Tennessee Medical Foundation
The current climate in health care is proving to be a tough time for individuals struggling with burnout, depression, or other personal challenges. The Tennessee Association of Optometric Physicians is dedicated to supporting the mental health of its members. We are pleased to let you know about a unique online resource that is available to licensed health professionals across Tennessee, including optometrists. The Tennessee Professional Screening Questionnaire, or TN-PSQ, is a free service that allows you to anonymously:
- Take a brief questionnaire for stress, depression, and other mental health conditions
- Receive a personal response from a site counselor
- Exchange messages with the counselor, ask questions and receive recommendations and support for connecting with available mental health services.
The TN-PSQ is provided by the Tennessee Medical Foundation. Completing the online questionnaire and making use of this service is completely voluntary. Your identity will not be known to TAOP or the TMF, and it will not be known to the TN-PSQ counselor unless you decide to share it.
TAOP is committed to supporting our community to maintain optimal wellness. If you have any questions about this service, please contact Brenda Williams-Denbo with the TMF at 615-467-6411 or brendaw@e-tmf.org.
Sincerely,
Patience Long, TAOP Executive Director
Mission Statement: The mission of the Tennessee Medical Foundation is to protect patients through identification, intervention, rehabilitation, and the provision of advocacy/support for physicians and other health professionals impaired by addictive disease, and/or mental or emotional illness.
The TMF is celebrating its 45th anniversary in 2023. Our program was born in 1978 as the Impaired Physicians Committee of the Tennessee Medical Association Board of Trustees, addressing alcohol and drug use among physicians in Tennessee. Since 1992, the program has been operating independently through the Tennessee Medical Foundation (TMF), a 501(c)3 organization. The Physician’s Health Program’s core services are identification, intervention, rehabilitation, and support and/or advocacy related to substance use disorders, psychiatric disorders, disruptive behavior, boundary issues, stress issues, and cognitive deficits. The TMF provides services primarily to Tennessee physicians, but our charge from state licensing boards now includes other health professions who do not have their own recovery monitoring program, including optometrists, PAs, chiropractors, veterinarians, x-ray technologists, clinical perfusionists, midwives, surgical assistants and more. Our mission also includes education/awareness efforts and resources to cover mental and behavioral health, burnout, stress, and other issues, especially crucial for post-pandemic healthcare. The TMF mission and work is supported completely through grants and donations from healthcare entities including healthcare corporations and systems, hospitals, medical schools and health professional training programs, societies, and associations, and other healthcare stakeholders, along with individual health professionals and the general public.
