Today we’re excited to introduce our first Chief Medical Officer of Hers, Dr. Jessica Shepherd. With nearly 20 years of experience, Dr. Shepherd is a women’s health, sexual wellness, and menopausal expert, a board certified OB/GYN, founder of Sanctum Med and Wellness, and author of Generation M: Living Well in Perimenopause and Menopause. A leading voice in raising awareness for women and their health and wellness needs, Dr. Shepherd is on the Advisory Board for Women's Health Magazine, Women's Health.org. and the Society for Women's Research. As the Hers CMO, Dr. Shepherd will be focused on building innovative programs to educate diverse communities across the country on their bodies and how to address their physical, sexual, and emotional health and wellness.
We sat down with Dr. Jessica Shepherd to discuss her vision for Hers, her vast experience working in women’s health and her commitment to advocating for diverse voices in healthcare.
Tell us about your background and what interested you about healthcare.
I always wanted to be a doctor. As an undergrad, I received my degree in exercise physiology, but I was always fascinated by women’s health. Once I was in medical school, that fascination turned into choosing obstetrics and gynecology as my discipline for residency. I studied the full range of obstetrics and gynecology, however, I found my passion in the operating room (OR). In the OR, I felt empowered to help women with their various conditions, while also providing solutions when taking care of these patients through their surgical experiences. After my residency, I did a surgical fellowship for two years. During my fellowship, I realized I wanted to impact the greater healthcare system and health governance, and that is when I decided to pursue my MBA while still in my fellowship. I have 15 years of experience in surgical and clinical medicine, and three years ago, I started my own practice in Dallas called Sanctum Med and Wellness. I’m proud to have forged a path in mid-life medicine and women’s health, with an emphasis on menopause and perimenopause, and that’s where I am today. I’m also excited to share that my first book, Generation M: Living Well in Perimenopause and Menopause, was released on October 1st.
Why did Hers feel like the next step in your career?
I was drawn to the company’s focus on women’s health. As a woman in healthcare, many times in my career, I see firsthand that women are always fighting for the things they need. When it comes to health and wellness, women are often unheard and unseen, especially as it relates to quality of life, the impact of diseases specifically on women, and more. The maternal mortality rate in the United States is the worst of all other developed countries. There are clear issues in how women are heard and seen, and how they receive care. I found it fascinating that there can be a consumer platform that focuses solely on women’s health, and focuses on garnering the best possible outcomes for women. From a medical perspective, I think women lose their confidence when it comes to what offerings can be provided specifically for them, and Hers has created a beautiful platform that allows women to have agency in the decisions they make for their health, and getting the best outcomes.
What are you most passionate about when it comes to health and wellness?
When it comes to health and wellness, even in the midst of being able to treat patients at their worst, which is what I was trained to do as a physician, I also wholeheartedly believe in preventative care. This is how patients are going to have the best outcomes and impact patients’ beliefs in what they can do in their everyday lives to help them through their health and wellness journeys. My passion is to be able to provide both of these services; to be an advocate for patients in a preventative fashion, but to also support patients in the midst of disease or challenging conditions that need to be tended to with medical services. I’m also a staunch advocate for diversity and representation in women’s healthcare, and the continued research, acknowledgement, and understanding of the different challenges that women face based on their backgrounds.
How do you approach weight management for women?
Weight management has impacted women’s lives not only physically, but emotionally, and there’s a lot of factors that cause women to experience drastic fluctuations in weight, even if the woman has not changed her lifestyle. This highlights the importance of education, as there are a lot of factors that women may not be aware of or have control over within their weight journeys. When it comes to weight loss medications, they are proven to be substantially successful in helping women lose weight, and in encouraging women to challenge stigmas especially as it relates to changes in hormones, insulin resistance, and metabolic changes due to aging. There’s so much overlap when it comes to managing overweight and obesity and women’s health, and it’s a condition that must be treated as such. Through the Hers offering, we’re delivering a personalized approach for every customer that is affordable and built to deliver successful outcomes. We know that not all medications are right for all people, which means a broader offering that focuses on personalization in treatment is necessary for great outcomes.
What are your aspirations as the Chief Medical Officer at Hers?
As the Chief Medical Officer at Hers, I hope to be a representative of many of the women out there that are looking for change, for answers, and are looking to be heard, because healthcare impacts all women. Until we take care of the women who have the least amount of resources and access, we’ve got work to do. Hers has the ability to reach all women and that is what I’m hoping to continue to bring awareness to and build upon in my role.
How will you bring your personal experience to Hers?
I’ve been privileged to have spent so much time with women over the years as a gynecologist. This has given me the ability to hear and understand different experiences and intersections of life, of stories, of triumphs and obstacles, that will allow me to utilize the Hers platform and brand to elevate and continue to reach and share those different stories and journeys, because there’s so many of them.
What are the most surprising topics you’ve discussed in women’s healthcare?
I often am asked about social media trends, from fad recipes to viral beauty “hacks.” There are so many wonderful things about social media, but there’s harmful information as well. This increase in access to “medical” information allows people to either get great advice and information that they might not have known otherwise, or dangerous misinformation. This creates a new responsibility for those who have a medical education or background to provide education and awareness in order to quiet the misinformation. One of my hopes in my new role at Hers is to provide the best access while also acting as the beacon of light when it comes to good, reputable and trustworthy medical information.
What does “access” mean to you in healthcare?
To me, access means that everyone in the country, regardless of where they’re located or what resources they have or do not have, has the same ability to obtain the service, product, or the interaction they deserve equitably.
What are your thoughts on diversity and inclusion in healthcare?
As a Black woman and a physician, I have met the patients that showcase in real time the disparities and inequities in healthcare. I have the responsibility to bring awareness to these disparities and to create space for conversations in which all patients can feel comfortable voicing their opinions, and to also share with providers who don’t look like me what they may not be seeing or hearing. It’s important to me to be in rooms where I can be a representation for those who do not have the opportunity to be heard. The more representation we have in healthcare, the more change we’ll start to see, and the more diversity we’ll start to see as well within the medical field as we empower others.
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What does the power of better health mean to you?
Everyone has the ability to want more for themselves, but they do not know how, or what tools they need to get there. To me, the power of better health is the ability to subscribe to the idea that you deserve it, and that you can access it. Hers is a platform that allows women to elevate their health and wellness, and ultimately, the idea of themselves and what they can achieve when it comes to their health.
