaders in our community to share their knowledge with the next generation of our valley’s doctors. “It’s a tactic that’s working and one that gives many of our local doctors the opportunity to end their careers in a very meaningful way that will uplift our entire community.”
VanMeetren, who sits on several local boards as a prominent community leader, says this is a full circle moment for her. In 1999 when Roseman was in its infancy as a Henderson-based pharmacy school, she helped to facilitate the incorporation of pharmacy clinical rotations for Roseman students in Dignity Health hospitals.
Today, the same reason she entered healthcare continues to guide her current work. She remains steadfastly committed to ensure all Las Vegans, including the underserved, and high-risk have access to quality healthcare via caring and well-trained healthcare professionals. At Roseman, she believes that is possible.
