Established in 1980 as the philanthropic arm of the Federation of State Medical Boards, the FSMB Foundation funds education and research initiatives that help state medical boards adapt to changing times as they protect the public.

In 2022, the FSMB Foundation updated its strategic plan to ensure the Foundation’s priorities are well aligned with the future needs of the medical regulatory community. The revised plan addresses trends that have created major challenges for state medical boards, including social and demographic change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the rapid rise of technology. As a challenging new era for medical regulation continues to unfold, the Foundation will launch a variety of initiatives and strategies, partnering closely with FSMB and collaborating with medical boards on their evolving operational needs.

The updated strategic plan envisions the Foundation as a catalyst for innovative ideas, encouraging research and education initiatives that translate into best practices and greater effectiveness for state medical boards. Additionally, the plan emphasizes helping boards build sustainable leadership for the future, funding programs to help regulatory leaders develop their knowledge and skills, and to encourage new thinking. While it will respond in new ways to the environment faced by the medical regulatory community, the Foundation’s updated plan continues its historical emphasis on research and education.

FSMB Foundation Strategic Goals

Research: Fund and support research initiatives that improve the safety of patients and the quality of health care through effective medical regulation.

Education: Fund and support education initiatives that improve the safety of patients and the quality of health care through effective medical regulation.

Collaboration and Partnership: Build collaborative relationships and partnerships with state medical boards, the FSMB, and external organizations that enhance the Foundation’s impact and broaden its reach.

Sustainability: Ensure the Foundation’s long-term viability and effectiveness by implementing funding and programmatic activities that are sustainable.

Organizational Effectiveness: Implement governance and administrative structures that are fiscally responsible, transparent and adaptable.


FSMB Foundation Elects Three New Directors

The FSMB Foundation’s Board of Directors reflects the diversity of FSMB and its member Boards, and their contributions are greatly appreciated. In 2022, the FSMB Foundation elected three new directors for three-year terms:

  • Stephanie Loucka, JD

    Executive Director, State Medical Board of Ohio

  • Kenneth Simons, MD

    Immediate Past Chair, FSMB

  • Cheryl Walker-McGill, MD, MBA

    Past Chair, FSMB

FSMB Foundation Targets Physician Wellness

The FSMB Foundation’s 2022 annual fundraiser, held on April 29 during the FSMB’s Annual Meeting, featured J. Corey Feist, JD, MBA, co-founder of the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation. Mr. Feist discussed the profound effects the pandemic and other stressors have had on physicians, such as his sister-in-law, Dr. Lorna Breen, an emergency room physician who died by suicide during the early stages of the pandemic. He also addressed steps state medical boards can take as they begin to examine the regulatory requirements sometimes perceived as barriers to treatment seeking by licensees.

In large part due to Mr. Feist’s efforts, the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act became the first legislation of its kind to provide critical funding for education and training to support the mental health and well-being of healthcare workers. The event was moderated by FSMB Foundation President Janelle A. Rhyne, MD, MACP. Since 2013, the Foundation’s annual funding events have raised thousands of dollars to support grant-making activities.

Special Edition of FSMB eNews on Physician Suicide

In another awareness-raising initiative, FSMB published a special edition of our email newsletter on September 16, 2022, to commemorate National Physician Suicide Awareness Day. As many as 400 physicians – equivalent to an entire graduating class at some medical schools – take their lives each year. The issue included numerous resources devoted to suicide prevention and physician wellness, as well as a commentary from Kenneth Cleveland, MD, Executive Director of the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure, who played a leading role in the Mississippi board’s recent changes to mental health questions on its licensure application.

2023 Luncheon Highlights Compassion in the Art of Medicine

Healthcare workers have always had a moral and ethical imperative to treat patients with compassion, and compassion is a cornerstone of the “art” of medicine. But is compassion just in the art of medicine, or are there also evidence-based effects of compassion belonging in the science of medicine? This was the question at the heart of Dr. Stephen Trzeciak’s keynote address at the 2023 FSMB Foundation Luncheon, held May 5 in Minneapolis, MN. Dr. Trzeciak, Chief of Medicine at Cooper University Health Care and Professor and Chair of Medicine at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in Camden, delivered an engaging presentation that explored the intersection of compassion in both the art and science of medicine. Through an extensive two-year exploration of scientific literature, he revealed the evidence-based effects of compassion on patients, patient care, and those who care for patients. Nearly 200 attendees were on hand for the luncheon, which serves as the Foundation’s primary annual fundraising event.

New Grant Initiative Advances Complaints-Data Research

In 2022, the FSMB Foundation launched a new grant initiative aimed at advancing medical regulatory complaint-data research. Each year, state medical boards receive and investigate thousands of complaints against physicians and other licensed health professionals by patients and families in their care. The processes used by the boards to address these complaints vary, but central to each board’s adjudication of its complaints is the compilation and use of data about the allegations and facts of each case.

The goal of the 2022 grants program was to help individual state boards improve their use of information about complaints to advance patient protection; advance dialogue within the medical regulatory community about the use of complaint data; and encourage best practices in the way complaint data is collected and used.

In early 2023, the North Carolina Medical Board was awarded $20,000 to conduct a physician assistant disciplinary study, which will explore when board actions related to substandard care occur during a PA’s career. The hypothesis is that PAs tend to encounter board actions at the beginning or at the end of their careers. This study would also help address considerations pertaining to physician supervision and policies that could increase access to care.

Other FSMB Grants Awarded

  • The New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners was awarded $10,000 to help support activities associated with the implementation of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact.

  • The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education was awarded $25,000 to study the diverse mandatory opioid and/or pain management education requirements across state licensing boards and identify alignments and differences across the states, certifying boards, and the FDA. The goal is to provide recommendations for state licensing boards to standardize and simplify their mandatory requirements.

  • The Federation of State Physician Health Programs was awarded $10,000 to support its national survey of physician health programs across the U.S. and Canada on the scope of educational and support services offered.