Dr. Cortney Taylor, LifeWorks NW Medical Director, received a Washington State University Distinguished Service award for her work overseeing a program that trains the next generation of medical providers.
At Bridge Clinic, which serves youth 18 and under with immediate mental health needs, medical fellows and students gain exposure to child psychiatry through clinical training rotations. While the program began with two fellows, it has proven so successful that Dr. Taylor has now expanded it to include four medical students and four fellows. Next year, there will be four WSU medical students, nine child psychiatry fellows, and 12 general psychiatry residents for one-month blocks over the course of the year.
‘This is just really special’
Victoria Dinh, a third-year medical student at Washington State University, spent one week shadowing Dr. Taylor in LifeWorks NW’s ACT program and absolutely loved it. When she later received her rotation placement at Bridge Clinic, she was thrilled.
“The award is for anybody who has made an impact and is true to WSU Medical School’s tradition of community-based care,” says Dinh, who plans to pursue psychiatry. “We have never had anybody be so open to us about how to make this experience better. It goes to show why she won the award.”
“For Dr. Taylor to take on so many people shows her willingness to teach and pass on her knowledge is remarkable,” says Ryan Tapio, also a third-year medical student in the program. “Opening it to four students is very generous – it's a lot to take on.”
You wouldn’t know it when you see Dr. Taylor’s enthusiasm when asked about the workload.
“This is just really special, what we have built here,” she says. “The logistics are small potatoes, at the end of the day.”
The benefits of multiple safe people
The team agrees that having fellows, students, and clinicians collaborate in a child and their family’s care has a lasting, positive impact.
“There’s a belief that sensitive work has a feeling of being private,” says Dr. Taylor, “But, there is benefit to seeing that there are multiple people who are safe, who you can trust.”
“When kids come to an appointment and they have a lot of people at the visits, they tend to open up with each of the providers in the room,” says Tapio. “Kids will even sometimes bring something up the parents didn’t know; everyone knows they are in a safe space.”
Bridge Clinic bridges the gaps
Psychiatry has become a highly sought-after field, but training opportunities are limited and competitive. Raised in the Pacific Northwest, Dr. Taylor went to the east coast in part because that was where she had the most options to pursue psychiatry.
Washington State University aims to serve the community medical needs of the Pacific Northwest region. “WSU’s mission is a homegrown medicine,” says Dr. Taylor, “I would have loved to have had that opportunity.”
When she learned more their program she knew immediately she wanted to support the effort. In building and expanding the psychiatry program, Dr. Taylor and her team are helping bridge the gap to train the next generation of doctors.
Back in the Pacific Northwest since 2020 and now supporting the future doctors of the region, it all came together for Dr. Taylor when she received her Distinguished Service honor.
“My mom came with me as a date when I got the award,” she says, “It was a super cool, full circle moment.”
ABOUT BRIDGE CLINIC
Bridge Clinic meets the needs of clients 18 or younger with immediate mental health needs. Providers help clients and their families get into medical services quickly during a time of transition in mental health treatment. Support can include:
- Medication management
- Individual and family interventions
- Safety assessment and planning
- Care coordination
Bridge Clinic is a collaboration between CareOregon, Oregon Health and Science University, and LifeWorks NW.
Photo: Dr. Cortney Taylor holds a glass Distinguished Service award with Denise Escorcia, Psychiatric Care Coordinator, and student interns Ryan Tapio, Bethany Hilman, and Victoria Dinh, outside of LifeWorks NW's NE MLK site.
