Profile: Katherine Palm-Cruz, MD

Katherine Palm-Cruz, MDattended medical school at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She was first inspired to pursue psychiatry during a third-year medical school rotation in psychiatry where a patient expressed gratitude to the team for allowing him to regain hope to live. She started a residency at the University of California, Irvine but transferred to the University of Washington, where she found interest in psychopharmacology, perinatal mental health, and integrated care. She currently works in Behavioral Health Integration Program (BHIP) and Mental Health Integration Program (MHIP) clinics. She is attracted to integrated care because she appreciates working with a team and being able to have an impact on the greatest number of patients, especially as a way to serve patients with limited resources and address mental health disparities. She cites her most important work as contributions she is able to make within teaching, especially with collaborative care teams to provide higher quality patient care and better patient outcomes. Five years from now, Dr. Palm-Cruz hopes that integrated care is the standard of care and more present within medicine.