Alumnus James C. Loden ‘stuck to the plan’ and built a thriving practice
Leading Nashville ophthalmologist works to treat employees and patients alike with honesty and respect.
Janel Shoun-Smith | 615-966-7078 |
Lipscomb alumnus Dr. James C. Loden, an ophthalmological surgeon and the owner of Loden Vision Centers.
Dr. James C. Loden (BS ’87) was always bound for the family business.
He grew up watching his father, the late Dr. James P. Loden (BS ’52), a nationally recognized ophthalmologist and onetime member of the Lipscomb Board of Trustees, treat his patients and operate his own practice in Nashville.
“I had the ability to shadow an ophthalmologist my entire life,” said Loden, “So I knew what the doctor’s life was like. I had no misconceptions.”
Loden entered Lipscomb, a university with a reputation of getting students into medical school, firmly knowing that he wanted to be an eye surgeon as well, and Lipscomb did not disappoint. Loden mentions Oliver Yates (BA ’56) and Paul Langford as influences on his path.
“I met with them my freshman year and we outlined a program. They said, ‘this is what you need to do to get into med school,’ and I stuck with the program,” said Loden.
After receiving a medical degree from the University of Tennessee and completing residencies and fellowships in corneal transplants, LASIK and anterior segment reconstructive surgeries, he intended to take over his father’s practice, but due to his father’s untimely death, he ended up starting his own practice in 1999.
Twenty-five years, 120 employees and five Loden Vision Center offices later, Loden is recognized among the top 10% of Lifestyle Lens surgeons in the U.S. and was the first surgeon in Tennessee to perform laser cataract surgery. Loden has five offices in both urban and more rural Tennessee areas: Goodlettsville, Gallatin, Smyrna, Paris and Nashville.
He also serves as the clinical assistant professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s College of Medicine in the Department of Ophthalmology, hosts interns from the Southern College of Optometry and travels to national and international conferences to lecture on his medical work.
Besides those formal academic roles, Loden also donates his time to speak with students hoping to pursue medicine, having spoken at Lipscomb’s physician-in-residence program in 2023, allowing students to shadow him and to intern at his practice as well as inviting high school students to his offices for the day.
Loden entered Lipscomb, a university with a reputation of getting students into medical school, firmly knowing that he wanted to be an eye surgeon, following in his father's footsteps.
His focus when mentoring or speaking with students is to give them a glimpse into just how rigorous medical school is compared to high school and undergraduate studies, he said. Not only are the academic expectations at a much higher level, but the competition among the students is also at much greater levels.
“To be highly successful in medical school, students need to get comfortable with discomfort,” he sums up. “Those who will succeed are those who can deal with failure but who hate failing enough that they will work harder and persevere when others won’t.”
Loden seems built to be a physician-businessperson, as he loves doing surgery and growing his business, and that’s key for any future doctor, he said. They need to truly enjoy both types of work.
“I love being able to produce exceptional outcomes on a consistent basis,” he said, noting that in ophthalmology, providers get to observe instant improvement in their patients. His practice has performed more than 50,000 refractive procedures in its lifetime.
Loden and his two surgeons at the practice are often tapped to participate in FDA clinical studies, such as one study that led to FDA approval for Tecnis Symfony Lens®, an extended-depth-of-focus lens for cataract surgery.
Loden takes a community approach when infusing his faith into his medical care. “From my perspective faith is about how I treat my employees, and how you treat your patients,” said Loden,
He draws on biblical scriptures, such as the book of James, to craft his company’s employee-centric culture and emphasis on empowering patients to have an informed agency over their own medical decisions, he said.
“It has been very important in our company culture to make sure that our doctors are making recommendations that are in the best interest of the patients, and that we allow patients to be part of the decision-making process,” explained Loden. “We try to review their options with them, but we try to let them have the autonomy to make the final decision in their own personal health care.”
One of the new Ward programs established in the past few years is the physician-in-residence lecture series. Here Dr. Eric Grogan and Dr. James Loden, owner of Loden Vision Centers, and both alumni, speak to students in the McClure Center.