Associate Chair for Clinical Operations, Hem Bhardwaj, MD
Dr. Bhardwaj completed her undergraduate degree at the College of William and Mary, followed by her MD and internal medicine residency training at the University of Virginia. She received her Cardiology fellowship training here at VCU and joined our faculty in 2011 as an Assistant Professor. She is now an Associate Professor and serves as Vice Chair of Operations and Quality for the Division of Cardiology and as Director of the Echocardiography Lab. Her clinical expertise is in imaging and critical care Cardiology. She has served as the director of the inpatient and consultation services and quality director for the Division of Cardiology since 2015. Dr. Bhardwaj has led multiple collaborative hospital-wide operational projects related to optimizing throughput of patients, key performance indicators (KPIs), and patient satisfaction. As part of her operational and quality expertise, she was selected to participate in the Langston Quality Scholars Program in 2016 where she led initial hospital-wide efforts on the implementation of interdisciplinary rounds. She was also selected to participate in the Grace E. Harris Leadership Program here at VCU and graduated in 2021. Dr. Bhardwaj serves as a member of the VCU Health System Authority Board.
In addition to her clinical and operational expertise, Dr. Bhardwaj is committed to the education of learners of all levels, including medical students, house staff, and fellows. She received an outstanding teacher award in 2020 for the M2 Cardiovascular course. She has been highly involved in the Cardiology fellowship program, participating in the fellowship evaluation and competency committee since 2014. Dr. Bhardwaj is also significantly involved in hospital-wide committees, including the Utilization Management Committee, Clinical Alarms Committee, and Enterprise Sonography Committee. She led the Division of Cardiology in the EMR transition to EPIC and continues as a specialty champion. She has presented on the local and regional level on echocardiography and in women's cardiovascular health. Dr. Bhardwaj is highly involved in the Heart Health in Women Symposium as a committee member and moderator for the yearly conference. Her leadership extends regionally as she has been chosen to be the mission chair for this year's Go Red for Women Campaign for the American Heart Association, where she will steward the direction and vision of the campaign mission.