After experiencing paralyzing burnout, Dr. Diane Shannon made the hard decision to leave clinical practice in Internal Medicine and pursue a career in freelance healthcare writing. Her focus for 20-plus years has been drawing attention to ways to address clinician burnout, system inefficiency, and patient safety problems. She is co-author of Preventing Physician Burnout: Curing the Chaos and Returning Joy to the Practice of Medicine, which was published in 2016, and a frequent speaker and blogger.   

Her personal experience with burnout and her desire to support clinicians motivated her to become a certified coach five years ago. She now helps clinicians gain clarity on their goals, increase their bandwidth, and overcome the barriers that keep them stuck. Since the pandemic, Dr. Shannon has focused special attention on helping women physicians create lives that work personally and professionally. She continues to advocate for health system change through her writing and speaking engagements.