Describe Your Role As A Clinical Coordinator

I have the honored opportunity to work as a clinical coordinator in the psychiatry department of UT Southwestern. My goal in this position is to bring depression treatment to primary care and to make screening for depression the sixth vital sign. My role is bringing a much needed service to clinics in the DFW area. By providing state of the art screening tools for providers I am effectively fighting for a patients right to receive treatment for depression that often times goes undiagnosed. I participate in various health organizations to spread awareness of the large amount of missed depressive diagnoses and fight against the stigma associated with a depressive diagnosis. I was also lucky enough to be part of the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program. This opportunity allowed both myself and my other colleagues to participate in the graduate experience at the undergraduate level.

I happened to have an advantage because my mentor was one of the founders of the program and he was able to guide and show me what was required to excel in this curriculum. Once I finished my thesis, I turned my focus to my classmates so that I could help expedite the review process and help with their research. I knew what the program wanted from us and I shared that information with others. Before I knew it, my email was flooded with thesis drafts and questions. I eventually had to recruit my PI to help. This experience has shown me what it is like to be seen as a collaborative leader and is something I have incorporated into my job as a clinical coordinator. My experiences will allow me to continue to learn in a collaborative setting while also focusing my learning with the ultimate goal of benefiting the