The MSV Installs President Arturo Saavedra, MD, PhD as President at 2026 Annual Meeting
RICHMOND, Va. (Oct. 19, 2026) – Arturo Saavedra, MD, PhD, of Richmond, Virginia, was installed as the president of the Medical Society of Virginia (MSV) during the organization’s Annual Meeting held on October 18, 2026, in Roanoke. Dr. Saavedra currently serves as the executive vice president and provost for Virginia Commonwealth University.
In his inaugural address, Dr. Saavedra emphasized that his presidency will be grounded in shared leadership and service to the profession. “As I look around this room, filled with some of the most dedicated physicians in Virginia, I am reminded that this is not my moment alone. This is our moment. Together, we will continue advancing medicine, mentoring future physicians, and serving the common good,” he said.
As part of that focus, Dr. Saavedra framed Virginia’s physician workforce challenges as a patient-access issue, emphasizing that the data behind workforce shortages ultimately reflects real people and real barriers to care. “When we talk about the physician workforce, it is easy to make this a conversation about numbers—how many physicians we have, how many we need and where they practice,” he said. “But every one of those numbers eventually becomes a patient story.”
Dr. Saavedra’s presidential platform will focus on strengthening Virginia’s physician workforce, reducing administrative burdens, and advancing solutions that improve timely access to care for patients across the Commonwealth. He noted that workforce shortages show up in everyday patient experiences: the parent trying to find a pediatric specialist, the older Virginian waiting months for an appointment, the rural patient driving an hour for care, and the physician whose day is increasingly consumed by downcoding, credentialing, or appeals issues instead of patient care.
After graduating magna cum laude from Harvard College with a degree in Biological Sciences, Dr. Saavedra received a combined medical and doctoral degree from the University of Pennsylvania, with specialized training in pharmacology. He completed his residency training in internal medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he was also chief resident. He graduated from the Harvard Combined Dermatology Residency Training Program and completed his fellowship in dermatopathology. He also earned an MBA in entrepreneurial finance from the Babson College Graduate School of Business.
Throughout the coming year, Dr. Saavedra will elevate his platform by keeping the connection between physician support and patient access at the center of MSV’s work. His leadership will underscore that strengthening the physician workforce is not only about supporting the profession, but also about ensuring Virginians can receive the care they need, when and where they need it.
About the Medical Society of Virginia
The Medical Society of Virginia (MSV) serves as the voice for more than 30,000 physicians, residents, medical students, PAs and PA students, representing all medical specialties in all regions of the Commonwealth. The association was founded in 1820 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. MSV strives to advance high-quality healthcare and make Virginia the best place to practice medicine and receive care.
