Robert Miller, MD, FACP
Associate Program Director | Blue Firm
After only four years of living in New Orleans attending Tulane School of Medicine, I could not imagine continuing my training at any other residency program. Staring down my rank list, I realized that while Internal Medicine may have been a natural fit for me, I was truly excited about my future training and career due to the special people surrounding this medicine program. As a student, I had the opportunity to work alongside residents and staff who devote themselves daily to patient care and medical education without losing their personality and moral compass. The residents’ respectful, devoted camaraderie left an indelible impression on me, and on the interview trail as a fourth-year, I never saw another program with such a culture.
I was fortunate to match at Tulane and spend three years in this program. Working with such a diverse, selfless, inspiring group of co-residents made the tough training more than tolerable – they were fun, formative years I would never trade. This team provides exceptional medical care with professionalism and dignity--we believe in each other and in our mission to provide the best care for any patient regardless of their demographics or ability to pay. We are also lucky to train under the mentorship of fantastic faculty, whose clinical coaching and fostering of Tulane Medicine’s culture drives our program’s success and prepares our individual residents for successful careers in medicine and lives outside of it. I then had the honor of serving the program as Blue Firm Chief Resident, contributing back to the residency program that has richly given to me both professionally and personally. This year also fostered an interest in academic medicine and residency education.
Now, as an Associate Program Director, I work with the Blue firm alongside its Chief Resident in maximizing our residents’ personal development with structured feedback, curriculum development, and professional mentorship. I am available to my team for anything that may come up. I also advise on the annual firm quality improvement project with the goal of improving the medical care of our patients. I also serve as the Chair of the Resident Education Committee and Director of the Pathway to Distinction in Hospital Medicine, reflecting my interests in graduate medical education, curriculum development, and academic hospital medicine.
My clinical time is spent as a hospitalist provider for the VA – the complexity and severity of disease and rich diversity of the population makes patient care both challenging and rewarding. This setting is fertile soil for growth and development of outstanding clinicians, and I enjoy empowering resident and student trainees to deliver exceptional patient-centered care and to develop their skills in a collaborative, educational atmosphere on my wards teams.
It is a privilege to continue being part of this great team, working alongside its residents, fellow faculty, and other program leadership. I work to continue and enrich this program’s great tradition of producing medicine residents that are not only good doctors but good people as well.
Robert S. Miller, MD, FACP
rmiller8@tulane.edu
Erica Tate, MD
Associate Program Director | Orange Firm
I grew up in Southern California and for much of my life I honestly believed that was where I would always stay. I went to medical school at UCLA. Then UCLA- Olive View for residency and stayed for a chief year. However, at the end of my residency I wanted to branch out and work in a new part of the country.
When I first came to the city of New Orleans, I was warned by faculty who had come to Tulane from outside institutions that it was a place that was hard to leave. Something about New Orleans takes hold of you, and it really becomes your new home. The people of New Orleans are welcoming, the music, art, and food are unlike any other US city. They were right; I couldn’t imagine practicing or living anywhere else.
Tulane’s Internal Medicine program provided me an opportunity to serve the New Orleans community. I believe that physicians have a unique opportunity to provide health education, outreach, and support to communities often overlooked. We have a voice and resources that many of our patients do not, and we can be their allies and advocates.
In my years at Tulane, I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside wonderful residents and faculty; they’re another reason why I’ve stayed. From the COVID pandemic to hurricane Ida, I have been repeatedly impressed by the intelligence, resilience, and compassion of the residents and faculty in our program. Tulane physicians are committed to the mission of improving medical care for the community.
In addition to being a primary care physician, I proudly serve as the Associate Program Director for the Orange Firm. I thoroughly enjoy teaching and guiding house staff throughout their residency. In our residency program, we help create specific plans for residents to foster their future specialties, goals, and careers. We aim to create compassionate, intelligent, and resourceful physicians.
I also serve as the faculty advisor for the Tulane Internal Medicine Diversity and Community Engagement Committee and lead the Racism and Bias in Medicine Curriculum. The residents in this program not only learn how to navigate a hospital or a clinic, but they also understand the social determinants of health effecting patient care. As a result, they become active participants in their city’s broader community.
Tulane IM creates uniquely qualified residents that can work in various settings with various resources. If you have any more questions about this program, please feel free to reach out. I am happy to give you more information about the good we can do in this program and for the wonderful city we serve. I believe the only way our program can continue to grow and improve is through diverse, creative, and forward-thinking applicants.
Erica Tate, MD
etate1@tulane.edu
Kristin Bateman, MD
Associate Program Director | Green Firm
The best piece of advice that I was given when I was applying for residency was to pick a program where the residents are friends outside of work. Regardless of where you go to residency, you will learn the nuts and bolts of internal medicine. For me, I wanted to know that I was making an impact in the community with my best friends and colleagues, which is exactly what I got when I completed residency at Tulane.
I am a die-hard Philadelphia Phan – I grew up in the Philly suburbs, went to undergraduate and medical school in Philly, and continue to cheer for all Philly teams above all others (which does not please my husband nor any of my Tulane colleagues when the Eagles play the Saints). I knew that I needed to leave Philly for residency, and I figured I would move back after three years (and clearly I was wrong). I wanted to live in a new city, experience internal medicine in a new environment, and go outside my comfort zone. I honestly applied to Tulane knowing nothing about the program, and having never been to New Orleans.
