Dr. Hatcher graduated with her MD in 1982 from Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN).  She received certification with the College of Family Physicians of Canada, the Canadian College of Health Service Executives and holds a Diplomate with the Canadian Academy of Pain Management (CAPM).

She has received the Canadian Psychiatric Association’s Mental Health Awareness Award as well as a fellowship from the College of Family Physicians of Canada.

She has been a full-service rural family doctor, an emergency physician, full time academic and has a specialty in pain management and psychotherapy which she now does exclusively. Her focus is on a bio-psycho-social approach to pain management.   She uses pain-focused psychotherapy using CBT, ACT, Mindfulness and Positive Thinking. 

She is an expert witness for the CMPA, and a medical inspector for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.   She chairs a subcommittee for the National Opioid Use Guideline Group.  She is President of CAPM and a member of the Canadian Pain Society and the International Association for the Study of Pain.  She has given almost 400 lectures in pain management to both national and international audiences. 

She is an Associate Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario and a Clinical Associate Professor at MUN.