About

Stuart Slavin, MD, MEd, is a pediatrician, medical educator, nationally recognized leader in well-being, and author of The Success Trap: How the Pressure to Stand Out Is Fueling Anxiety, Depression, and Burnout in Teens—and the Fundamental Fix They Deserve. For more than four decades, he has worked to answer a simple but increasingly urgent question: How can we create environments in which children, students, and physicians don't simply succeed—they flourish?

That question has shaped every stage of Dr. Slavin's career. Whether caring for children as a pediatrician, leading educational innovation in medical schools, or advancing physician well- being nationally, he has been driven by the belief that healthy learning environments are essential for both achievement and mental health.

A graduate of Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Dr. Slavin completed his pediatric residency at UCLA, where he practiced pediatrics and served on the faculty for 17 years. As his interest in helping young people thrive expanded beyond clinical practice, he earned a Master of Education from the University of Southern California and moved into educational leadership, deepening his understanding of how learning environments shape well-being.

In 2004, Dr. Slavin returned to Saint Louis University as Associate Dean for Curriculum, where he led educational reforms that dramatically reduced depression and anxiety among medical students while maintaining academic excellence. His work challenged the prevailing belief that emotional distress was simply the inevitable cost of rigorous medical training. The success of these reforms helped establish him as one of the nation's leading voices on learner well-being.

In 2018, Dr. Slavin joined the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), where he served in national leadership roles focused on physician well-being, ultimately becoming Vice President for Well-Being. There, he helped advance efforts to improve the well-being of residents, fellows, faculty members, and the clinical learning environment while reinforcing the idea that excellence in education and excellence in well-being are mutually reinforcing—not competing—goals.

Throughout his career as a medical educator, however, one question continued to surface: Why were so many young people arriving at college and professional school already overwhelmed, anxious, and burned out?

Pursuing that question led Dr. Slavin to study adolescent mental health and the culture of achievement that shapes the lives of millions of American children and teens. Drawing on decades of research, leadership, and firsthand experience, The Success Trap argues that while smartphones and social media deserve attention, another powerful force has been hiding in plain sight: the growing pressure on young people to succeed and distinguish themselves in an increasingly competitive culture. The book challenges prevailing assumptions about the youth mental health crisis and offers parents practical, evidence-based strategies to help young people—and their families—flourish, not simply achieve.

Today, Dr. Slavin speaks and writes nationally with parents, educators, health professionals, and policymakers about creating healthier cultures in schools, families, and communities. He is guided by a simple conviction: when we create healthier environments for learning, young people don't just succeed—they flourish.