The clinician
who is also
the patient.

Dr. Pamela Payne, PsyD is a Clinical Rehabilitation Neuropsychologist specializing in traumatic brain injury, stroke, and catastrophic chronic illness. She earned her doctorate in Clinical Neuropsychology from Kansas City University and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in rehabilitation neuropsychology, where she also conducted research on cognitive-communication outcomes.

She is also a patient. With multiple overlapping chronic conditions — including a missed MODY diabetes diagnosis spanning nearly two decades, a bariatric surgery at 19, and a period formally documented as total disability — Dr. Payne brings a perspective on the patient-provider encounter that no amount of training alone can produce. She returned from that disability to complete her doctoral degree, earning an international award for academic presentation along the way.

Her forthcoming book, Chronically Unfiltered, is a memoir-based exploration of what medicine gets wrong — and what becomes possible when both sides of the encounter finally show up fully. She speaks to healthcare organizations, medical schools, and patient advocacy groups on that same question.