Copy
View this email in your browser
March 2021

Message from the Chair

 
Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Spring is a time of renewal and hope, and there is a lot happening in our department right now to be excited about, starting with our new class of psychiatry residents. Nineteen trainees will join us next fall and become the newest generation of psychiatrists to train in our department. Two residents are from the UW School of Medicine and the rest are coming from all over the country to make Seattle their new home. Congratulations to all our education programs for a terrific season of recruitment and for your ongoing work to make our training programs dynamic, engaging and inspiring experiences for our medical students, residents and fellows.

Thanks also to everyone who worked so hard on Destination 1 (D1), the long journey to a unified new Electronic Health Record system for all patients we serve across UW Medicine facilities. A few days ago, UW Medicine ‘flipped the switch’ to turn on the new system and except for a few initial ‘bumps,’ the feedback has been positive. I want to give a big thanks to J. Veitengruber and to all of our departmental D1 champions and SuperUsers who have helped us prepare for this momentous event and who are continuing to support us as we learn to use these powerful new tools in the care of our patients.

This spring also brings good news for all of us. After enduring a long and deadly COVID-19 pandemic, the light at the end of the tunnel is coming in sight. Over the past three months, UW Medicine facilities have administered more than 100,000 doses of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines to health care workers, patients, and community members, joining more than 80 million Americans who have been immunized to date. I am hopeful that within another month or two, all of our faculty, staff, trainees, and families will have had a chance to receive a safe and effective vaccine. We are looking forward to a summer when we can gather again and start our recovery from one of the darkest periods in recent history. Until then, let us continue to protect each other by practicing what we have learned this past year, by physical distancing, wearing masks, and washing our hands.

While there is much hope in our news this month, we have been deeply saddened by the recent hate crimes on Asian Americans. Let us join President Cauce, UW Medicine leadership and others and take a stand against such hate crimes and against the racism and intolerance that fuel such crimes. Among the most beautiful things about living in the Pacific Northwest are the many ways in which individuals and families with backgrounds from different parts of the Asian continent are enriching our community and our lives with their traditions, art, philosophies, values, friendship and hard work. Let us be thankful for this wonderful diversity and embrace and celebrate it. Let us support our Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander colleagues, friends and neighbors. As health care professionals, let us give serious consideration to the ‘practical steps’ that Dr. James Lee, one of our first year residents, recommends in an excellent opinion piece published in the March 24 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. Let us speak up if we become aware of racist incidents using tools such as the UW Bias Reporting Tool and the UW Medicine Bias Incident Reporting Tool. Let us also continue our efforts to recognize and address the deep-seated fears and biases that lead to hate and discrimination and continue to strive for a world in which freedom, equity, and inclusion allow each of us to bring forward our best selves with our diverse backgrounds and histories to create a better future for all.

Jürgen


Please help us welcome our new staff!

Margee Quinn, LSWAIC, joined the department in February 2021 as a part time Research Study Coordinator working with Emily Dworkin on the CARE intervention study, which will implement a brief intervention aimed at increasing social support and preventing onset of PTSD among sexual assault survivors. Margee graduated with her Master of Social Work degree from UW’s School of Social Work in 2020. The majority of her prior research experience comes from working with first episode psychosis patients at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Much of Margee’s research and clinical work has focused on working with individuals experiencing acute mental health crises. In addition to working at UW, Margee currently works as a Social Worker in the Emergency Department at Virginia Mason Medical Center. Outside of work, Margee enjoys cooking, hiking, travelling, and spending time with my friends and my partner. If you would like to reach out to Margee and say hello, her email is mquinn2@uw.edu.

Lydia Andris, MPA, joined the department in March 2021 as a Research Coordinator for the National Cancer Institute Grant led by Jesse Fann, MD, MPH, to improve the treatment of depression among cancer patients through the development and use of new technological platforms for care managers and patients. Lydia has worked at the UW for more than 12 years, most of that time with the Department of Health Services. She holds a BA in Political Economy from Carnegie Mellon University and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington. Lydia is passionate about improving individual and community health and well-being. She is strongly committed to the department’s mission “to improve the health of the public through excellent clinical care, education and research.” Lydia looks forward to working on this clinical trial and contributing to the development and testing of new technologies to improve the delivery of Collaborative Care Management (CoCM) and subsequent outcomes among patients with cancer and depression. Outside the office, Lydia enjoys being active, nature, the arts and time with friends and family. If you would like to reach out to Lydia and say hello, her email is andris@uw.edu.

