Energized at Work: Episode 20 with Chief Medical Officer Dr. Stefanie Simmons

I really enjoyed speaking to Dr. Stefanie Simmons, because her work with the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes' Foundation is an example of how advocacy in action can lead to change, even over the course of just a few years.

Dr. Simmons is the Chief Medical Officer of the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes' Foundation. Over the course of her career, she has served as a clinician, an educator, a healthcare executive, and now Chief Medical Officer.  In this conversation, we speak about her advocacy work, and how the foundation has been able to make significant strides in promoting healthcare well-being.

In speaking with her, she is clearly energized by her mission: to support healthcare providers in rediscovering the joy in their work, in order to improve the quality of their lives and improve the care that they provide to patients.  She explains that her work is focused on advocacy, awareness, and advancing solutions.

As part of her work with the foundation, she meets with state and federal legislators. She also conducts outreach to healthcare organizations to increase the awareness of the drivers of burnout. The foundation also helps to advance solutions to accelerate the pace of change, including via the Impact Well-Being Campaign.

The goals of the foundation include, among others, safeguarding access to mental healthcare for healthcare providers. The work of the foundation began with the tragic death of Dr. Lorna Breen in the spring of 2020. One of the contributing factors to Dr. Breen's mental health crisis and suicide was her fear that if she sought treatment, she would lose her medical license. This fear stemmed from the fact that many states ask questions on licensing applications as to whether physicians had "ever" been treated for a mental health condition. 

The foundation and other organizations have been working to change these questions. Instead of asking about past treatments, the focus should ideally be on current physical and/or mental impairment.  In 2021, there were 17 states that avoided the use of invasive questions about past treatment for mental health conditions. Now, there are 27 states, and 11 more are considering making changes. This is a remarkable improvement over the course of just a few years. 

 In this episode, Dr. Simmons shares her own experience of postpartum depression, and how she did not seek care because of concern about licensing issues. One of the things that has motivated her throughout her career is her wish to leave this place and the rules that govern us better than she found them.

For students interested in advocacy work, or how they can continue to advocate for professional well-being as clinicians, this episode provides inspiration and actionable takeaways.

Dr. Stefanie Simmons, Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes' Foundation

The Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes' Foundation

More on how to start a medical school chapter of the organization

My post on KevinMD on why doctors are afraid to seek mental health treatment