Department news | October 31, 2017

Forefront Suicide Prevention honored Anna Ratzliff, MD, PhD, with the Sue Eastgard Training Award at its fifth annual event and fundraiser, Restoring Hope. The award, named after Forefront’s co-founder and former Director of Training, honors the significant role that evidence-based training plays in the public health issue of suicide. Ratzliff was recognized for her leadership in co-developing All Patients Safe, a six-hour suicide prevention training curricula that meets the new Washington state law requiring health professionals to be trained in suicide assessment, treatment, and management. Ratzliff worked alongside many people including Jennifer Stuber, PhD, and Jennifer Barron, MA, BSW, from Forefront, and department faculty members Ian Bennet, MD, PhD; John Kern, MD; Molly Adrian, PhD; and Mark Reger, PhD. A number of staff were crucial to the development of the training as well including Alan Gojdics, MEd, Betsy Payn, MA, PMP, Melissa Farnum, MA, Diana Roll, Lindsay Baldwin, Mary Ann Barnard, Hannah Sessions, and Cara Towle, RN, MSN, MA.

Medical providers in the UWP practice plan and at Seattle Children’s can meet the new state requirement for free with All Patients Safe. It will be hosted on UW Medicine’s Learning Management System and is expected to launch in November. Please look for further announcements in the department’s Friday newsletter as well as through various UW Medicine and Seattle Children’s communications.

Department news | October 31, 2017

Congratulations to the following people who were voted a “Top Doctor” by their peers based on years of experience, competency, rapport with patients, patient satisfaction and compliance with care recommendations, and ability to work effectively with colleagues across specialties to deliver the best patient care. Thank you for your good work!

• Andy Saxon, MD (Addiction Medicine)
• Ray Hsiao, MD (Child Psychiatry)
• Hower Kwon, MD (Child Psychiatry)
• Richard Veith, MD (Psychiatry)

Department news | September 30, 2017

In recognition of her contributions to psychosomatic medicine/consultation-liaison psychiatry and her proven track record as a mentor, Lydia Chwastiak, MD, MPH, FAPM, was chosen for the 2017 Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine (APM) Foundation Research Professor Award. Dr. Chwastiak’s most important work has been to draw attention to the health disparities experienced by persons living with serious mental illness. Her current NIH-funded research involves the development and evaluation of innovative Collaborative Care interventions for diabetes and depression in low- and middle-income countries, and also for vulnerable populations living with serious and persistent mental illness in the US. As a Research Professor, Dr. Chwastiak will help several early career researcher mentees by providing face-to-face mentoring at the APM’s annual meeting as well as a year-long mentoring connection.

Launched in 2016, the APM Foundation Research Professor Program was developed in memory of Wayne Katon, MD, a prominent faculty member in our department for over thirty years and APM president from 2012-13. Dr. Katon mentored young psychiatrists and researchers across the country, and inspired countless junior faculty across several UW departments, including Dr. Chwastiak. His memory lives on in his mentees, and it is truly fitting that Dr. Chwastiak receive this award

Department news | September 30, 2017

Jürgen Unützer, MD, MPH, MA, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Medicine and Psychiatry (AMP). AMP was founded in 1991 by physicians concerned about the care of patients at the interface of medicine and psychiatry. The Association is an interdisciplinary clinical and scientific group which promotes high quality patient care for those with combined illness, develops guidelines for services and training experiences specifically designed to address the problems of these patients, and fosters basic and clinical research in this area. Dr. Unützer received the award at the AMP’s annual meeting in Chicago, a national gathering of physicians trained in Primary Care and Psychiatry.

Department news | September 30, 2017

We had a huge contingent at the Association of Academic Psychiatry (AAP) annual meeting held in early September with several members of our department winning awards and many more presenting. Megan Riddle, MD, PhD, (PGY4) and Roberto Montenegro, MD, PhD, (Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellow) both received AAP Fellowship Awards. This award honors psychiatry residents who demonstrate particular promise as educators and scholars in the field of academic psychiatry. Jesse Markman, MD, won the Early Career Development Award, created to facilitate career development and offer new educators to learn and share teaching techniques, skills, and innovations. The selection process for these competitive awards places great value upon a candidate’s promise as outstanding leaders, educators, researchers, and clinicians in the field of psychiatry.

Department news | September 30, 2017

The American Psychological Association (APA) awarded Daniel Kivlahan, PhD, the 2017 Harold M. Hildreth Distinguished Public Service Award. This lifetime career award recognizes advocacy for underserved populations, leadership in the delivery or administration of psychological services, outstanding mentorship, excellence as a researcher, and national expertise. The recognition is the highest that Division 18, Psychologists in Public Service, awards.