Ciara DeGraff joined the department in February 2021 as a Research Study Coordinator working with Dr. Tsuang's lab at the GRECC at the VA Puget Sound. Ciara is a recent graduate of Colgate University in upstate New York where she graduated with a BA in Psychology and interests in Cognitive/Developmental Psychology & Psycholinguistics. Ciara grew up around Seattle and is excited to be back and working at UW Medicine. Outside of work, Ciara is an avid biker, reader, hiker, and skier. She is currently trying to improve her cooking and tennis skills so any advice/tips for either would be much appreciated! If you would like to reach out to Ciara and say hello, her email is cdegraff@uw.edu.

Colleen Kimseylove (they/them) joined the ALACRITY and CREATIV teams as a Research Coordinator in March 2021 working on the Enhancing Engagement with Digital Mental Health and Do More, Feel Better studies. They are a 2018 graduate of the University of Washington’s Maternal and Child Health MPH program. Their first paper, “Effect of Medicaid Expansion on the Crowdfunding Behavior of Transgender Youth” was published in Journal of Sexuality Research and Social Policy in 2020. They are currently scheduled to teach “We’re All Gonna Die: Death Education for Mortals” at Shoreline College. As a Bonderman Fellow, they traveled to twelve countries across four continents to study peacemaking processes in post conflict countries. They previously worked for the University of Washington's International Clinical Research Center. Their hobbies include collecting things that horrify their mother, attempting to monetize their cat on Instagram @lovelylumpylady, and boating about in various boats. If you would like to reach out to Colleen and say hello, their email is kimseyc@uw.edu.

Ellie Oslin joined the department in March 2021 as a Research Study Assistant in the Trauma Survivor Outcomes and Support Study (TSOS) lab located in the Pat Steel Building. Ellie went to Clark University in Worcester, MA where she received high honors in the Psychology department after completing an honors thesis on the impact of Childhood Psychological Maltreatment on mental wellbeing in adulthood and how the ways in which people respond to survivor disclosure can impact the healing process. Outside of work, Ellie loves anything and everything outdoors--swimming, camping, kayaking, hiking, backpacking, etc. Additionally, she is a coffee fanatic! Ellie loves going on walks and finding quaint little coffee shops to pick up some fuel. If you would like to reach out to Ellie and say hello, her email is eoslin@uw.edu.

Molly Woerner joined the department in March 2021 as a Research Assistant with the CREATIV Lab. She will be working under PIs Dr. Patricia Arean and Dr. Patrick Raue on several studies where she will be primarily helping with recruitment and retention. Molly completed her BA in Public Health with a minor in Diversity at UW. After that Molly spent time working in an administrative position at Ryther, a Seattle agency serving child and adolescent behavioral and mental health needs. There she gained a strong affinity for understanding the social-emotional health of individuals. Most recently, she worked as an RA at the Seattle Epidemiologic, Research, and Information Center at the VA Puget Sound. There Molly worked on a lower back pain pilot study performing recruitment and follow up. She also worked on the Vietnam Era Twin Registry and the National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study Registry where she supported various NIH-NIA funded studies. Molly is currently in a Post-Bacc program for Psychology and Counseling Professionals to strengthen her course work in psychology for prospective graduate programs. Outside of work, Molly enjoys cooking (and eating) vegan food and staying active by running, doing yoga, swimming, hiking, and walking. She also enjoys volunteering in her community and staying in touch with her family in California. If you would like to reach out to Molly and say hello, her email is mwoerner@uw.edu.

Joane Gonzalez joined the department in March 2021 as a Program Assistant with the CoLab team. Joane graduated from UW with a degree in Political Science, currently working on a Master’s in Public Administration from Seattle University. She used to work at the front desk at The HUB here at UW and went on to do more work in office administration elsewhere. Joane later served with AmeriCorps first as a grant writer at Neighborhood House, and most recently as a resource navigator at Highline College. Joane and her family enjoy going out to eat and trying new foods and restaurants! Last year changed this habit and now Joane and her family usually just order take-out but spending time with them and having fun is something she looks forward to out of work and on weekends. If you would like to reach out to Joane and say hello, her email is joaneg@uw.edu.

