Profile: CDR Amos Chen, MS, ARNP, MLS(ASCP)CM, FNP-BC, USPHS

Commander Amos Chen is an advanced practice nursing officer of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. Under the leadership of the US Surgeon General, CDR Chen has dedicated his nursing career serving the underserved Native American and Alaska Native population for the past 13 years. He started working as Family Nurse Practitioner in an isolated hardship assignment with the Navajo Nation in 2012. After working in rural inpatient and outpatient settings, CDR Chen continued his family medicine practice for two unique Coast Salish tribes. He has successfully fulfilled the role as Interim Medical Director for both tribes, including the recent years during the COVID-19 pandemic and earning the Indian Health Service Portland Area Director’s Heroism Award in 2022. 

For the past five years, Commander Amos Chen has been fulfilling the mission to combat the opioid epidemics by treating patients with substance dependence. He learned that it is essential to treat psychiatric illness while providing a low-barrier approach in addressing people’s substance use. As a clinician trained in family medicine, CDR Chen is excited to join his fellow cohorts in the University of Washington Mental Health Learning Series for Primary Care Providers. CDR Amos Chen is looking forward to broadening his knowledge in treating co-occurring conditions in his practice.