Marvin McBride was always interested in science and people. In medicine, he merged these two interests. After graduating from Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC, he attended Duke Medical School.
During his medical training, Dr. McBride gravitated towards family medicine. As a result, he completed a family medicine residency at the University of Virginia. Part of his attraction to family medicine was the challenge of dealing with all sorts of people and a range of medical issues.
Near the end of those years in family medicine, Dr. McBride became more and more involved in medical administration. So after 13 years in clinical work, he pivoted into the corporate side of healthcare.
During those first years on the corporate world, he got his MBA from Kenan-Flagler Business School’s evening Executive MBA program. At the same time, Dr. McBride served as a medical director for several health insurance companies. He also served as the chief medical officer of two other companies. In total, Dr. McBride spent 13 years on the non-clinical side of the healthcare world.
That phase of his career exposed him to the needs of older patients. As Dr. McBride says, “As a medical executive, I was involved in providing care and care management for high risk members of managed Medicare and Medicaid health plans.” In his various roles, he gained firsthand experience with seniors’ need for specialized physician care. Dr. McBride saw older people dealing with multiple complex medical problems. As a result, he recognized the need for health care systems to provide multifaceted and nuanced care for older adults.
In 2013, Dr. McBride pivoted back into clinical care. He came to UNC for his geriatric fellowship, thus switching his focus to from family medicine to geriatric medicine. When asked what he finds most rewarding about his work these days, Dr. McBride says, “It’s most rewarding to become a trusted partner with patients and their families as they negotiate the senior years. I also enjoy training young physicians.”
Dr. Marvin McBride is currently an Assistant Professor in the Division of Geriatric Medicine, the Medical Director for The Cedars of Chapel Hill Retirement Community and the Assistant Medical Director at Parkview Nursing and Rehabilitation.