Psychiatry at Harborview: Care, Compassion and Community
Sharon Romm, MD, recently published a new book that is a beautiful testament to the incredible people who work at Harborview Medical Center and the important work they do. Psychiatry at Harborview: Care, Compassion and Community offers a “journey through our department” and includes contributions from numerous faculty and staff. Dr. Romm captures her love for Harborview in the book’s introduction:

“I came to Harborview as an adventure, planning to stay a year, and remained for two decades. What kept me here was this extraordinary hospital with its sense of community spirit, its commitment to quality, and knowing that everyone is on the same team with the same mission.”

This sense of spirit and community is evident at all our departmental sites. We thank Dr. Romm for shining the light on what makes Harborview so very special and we encourage our colleagues at other departmental sites to share what it is they love about their work, their community, and the teams they work in.


EPIC is here!
We want to give a huge thank you to everyone who worked on our EPIC build committees, our heroic GoLive weekend team, all our SuperUsers and to J. Veitengruber, MD,  for leading our efforts. While our computer system has many early growing pains, our people have been truly amazing pulling together to problem solve. If you are a UW Medicine clinician, please log-in and check that you have the accurate security access (i.e. ability to write orders if you are a prescriber) and call the HotLine below if you have any issues. Tips to help you work effectively with your patients in EPIC: Zero Suicide Initiative
The Zero Suicide Initiative is a nationwide program that aims to reduce pediatric self-harm and death by suicide. Seattle Children's Hospital created a Zero Suicide Initiative Pathway for use with children and youth presenting for care to allow for standardized processes for suicide risk screening and assessment for triage to resources across the organization. All patients at Seattle Children’s age 10 and older are screened with a standard questionnaire to address the increasing number of youth attempting suicide. Those who are at risk of suicidal thoughts or behaviors are connected with the appropriate resources and care. The program screens about 1,000 patients per month, of which about one-quarter exhibit thoughts or behaviors of self-harm.

This work received the Community Health Leadership Award from the Washington State Hospital Association in 2019. The Zero Suicide Initiative Pathway Team co-led by Molly Adrian, PhD, has been working to expand the scope of the program from acute care to hospital-wide implementation this year. Watch this video spotlight to learn more

UW Medicine launches new mental health support and navigation resource for employees
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the mental health and wellbeing of individuals around the world, and at UW Medicine, we are no exception. Many of us are not only dealing with the critical work of UW Medicine, but we are also coping with the daily stresses of home-schooling and caring for our families. While vaccines are a bright light at the end of what seems to be an endless tunnel, we still have a long trek ahead of us. Now, there is an additional tool to help UW Medicine employees who may be struggling with the emotional toll of COVID-19.

The UW Medicine Employee Mental Health Support (EMHS) Program launched last month to help UW Medicine employees and their household members navigate the variety of mental health resource options at UW Medicine and in the community. Over 65 people accessed the program within its first week. Funded by philanthropic support and in partnership with the UW Medicine Well-Being & Support program, EMHS is run by our Patient and Family Experience team led by Mollie Forrester, MSW, LICSW, in consultation with the Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic at UW Medical Center – Roosevelt. Amanda Focht, MD, is the lead faculty member. The service is for all UW Medicine employees regardless of their role.

The EMHS online intake form walks users through a series of questions that help them determine what behavioral health services or resources would be most beneficial to pursue. The intake form and communication with the Navigator are completely confidential unless there is risk of harm to self or others, and there is no charge to speak with an EMHS Health Navigator. You can find the EMHS Intake Form and other UW Medicine mental health resources on the UW Medicine Employee Mental Health Resources page.

We recognize the enormous stress we have all been under and are excited to provide this additional resource to help UW Medicine employees get the support or care they need. We will get through this together!


Clinical trial shows alcohol use disorder recovery can start without sobriety
For the past decade, researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Washington State University, and the VA Puget Sound Health Care System have conducted studies on harm reduction in Seattle homeless shelters and have successfully helped people reduce their drinking, even when they did not want to stop.

Their second randomized clinical trial on the effectiveness of an approach to reduce alcohol use and alcohol problems among people in Seattle homeless shelters was published March 10 in Lancet Psychiatry. Authors included Susan Collins, PhD, Mark Duncan, MD, Andrew Saxon, MD, Emily Taylor, BSc, Nigel Mayberry, RN, Gail Hoffmann, MA, Seema Clifasefi, PhD, and Richard Ries, MD. The authors argue that traditional alcohol treatment programs that demand abstinence fail to help many people experiencing homelessness and alcohol use disorder. By some estimates, people who experience chronic homelessness and alcohol use disorder have, on average, undergone alcohol treatment 16 times in their lives. Read more

