Paul Ragan, MD
Early Tenure and Leadership Roles
Dr. Ragan initially joined the faculty as an Associate Professor in 1997 and served until 2012. Throughout this period, he held numerous leadership roles, including serving as the inaugural Director of the Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship Training Program. He also acted as the Director of Substance Abuse Treatment at the Nashville VA Hospital and led the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) Consultation-Liaison Service. He achieved board certification in Consultation-Liaison (C-L) Psychiatry during its inaugural year, and his commitment to service expansion allowed the creation of the fellowship in Psychosomatic Medicine. Additionally, from 1997 to 2014, Dr. Ragan served as the medical director of the WorkLife Connections/Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
Professional Experience Beyond the University
During an 11-year period away from the faculty, Dr. Ragan continued to demonstrate leadership in hospital-based medical detoxification, as medical director of drug and alcohol treatment facilities, contributed to correctional psychiatry, and was appointed as the medical director of a geriatric psychiatric hospital.
Return to Vanderbilt and Current Roles
Dr. Ragan has returned to the faculty as an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. In this capacity, he serves as the attending psychiatrist embedded within the Vanderbilt Comprehensive Care Center.
Education and Early Career
Before his faculty appointment, Dr. Ragan completed his General Residency at the National Naval Medical Center, where he received training in psychodynamic psychotherapy. His service in the United States Navy included both academic and operational responsibilities, including as the Director of Mental Health for the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions during the First Gulf War. Following his military service, Dr. Ragan completed a two-year fellowship in addiction psychiatry at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and worked as a clinical investigator at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA/NIH) for three years. He was later recruited to the Vanderbilt Department of Psychiatry.
Scholarly Interests
Dr. Ragan’s scholarly pursuits focus on understanding how disruptions within the mind-brain-body continuum can illuminate the ways in which individuals construct their models of reality.