Doris Christine Gundersen MD

Dr. Doris Gundersen received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas in 1981. She studied medicine at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio, Texas. Upon graduation in 1989, she pursued residency training in psychiatry at the University of Colorado (CU), which was completed in 1993. She is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology with added qualifications in Forensic Psychiatry.

In 1993, Dr. Gundersen joined the CU Department of Psychiatry faculty where she enjoyed teaching medical students and residents in training. She received the Eleanor Steele Teaching Award in 2000. She provided clinical care in both inpatient and outpatient settings and conducted Phase Three trials of novel psychotropic medications. She served as the medical director of the University North Pavilion Medication Clinic which provided comprehensive care to patients in addition to consultation to workplaces concerning employee health, fitness for duty evaluations and violence prevention. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the department today and continues to teach medical students, residents and forensic fellows alike.

In 1999, Dr. Gundersen entered private practice. In addition to general adult psychiatry, she developed a forensic practice specializing in independent medical evaluations and threat assessment. She has assisted various local and national employers in developing violence prevention policies and has served on various threat assessment teams. She has taught locally and nationally on the subject of workplace violence. She currently volunteers with the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, reviewing scholarly papers submitted for publication. In 2000, Dr. Gundersen was invited to join the CPHP team and has remained dedicated to assisting physicians with serious illnesses and providing education to medical communities locally, nationally and internationally concerning physician health. She has been CPHP’s medical director since 2009. She has collaborated with her CPHP colleagues on physician health research and coauthored articles accepted for publication.

She currently chairs the Colorado Medical Society’s committee on physician wellbeing and helped develop a wellness toolkit for all physicians in the state. Dr. Gundersen is currently the Past-President of the Federation of State Physician Health Programs (FSPHP) and received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the FSPHP in April 2013. More recently, Dr. Gundersen has provided education and consultation across the country pertaining to the legalization of marijuana and the implications for health care professionals.