Treating the Wounded Healer with Dr. Stefanie Simmons | Flourishing in Medicine: From Surviving to Thriving #34

Today, we are joined by Dr. Stefanie Simmons, emergency medicine physician, national leader in clinician wellbeing, and Chief Medical Officer of the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation, for a conversation about service, systemic change, and reimagining healthcare workers as emotional and intellectual athletes.In this conversation, Stefanie reflects on her unexpected path into medicine. Originating from a family ethic of service and her father's repeated message: our duty is to use our talents to make the world a better place. She traces how her historian's eye for systems and change, combined with early experiences of misalignment between medicine's ideals and realities, led her to focus on the interpersonal, cultural, and systemic dimensions of healing.We also cover:The tragic story of Dr. Lorna Breen and the foundation's mission to dismantle structural barriers to mental healthcare for clinicians, including invasive licensing and credentialing questions about past mental health treatmentHow personal struggles with unaddressed mental health needs and stigma shaped her commitment to changing medical culture and treating healthcare workers with the same care they provide to patientsThe foundation's comprehensive work across research, education, collaboration with national organizations, and accelerating solutions through the impact badge program that recognizes institutions removing stigmatizing questionsHer vision for the future: treating healthcare workers as emotional and intellectual athletes who deserve proper training, rest, coaching, and supportive systems designed to help them thrive rather than injure themThroughout, Dr. Simmons embodies moral clarity, vulnerability, and hope—grounded in systems thinking, dedicated to cultural transformation, and committed to a more humane medical profession. She closes with a powerful reframe: in order to reach a state where our healthcare workforce is healthy and thriving, we need to treat ourselves and each other as the intellectual and emotional athletes that we are.Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefsimmons/ Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation: https://drlornabreen.org/EmPro Website: https://www.myempro.com/EmPro Peer Support Program: https://www.myempro.com/peer-support/Physician Support Line: +1(888) 409-0141Physician Support Line Website: https://www.physiciansupportline.com/Dr. Krasner's Website: https://mickkrasnermd.com/Mindful Practice in Medicine Website: https://mindfulpracticeinmedicine.com/Chapters:(00:00) Introduction (00:15) Welcome and Overview(01:21) Path into Medicine(03:19) Dr. Simmon’s Origin Story (04:00) Family Service Ethic (06:00) Her Father's Influence (07:45) Personal Evolution (23:10) Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation(24:30) Dr. Lorna Breen(25:00) Finding the Foundation (26:15) Future Vision (27:00) Physicians as Athletes(29:15) Designing for Wellbeing (29:50) Closing Reflections (30:00) Mindfulness Exercise (32:07) Conclusion