Dr. Irma Fleming grew up in Gary, Indiana, and recalls thriving in science and math despite the turbulent social environment around her. She was bolstered by her grandmother, who taught math, and had many friends who were also interested in STEM careers.
“I went to medical school straight out of college. I was drawn to the intensity of medicine, to the places that medicine needed me the most, and, eventually, with the thought process of being needed in my community,” Fleming recalls. “Seeing the trauma happening in Indiana led me into trauma and burn surgery and surgical critical care, so I found a home for myself in medicine.”
Her career led her to University of Utah Health’s Burn Center, one of the nation’s premier burn centers, where she has worked since 2018.
“I really enjoy my job, even though it can be emotionally demanding. Guiding patients through some of the toughest moments in their lives is truly meaningful. As I took on more research and leadership roles, I began to notice a different kind of challenge,” Fleming explains. “While I’ve always felt confident in medicine and surgery, it wasn’t about clinical uncertainty—it was more about the bigger picture, like understanding the frameworks and systems that support our work. I realized I was often in conversations about contracts, regulations, and institutional policies, and I sometimes felt underprepared for those discussions.”
Fleming says this awareness was humbling and piqued her interest in the Master of Legal Studies (MLS) program and its new healthcare law concentration.
“I didn’t pursue the MLS to change my career. I love medicine. But I felt the limits of my knowledge,” she explains. “Medicine pushes you into the scientific and clinical realm, but there’s a legal and business side to medicine and other frameworks around it that we’re not really taught in medical school. We’re trained to be decisive and competent, and admitting you don’t understand something outside the clinical realm can feel very vulnerable.”
As she continued to encounter legal and regulatory issues, she wanted to deepen her understanding of healthcare law and was excited to begin classes.
“The MLS program felt like a way to grow into the kind of physician leader I hoped to become, rather than shy away from its complexity and uncertainty. What I love most is how much it has stretched me intellectually,” Fleming says. “In the operating room, I rely on knowledge, instinct, and experience, but with the ever-changing human body, sometimes one must sit with ambiguity. In studying the law, I have to sit with a different kind of ambiguity and listen differently, which prompts me to think differently. This program encourages me to understand people’s motivations, think through their decision-making process, and understand what motivates their behavior. Even though I do that instinctively in medicine, law frames it differently.”
Enrolling in the MLS program has also required Fleming to balance surgery, leadership, and coursework.
“I was starting to fall into a lull in surgery. I know what I’m doing—I could wake up in the middle of the night and do it—but now I’m a trainee again, stretching myself. The program helps me see the invisible scaffolding that supports patient care and sometimes constrains it,” she says. “In burn surgery, we advocate a lot for our patients. I have to call insurance companies and appeal denials. I’ve come to understand that advocacy isn’t just clinical, it’s structural, too. It involves understanding the reimbursement system, compliance, research governance, and risks. Having that knowledge makes me feel less reactive and more intentional about what I’m doing.”
She also feels steadier walking into rooms where hospital policies and decisions are made, especially when they must change in response to new laws passed by Congress.
“There is a substantial legal framework that we are not exposed to in training but are suddenly expected to know after training. The MLS healthcare concentration allows me to see that framework more clearly,” Fleming says. “I would highly recommend the program to other physicians. It’s changed how I see the world, listen to the news, speak with and listen to patients, and participate in meetings. It’s changed how I ask questions and engage with people, and it has reshaped my entire professional life.”
Learn more about the Master of Legal Studies program’s health law concentration.