Dr. Sharp has practiced general surgery at Vanderbilt since 1984. His field of interest includes benign and malignant diseases of the breast and the gastrointestinal tract. He is one of the founding faculty members of the Vanderbilt Breast Center. He has continued to practice in the Breast Center since its inception in 1986. His practice of GI cancer care has included care of patients with cancer of the esophagus, stomach, pancreas and biliary tree and the small bowel and large bowel.

Dr. Sharp is a member of the American College of Surgeons, the American Gastroenterological Association, the American Medical Association, the American Surgical Association, the Association for Academic Surgery, the Association for Surgical Education, the Nashville Surgical Society, the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons, the Southeastern Surgical Congress, the Southern Surgical Association, and the International Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Association.

Dr. Sharp has active involvement in the leadership of both regional and national surgical organizations. He has served as the President of the Tennessee Chapter of the American College of Surgeons and is a past President of the Southeastern Surgical Congress. He has served in committees for the Association for Surgical Education, the Nashville Surgical Society, the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract and the National Board of Medical Examiners. He is a current Governor of the American College of Surgeons and is the Secretary-Director of the Southeastern Surgical Congress. He has received three clinical teaching awards at Vanderbilt and has delivered numerous invited lectureships in surgery nationally.