Dr. Kivlahan has dedicated a lifetime to the direct delivery and administration of psychological services to individuals with substance use disorders. His influence on the treatment of SUD through policy development has been monumental not only in the VA, but across the nation. He is highly valued by his colleagues, not only for his expertise in SUD treatment, but also for his extensive knowledge of psychology, business operations, and measurement-based care. His intelligence, eye for detail, collaborative style, and focus on service of the Veteran always make his contributions to any task invaluable.

The APA also awarded Greg Reger, PhD, the 2017 Peter J.N. Linnerooth National Service Award. This award recognizes outstanding contributions in the areas of suicide prevention, post-traumatic stress disorder, or burnout related to working with active duty military, veterans, and military families. Dr. Reger’s work speaks to his commitment to improving the lives of those who serve or have served in the military as well as their families.

Department news | September 30, 2017

Jason Kilmer, PhD, received the 2017 Sue Kraft Fussell Distinguished Service Award from the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors. The award is presented to individuals who exhibit outstanding achievements in one or more areas: service to AFA, service beyond their campus/organization, development/research, service to the college and fraternity/sorority communities. The award will be presented at the AFA Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA on December 2.

Department news | June 30, 2017

One way our department celebrates faculty mentoring is through our Wayne J. Katon Outstanding Mentor Award. This annual award recognizes a Department faculty member who demonstrates sustained commitment to the creative, scholarly, professional and personal development of mentees. The award honors Wayne Katon, MD, a gifted and dedicated mentor who supervised medical students, psychiatry residents, research fellows and junior faculty across several departments, many of whom have become principal investigators of their own grant funded research programs. He directed an NIH-funded T-32 Fellowship Program in Primary Care Psychiatry for over 25 years that produced more than 30 successful researchers at the interface of medicine and psychiatry, including many members of our department.

The recipient of this year’s award is Mary Larimer, PhD. Her nomination packet detailed a remarkable generosity and investment in mentees throughout her career that has resulted in a deep and lasting impact on many individuals across a broad range of disciplines — their success as independent investigators is a credit to her thoughtfulness and time. A commitment to developing the next generation of researchers is central to Dr. Larimer’s work, and she is a role model for many faculty members in the department.

Other faculty members nominated for their outstanding mentoring were Kate Comtois, PhD, MPH, Maria Monroe-DeVita, PhD, Tracy Simpson, PhD and Jürgen Unützer, MD, MPH, MA. The 2016 recipient was Raphe Bernier, PhD.

Thank you to Lydia Chwastiak, MD, MPH, who chaired the selection committee, to the committee members for all of their work, and to those department members who submitted nominations on behalf of their mentors. Thank you also to all of our faculty who mentor our trainees, junior faculty, and staff.

Department news | June 30, 2017

Congratulations to Jennifer Piel, MD, JD, who received the 2017 Excellence in Medicine Leadership Award at the American Medical Association (AMA) Annual meeting in Chicago on June 9. The AMA Foundation’s Excellence in Medicine Awards program recognizes physicians who exemplify the highest values of volunteerism, community engagement, leadership and dedication to the care of underserved populations.

The Leadership Awards are presented annually to medical students, residents, fellows and early-career physicians who have exhibited outstanding leadership in community service, education, public health or organized medicine. The program provides leadership development training for these recipients to further strengthen their efforts of advancing health care in America.

Department news | May 31, 2017

Congratulations to Heidi Combs, MD, for being elected into the University of Washington Undergraduate Medical Education chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society. The Gold Humanism Honor Society recognizes students, residents and faculty who are exemplars of compassionate patient care and who serve as role models, mentors, and leaders in medicine. GHHS members are the ones that others say they want taking care of their own family.

Third and fourth year medical students nominated Dr. Combs for her commitment to humanism in medicine, and she was ultimately selected by student members of the UW School of Medicine Gold Humanism Honor Society chapter. Her nominations were incredibly supportive, including the example below:

“In addition to being one of the best teachers at UW (as evidenced by her perpetuity award for teaching), Heidi is a warm, enthusiastic, and brilliant face for the Psychiatry clerkship. Despite the daily challenges of working with the some of the most severely ill patients in the state, and doing so in one of the most under-resourced medical specialties, she never fails to brighten students' days with fabulous lectures, encouragements, and delightfully quirky purses. However, where she really shines is as an example of how to be a compassionate listener while also providing necessary medical care and making difficult decisions, and as a clerkship director, she is also one of the most open and supportive faculty members I have encountered.”