I chose Tulane for residency because of the people. I remember going to the recruitment dinner the night before my interview, and I wanted to be friends with the residents there. I could tell that they were not just co-workers, but family. And having graduated from the residency, I can confirm that my co-residents are my best friends to this day. We helped each other care for sick patients, unwind after a difficulty patient encounter, and support each other during major life events.
In addition to the people, I chose Tulane for residency because Tulane helps mold you into the physician you want to be. I made medical decisions for my patients during resident rounds prior to discussion with my attending, which helped me transition easily to becoming a hospitalist. I developed chalk talks during our lighter call days, and practiced them with my interns and medical students. I learned approaches to all types of medical problems through afternoon report (when I didn’t have to worry about seeing all of my patients before rounds) and Monday/Friday school with my friends. During Monday school, in addition to learning from my colleagues while working through mystery cases, I also had opportunities to practice teaching those around me too.
On top of the education, I love Tulane because I get to live in New Orleans. Not only do I get to take care of the resilient people of New Orleans across three different hospital systems, but I also get to stand beside them at festivals throughout the year. I love this city, and I love Tulane Internal Medicine Residency because the residency introduced me to this whole new world.
Because of everything this program has offered me, I am thrilled to get to give back to the program as an Associate Program Director. Particularly, I enjoy teaching, which I get to do every Monday while teaching board review to the residents, and regularly during inpatient rounds and afternoon chalk talks with the house staff and students. I love getting to know my Green Firm interns and residents, and learning about all of the different ways they are helping the community and becoming amazing physicians, while I get to help coach them through these years of training. And I get to coach with some of my best friends from residency, in this wonderful city I now call home.
Kristin Bateman, MD
kbateman@tulane.edu
Luke Taggart, MD
Associate Program Director | Yellow Firm
What do I love about the program? That’s easy – it’s my team. They are a very hard-working crew who are inspiring to be around every day. I am impressed on a daily basis with what they are able to accomplish as individuals and as a group. This blue-collar approach to work and selfless attitude they exhibit push me to keep getting better.
Residency moves fast and you will grow more during this time – both as a physician and as a person – possibly more than any other time in your career. My time in training is memorable because of the residents working beside me in the hospital and the coaching I received at Tulane. I was well prepared to practice hospital medicine after residency and have been lucky enough to get the chance to return as faculty.
We believe as APDs, a coach’s job is to put their players in a position to succeed – to help them stay on the path to accomplish what they set out to do.
If you are ready to work and looking for a place where you can make a difference from day one, come down and see us. I would love to hear how we can help get you where you want to go.
Jerald "Luke" Taggart, MD
jtaggart@tulane.edu
Anthony Marsh, MD
Associate Program Director | Red Firm
I love my job and our team at Tulane. I moved to New Orleans for residency and I knew immediately Tulane was my home upon meeting everyone on interview day. I was drawn to the dynamic. It was evident I was surrounded by people who liked each other, respected one another, looked out for and took care of each other. I knew I wanted to be a part of that team.
After residency, I had the opportunity to stay involved with the Tulane team. My clinical duties include staffing the resident primary care clinic at our VA clinical site. Primary care is at the forefront of health care delivery and coordination, and there is need for innovative and thoughtful individuals to lead care delivery into the future. My goal is to help develop resident leaders, help instill the necessary clinical skills and boost resident confidence in ambulatory and primary care.
I also serve as one of your assistant coaches, or Associate Program Directors for the Ray (Red) Firm. At Tulane we believe everyone should set the intention to develop coaching plans for personal and professional growth no matter what level of training or performance. This creates a process for reviewing career goals and assisting with how to get you from point A to your point B.
At Tulane, you’ll find an emphasis on teaching residents how to think not just what to think, an intention to cultivate an environment of resident autonomy and support, responsibility, and service. I am proud of our team and feel strongly that we develop not just good doctors, but good people and future leaders.
We speak to and maintain our values through developing shared roles, goals and expectations in and of the program. We are firmly dedicated to reviewing and fostering an inclusive atmosphere of diverse individuals rooted in our belief on the importance of striving towards becoming an anti-racist community.
As you contemplate the next step in your journey, I suggest you come see how we do things down in New Orleans. I am confident you will find a program built on support of one another, and service to our community. We look forward to you joining our Tulane IM team!
Anthony Marsh, MD
amarsh6@tulane.edu
Adrian Baudy, MD
Associate Program Director | Subspecialties
When I first visited Tulane, I knew this program was different. I came here in 2009 as a resident and haven’t left since. The city, the people, and the connections I’ve made is why. This is a world-class 'little-big' city with a Caribbean-cool feeling that I was lucky enough to grow up in.
During my residency I felt like Tulane was my home. I loved talking to my patients about where they 'make groceries', which snoball stand was the best, who made the best gumbo, or what they thought about the Saints game. I also looked at my firm as my family and I was excited to meet up with them every week for Friday school. After residency, I decided to stay at Tulane for my fellowship training and I joined the faculty in 2014.
In addition to my role as associate program director, I serve as the Nephrology fellowship training program director and medical director to a dialysis unit less than a mile where I grew up.
There are tons of IM programs out there, but there are very few that focus on being a part of the community that we serve. We are looking to not only create good doctors but help to develop better people.