Nominations are open for the Wayne J. Katon Outstanding Research Mentor Award
The Wayne J. Katon Outstanding Research Mentor Award acknowledges the time, dedication and attention UW Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences faculty members devote to fostering the career development and academic success of colleagues and trainees in the areas of mental health research, clinical practice and education. Through this award, we honor and celebrate the valuable efforts of faculty members who embody Dr. Katon’s spirit of mentoring. More information, including details about the required nomination packet and how to submit a nomination, are available on PsycSource. Past recipients include Raphe Bernier, PhD (2016), Mary Larimer, PhD (2017), Kathleen Myers, MD (2018), Christine Lee, PhD (2019) and Patricia Areán, PhD (2020). Nominations are due May 14, 2021. Please contact Maureen Johnson (mej924@uw.edu) if you have any questions. Thank you for your help in recognizing our research mentors!


Psychiatry Residency Match Results
Results of the National Resident Matching Program were announced this month and once again, the Psychiatry Residency program directed by Anna Ratzliff, MD, PhD, had another successful Match. We received over 1,400 applications and interviewed over 170 applicants. More than 30 faculty members and residents reviewed applications and interviewed applicants -- thank you to everyone for your contributions with recruitment. We couldn’t have done it without you. Take a look at our next cohort of residents joining our department. We are looking forward to having them join us this summer!

Welcome to our new Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Chiefs!
We are delighted to announce that Michelle Dick, MD, and Evan Taniguchi, MD, will be the new Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Chief Residents for the 2021-2022 academic year. The new Chiefs will transition to their roles July 1, 2021. We are excited to work with them and deeply appreciate their dedication to serving in this role for our resident community. Congratulations!

New clerkship website launched!
Our psychiatry clerkship website has a new look! The new website uses the Psychiatry-themed WordPress template and provides a consistent user experience and clean look. It mirrors the organization and content of the clerkship CANVAS page that students use to find everything they need for their rotation, making navigating the psychiatry clerkship easier overall. A big thank you to Paul Borghesani, MD, director of the Psychiatry Clerkship Program, and Margie Trenary, Program Operations Administrator, for their hard work on the new website. Up next: the psychiatry residency program is revamping their website using the same WordPress theme and will launch something this year.

Community Based Integrated Care Fellowship graduates third cohort
At the end of February, our third cohort of the Community Based Integrated Care Fellowship completed their year-long training as part of the Integrated Care Training Program (ICTP) suite of programs. This program provides a foundation in Integrated Care to psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners who are already in practice in their communities. Modeled after an Executive MBA program, the program is innovative in its longitudinal, comprehensive approach to continuing education for health professionals. There are four components of the program – online didactics, four in-person two-day meetings, quality improvement projects, and one-on-one mentorship with our faculty. Amy Bauer, MD, MS, took over leadership of the Community Based Fellowship for Anna Ratzliff, MD, PhD, when Dr. Ratzliff took over the Residency Program. Ramanpreet Toor, MD, Jennifer Erickson, DO, Mark Newman, MD, and Katherine Palm-Cruz, MD, provide leadership to the four components of the program.

“This was quite the year to take over the leadership of this program,” says Dr. Bauer. “We were very lucky to complete our first in-person session in just under the wire before the shutdown due to COVID. COVID presented some challenges on all fronts, but our faculty and staff and especially our fellows really rose to excel.” The fellows shared their accomplishments at the final meeting during a communications workshop led by Becky Sladek, MS. To date, 38 fellows have completed the program and are practicing in counties across Washington State.

The ICTP program has some exciting changes coming to improve the sustainment and scalability of the training. Starting with the 2021-22 cohort, the Community Based Integrated Care Fellowship will align with the academic year. All learners will be integrated through a new combined fellowship didactic series for Community Based Fellows, ICTP Fellows, Residents, and other potential learners. The Community-Based Fellowship is currently recruiting. Please pass this flyer along to psychiatric providers you know who may be interested. For more information, visit the ICTP website.

Partnership champions best practices for integrating mental illness and substance use disorders care
The Enhanced Illness Management and Recovery (E-IMR) Implementation Project brings together the Northwest Addiction Technology Transfer Center (Northwest ATTC), Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (Northwest MHTTC), and the Behavioral Health Institute (BHI) at Harborview Medical Center in a co-sponsorship arrangement to enhance integrated services for mental illness and substance use. In this project, all three training entities are collaboratively supporting the work of E-IMR subject matter experts from the University of Minnesota Center for Practice Transformation (CPT) who are building E-IMR skills among practitioners at three community behavioral health organizations in Washington and one in Idaho.

