The Department of Psychiatry is pleased to announce that Katherin Freeman, M.D., Assistant Professor in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, has been selected to serve as the new Medical Student Clerkship Director. In this role, Dr. Freeman will be responsible for overseeing and ensuring the operational quality of all aspects of the program including orientation of students and the coordination of clinical and didactic learning experiences.  In addition, Dr. Freeman will provide support and guidance to medical students as needed, coordinate with clerkship directors on the regional campuses and represent the clerkship in the School of Medicine.

“This is a key education leadership position for the Department, as it is the first contact that most medical students have with our Department and Psychiatry as a specialty,” said Dr. Meador-Woodruff, Heman E. Drummond Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry.  Over the last few years interest in Psychiatry as a specialty has been on the rise. A critical element under Dr. Freeman’s leadership will be to continue cultivating overall interest in the field by providing medical students with positive experiences which in turn will serve as an impetus for UAB students taking a greater interest in selecting Psychiatry for their residency training.

Dr. Freeman received her M.D. from Vanderbilt, and completed her residency training at the University of Utah Triple Board Program in Pediatrics, Adult Psychiatry, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Following her training, she served on the Medical Staff of the Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City. After relocating to Nevada, she joined the clinical faculty of the University of Nevada where she also maintained a private practice in child and adolescent psychiatry. In 2017, Dr. Freeman joined the faculty of UAB Psychiatry as Assistant Professor in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, with clinical and teaching responsibilities on the UAB Adolescent Inpatient Unit in addition to providing outpatient services at Children's of Alabama.