Brenda
Cartujano Barrera
Why UW Child and Adolescent Psychiatry?
"I specifically chose UW as a program to apply to because they serve a five-state region and closely work with local clinicians to improve access to care in urban and rural areas, including a large Latinx community. This program was my first choice as it was clear to me that they value creativity, offer a wide range of mentorship, has a range of elective opportunities, and foster a culture of learning and support for one another. I couldn’t be happier with my choice. Without hesitation, I can say that Dr. Hsiao, our program director, has as a priority the wellbeing of all the fellows.”
Education
Medical School: Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Morelos
Psychiatry Residency: Maimonides Medical Center
Follow Me For A Week
| Morning: | It is time to clean my apartment and do laundry. Afterward, I head over to a music school where I rent for an hour a drum set. | ||
| Afternoon: | One of my goals is to visit all breweries in the Seattle-Tacoma area, so either I drive or bike to a brewery with Frida (Frida has a small trailer that I attach to my bike) to meet up with friends. | ||
| Evening: | I like to go home and relax with a book and a cup of tea. |
| Morning: | I drive to Odessa Brown and see patients for new evaluations and follow-up visits, with clinic supervision at the end of my half day. I transition to DBT seminar that runs over lunch for the first six months of the academic year. | |
| Afternoon: | I see my own patients in the Continuity Clinic, mostly for medication management. |
| Morning: | I head over to Echo Glen Children's Center for the entire day, carpooling with my co-fellows, to complete new evaluations, do medication management, and see my weekly therapy case. | ||
| Evening: | I go for a run with my dog, Frida, to Green Lake. At the end of our run, we love to jump in the lake and swim for a little bit. |
| Morning: | Early in the morning, I meet on line with my medication management supervisor for individual supervision. Shortly after, I bike over to Seattle Childrens Magnuson Clinic, the Burke Gilman trail takes me directly from home to the clinic. I then see my own patients. | |
| Afternoon: | I usually have research meetings over lunch or attend Journal Club once a month. I continue seeing my patients and at the end, I join my individual therapy. |
| Morning: | I meet with the Early Childhood Clinic team virtually to review cases and then see young children with their parents for evaluations and consult visits for parent behavior management training (PBMT) groups, or I work with other clinicians to teach PBMT skills. | ||
| Afternoon: | I co-lead bilingual (Spanish/English groups) for parents and their teens who are facing anxiety or depression through the CALMA Clinic. | ||
| Evening: | I join my Trivia team at Ladd & Lass Brewery. We won once! |
| Morning: | I do administrative tasks in the morning before biking over to Seattle Childrens Magnuson Clinic for didactics. | |
| Afternoon: | I work on a research project that aims to standardize TF-CBT groups with cultural adaptations for the Latinx community. I also correspond and/or meet with my research supervisor as needed. |
| Morning: | I go trail running with my dog, Frida. Depending on the distance we are aiming it's the trail we choose. There are so many options in Seattle and its surroundings. | ||
| Afternoon: | I go grocery shopping for the week, and I start cooking. I tried to prepare a new recipe every week. | ||
| Evening: | I join my Lindy Hop classes; first time doing it and it has been a lot of fun. Before going to bed I like watching movies or a show. |
Clinical Rotations
Outpatient rotations include Odessa Brown Children's Clinic, Echo Glen Children's Center, Continuity Clinic, CALMA Clinic, Early Childhood Clinic, and research time.
Career Goals
"I want to focus on developing media tools to prevent mental health conditions for children and their families, such as children's books, movies, shows, video games, or short-animated clips. I also have a particular interest in trauma-related disorders and their different treatment modalities including the use of medication, technology, and therapy, with an emphasis on individual intersections. I had the chance to write a children's book in Spanish addressing PTSD, with a section for caregivers with Q&A related to trauma ("La Valentía De Pancho"), and fell in love with the process of creating the book; additionally, I got the chance to pilot the book in one of the research projects I am working on right now related to standardizing TF-CBT groups with cultural adaptations for the Latinx community. At the moment I have an English version of the children's book about to be published."
Average Weekly Hours
- Approximately 40-45 hours per week
Night and Weekend Duty
I take call on average once every 4-6 weeks for a weekend day and then have a week of nights (M-Th) four times a year, as well as four Friday night calls scattered across the academic year.