Illness Management and Recovery (IMR) is an evidence-based practice with demonstrated outcomes in the areas of reducing psychiatric symptoms, hospitalizations and suicidal ideation while increasing employment leading to cost savings and other societal benefits. Investing time and resources in developing practitioner competency E-IMR, which focuses more specifically on co-occurring mental illness and substance use, will likely yield similar positive results. E-IMR is a manualized intervention, anchored in clients’ self-identified personal recovery goals, using strategies to enhance motivation, teach new information, and assist in behavioral change. It places clients’ wants and needs at the center of care while enhancing their illness management skills.

Collaborative co-sponsorship by the Northwest ATTC, Northwest MHTTC, and BHI supported skills-based training and ongoing consultation to this cohort of Washington and Idaho community behavioral healthcare providers. Sponsoring officials from Northwest ATTC (Bryan Hartzler, PhD), Northwest MHTTC (Maria Monroe-DeVita, PhD), and BHI (Jim Vollendroff, MPA, and Melody McKee, MS, SUDP) will be working with the University of Minnesota E-IMR subject matter experts and partnering behavioral health organizations to evaluate the impacts of these workforce development efforts at their completion.

Soliciting nominations for the Gary J. Tucker Career Teaching Award
We invite you to nominate one of our academic or clinical faculty members for the Gary J. Tucker Career Teaching Award. Established in recognition of Gary J. Tucker, MD, Chair of our Department from 1985 through 1997, the Tucker Award recognizes exceptional career achievement in teaching and education within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and honors Dr. Tucker's significant contributions to our academic programs, his leadership and dedication as a teacher, clinician, and scholar, his love of teaching, and his ability to inspire and encourage trainees. The award is given to a member of the academic or clinical faculty who has demonstrated, throughout his or her career, outstanding skills as a teacher and dedication to education. To date, the following members of our faculty have received this award: Jack Carr, PhD, ABPP, Johan Verhulst, MD, Chris Varley, MD, Joan Romano, PhD, Deb Cowley, MD, Dick Miyoshi, MD, Marcella Pascualy, MD, Elizabeth McCauley, PhD, and Andrew Saxon, MD. If you would like to nominate someone for this award, please send their name and a paragraph about why you are nominating them to Heidi Combs, MD, at hcombs@uw.edu by May 14, 2021.


Deb Cowley recognized for a lifetime of service
Deb Cowley, MD, was announced as the recipient of the 2021 American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training (AADPRT) Annual Lifetime Service Award. The purpose of this award is to acknowledge a psychiatrist AADPRT member who has provided significant service to AADPRT, had an impact on psychiatric residency education nationally, demonstrated excellence in psychiatric residency education, provided generativity and mentoring in residency, or some combination of these.

Dr. Cowley completed her MD at the University of Pennsylvania and her Psychiatry residency at the University of Washington. She is currently Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington. She was the department’s Psychiatry Residency Director 1997-2015 and Vice Chair for Education 2005-2020. Her clinical work, teaching, and scholarship focus on perinatal psychiatry, anxiety disorders, psychiatric education, and faculty development. She has served as President of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training (AADPRT); has chaired AADPRT committees on research in residency, Child portal programs, duty hours, Milestones assessment, and faculty development; and has served on the ACGME Psychiatry Milestones Workgroup and American Psychiatric Association Practice Guidelines Steering Committee.

Dr. Cowley embodies all the criteria of this prestigious award. We all know her incredible contribution to resident training in our own program, but some may not have as much familiarity with her national activities and reputation. Simply put, Dr. Cowley has been a tour de force of activity nationally in resident education. She has held almost every position there is within AADPRT including serving as Membership Co-Chair, Program Chair, Secretary and President. Similarly, she has been on more national organization task forces than you can shake a stick at! She has also been very involved in the Psychiatry Resident In-Training Examination (PRITE), American Psychiatric Association (APA), American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). There is not any major national residency education program Dr. Cowley has not touched. Congratulations!
For upcoming events, please visit the UW Psychiatry calendar .
Copyright © 2021 Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington. All rights reserved.
 
University of Washington
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
1959 NE Pacific Street, Box 356560
Seattle, WA 98195

You are receiving this newsletter because you are affiliated with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington. If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, please contact Becky Sladek at rsladek@uw.edu. Unsubscribing below will remove you from ALL UW Psychiatry communications.

unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences