Susan “Nicki” Hastings, MD, MHS, will assume the role of chief for the Division of General Internal Medicine, effective December 16, 2024.
Dr. Hasting’s clinical and academic interests in health science research build on the legacy of former division chiefs, Dr. Eugene Oddone and Dr. Ebony Boulware.
Dr. Hastings is a professor of Medicine and Vice Chief for Research in the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Care, a professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences, and a senior fellow in the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development. She is Director of the Center of Innovation to Accelerate Discovery and Practice Transformation or ADAPT at the Durham VA Health Care System.
A graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Dr. Hastings completed her residency and chief residency at Stanford University before coming to Duke for geriatrics fellowship and joining the faculty in 2006.
Dr. Hastings' research focuses on improving health care delivery for older adults with complex care needs. She has led multiple pragmatic randomized controlled trials, implementation studies, and quality improvement initiatives related to hospital and emergency department use, medication safety, and identifying and mitigating threats to functional independence among older adults.
In 2022 she received the inaugural Veterans Health Administration National Diffusion Award for her work in translating research findings into meaningful practice change. Dr. Hastings has mentored more than 40 aspiring health services researchers including VA and NIH career development awardees, postdoctoral fellows, medical residents, and graduate students. She is a previous recipient of Duke’s Joseph C. Greenfield, Jr. Research Mentorship Award (2019) and the Department of Medicine Research Mentoring Award (2024).
Most recently, Dr. Hastings has been clinically active at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center seeing patients in both the inpatient and ambulatory environment.