Psychiatrist Pamela Collins has long been interested in the intersection of mental health and global public health. While a medical student at Cornell University, she had the opportunity to conduct summer research in Haiti during the early years of the AIDS epidemic, a formative experience that brought into focus the impact of the sociocultural environment [...]

Continue Reading →

The Whole U is thrilled to re-introduce our Spotlight column, now titled People of UW, to highlight the incredible people at the University of Washington. Across our campuses and medical centers, the energy at UW is truly boundless. Join us in celebrating the people who make our University one of the best institutions in the [...]

Continue Reading →

In March, Dr. Nick Johnson (above left), a physician in the Emergency Department, Medical Intensive Care Unit and Neurocritical Care Service at Harborview Medical Center, contributed an article to Prevention describing What Life Is Like Inside a Seattle Emergency Department During COVID-19. We caught up with Dr. Johnson to learn what he and colleagues have [...]

Continue Reading →

At the University of Washington School of Medicine, student service learning never stops—even during a global pandemic. Under “normal” circumstances, more than 500 medical students regularly staff some 50 healthcare projects that serve thousands across Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. These clinical projects—which encompass advocacy, health education, and mentorship—form the primary pillars of community engagement [...]

Continue Reading →

Some children were understandably afraid when face masks became common this spring. Not skipping a beat, local child care providers simply reminded them that “super heroes wear masks.” Quite appropriately, the child care providers were wearing masks themselves. Walk past one of our UW Children’s Centers during outdoor time and teachers’ super powers will be [...]

Continue Reading →

When, on April 29, Washington Governor Jay Inslee issued a proclamation recognizing May as Nurses Month in Washington, he added to a growing worldwide chorus of recognition and praise for nurses and the critical role they play in our healthcare system and in combating COVID-19. “Every nurse everywhere should take enormous pride in our profession. [...]

Continue Reading →

When Dr. Seth Cohen calls UW Medicine’s fight against COVID-19 a “team sport,” he does so with a world champion’s conviction. A gold medalist with the US National Team at the 1999 Ultimate Frisbee World Championships while in college, Cohen now serves as Medical Director for Infection Prevention at UWMC-Northwest as well as chief of [...]

Continue Reading →

Back in March, Dr. Seth Cohen, the medical director of Infection Prevention & Employee Health and clinic chief of Infectious Disease & Travel Medicine at UWMC Northwest, approached the UW School of Medicine with an idea: to create a project to highlight the phenomenal work done by the UW Medicine family in the face of [...]

Continue Reading →

“A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spread in all directions,” wrote social activist Dorothy Day. For Jane Lee, an assistant professor at the UW School of Social Work, words never rang more true. Born in Los Angeles after her parents had emigrated from South Korea, Lee took naturally to life in the [...]

Continue Reading →

“The dead do tell tales at Vesuvius.” So read the cover text of the May 1984 edition of National Geographic that captured Mira Green’s imagination and set the trajectory for her own life’s story. Green, who is a full time lecturer at the University of Washington, recalls thumbing through the issue and its depictions of [...]

Continue Reading →

“Desperate times call for high fashion.” That’s the tagline atop @covidsocks, an Instagram page run by Katie Hammond, a nurse at Harborview Medical Center. The account features pictures of colorful, often zany socks worn by nursing staff across UW Medicine as well as photo submissions from medical professionals across the country who Hammond knows from [...]

Continue Reading →

During this challenging time, The Whole U is here to help the University of Washington community stay healthy and connected as we continue to support one another and adjust to life and work during COVID-19. As we all strive to establish a new sense of order and organization in our lives, The Whole U’s list [...]

Continue Reading →