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Medboard Matters Podcast

What is an outside medical reviewer and why does the Board need them? What do they do? How can they help preserve self-regulation in medicine? All of these questions are answered in this episode of MedBoard Matters. Host, Jean Fisher Brinkley talks with NCMB’s Chief Legal Officer Thom Mansfield and Deputy General Counsel Brian Blankenship about how the Board uses outside reviewers and why they’re so important.

Posted October 29, 2021 | 
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Hosts and Guests

Jean Fisher Brinkley

Communications Director, North Carolina Medical Board

Jean Fisher Brinkley

Jean Fisher Brinkley is NCMB’s Communications Director, a role that involves developing and overseeing production of communications materials and strategies needed to enhance public and professional awareness and understanding of the Board and its mission. She joined NCMB in 2008, after an 11-year career in newspaper journalism, most of it dedicated to reporting on medicine, health policy and the business aspects of health care.

Brinkley earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Mills College in Oakland, CA, and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley. She lives in Raleigh with her husband and two daughters.

You can reach Jean at podcast@ncmedboard.org

Thom Mansfield

Chief Executive Officer, North Carolina Medical Board

Thom Mansfield, Chief Legal Officer for the North Carolina Medical Board

Thom Mansfield, JD is the Board's CEO and leads a 13-member Board and a staff as they fulfill the Board’s mandate to regulate the practice of medicine for the benefit and protection of the people of North Carolina. Prior to accepting the position of CEO, Thom served as the organization’s Chief Legal Officer and led the Legal Department since 2001.

Brian Blakenship

Deputy General Counsel, North Carolina Medical Board

Brian Blakenship, Deputy General Counsel for the Board

Brian serves as Deputy General Counsel for NCMB where he supervises three attorneys and manages the prosecution and defense of all cases handled by Board attorneys. Prior to joining NCMB in 2002, Brian served as an Assistant Attorney General with the North Carolina Department of Justice where he was responsible for prosecuting law enforcement officers accused of misconduct. Brian has served for more than 24 years in the United States military, first as a member of the United States Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG Corps) and, since 2001, as a member of the North Carolina Army National Guard.

Brian is frequently invited to speak at professional conferences on Medical Board investigations and prosecutions. In 2018, Brian was a presenter at the FSMB Board Attorney Workshop on Prosecuting Professional Sexual Misconduct Cases and in 2019, Brian served as a panel member of the General Session presentation, Sexual Boundary Violations: What State Medical Boards Need to Know.