About Our Speaker: Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH, is a former primary care physician with more than 20 years of experience as a professional health care writer and author. Diane was drawn to medicine because of her mother, a certified nurse midwife. After seeing firsthand the healing power of the patient-clinician relationship, she chose to pursue medical training.
However, the clinical environment in which she trained and eventually practiced as a primary care physician was rife with chaos and antithetical to building healing relationships with patients. Eventually, she chose to leave clinical medicine for a writing career, understanding only years later that the underlying cause was professional burnout. She transitioned to a position as medical director of a health care communications and training company in Boston. Three years later, she launched her freelance writing business, Shannon Healthcare Communications.
As an award-winning health care writer she has crafted expert reports, focused white papers, and case studies for national foundations, policymakers, and professional advocacy groups that are working to improve the health care system.
She is co-author of Preventing Physician Burnout: Curing the Chaos and Returning Joy to the Practice of Medicine, published in 2016, and has spoken in various forums across the country on the topic of clinician burnout and well-being, including grand round presentations, interactive workshops, one-day professorships for academic institutions, panel discussions, and podcast interviews. Today, as a professional coach, Diane helps women in healthcare succeed without sacrificing themselves. She also helps organizational leaders address burnout and retain their workforce.
Diane earned her BA in biology from Williams College, her medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University, and her master’s in public health from Harvard University. She completed training in an internal medicine residency program at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center and practiced primary care in Boston. Diane completed her Competency Development Program for Coach Certification at the Gestalt International Study Center. She earned her ICF credential as an Professional Certified Coach, and is a member of the International Coach Federation.
When she’s not coaching or writing, Diane enjoys reading international spy novels, traveling with her architect husband, and having engaging, illuminating conversations with her three children. She resides in Boston.
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