Taylor Black, MD
Personal Statement
I came to the UW to train in psychosomatic medicine and to work in a complex comorbid population as a clinician and a teacher. Most medical and surgical patients served at Harborview will have psychosocial needs; often these are as critical to their recovery and health as somatic health problems. Working across disciplines is challenging but also clinically valuable, intellectually stimulating, and exciting to our trainees when we can address care in a more integrated and holistic manner. I like to focus my academic work on defining what the needs of Harborview’s clinical population are, and how our busy psychiatric consultation services can be best utilized to promote the health of our patients and our institutions.
Education
Psychosomatic Medicine , University of Washington , 2014-2015
Psychiatry , University of Colorado , 2010-2014
MD , University of Washington , 2006-2010
Department Affiliations
Scholarly Expertise
Teaching Philosophy
Trainees will face clinical ethical dilemmas routinely in high-demand environments where academic medicine touches the health effects of social inequality. Decisions regarding the balancing of patient autonomy vs beneficience, how to practice amid conflict, and the equitable use of limited resources are some examples of the everyday challenges to a psychiatry consultant. I want my trainees to grapple with the implications of these decisions directly and openly, to understand better the culture of medicine, the interface of psychiatry and society, and the history of how these structures evolved. Listening to patients’ lived experiences and exploring their concerns amid situations of ethical uncertainty or conflict makes us more patient physicians and broadens our field of view.
