The Physician in the Waiting Room: A Conversation on Illness, Uncertainty, and Empathy

Dr. Cerrone Cohen completed a combined residency in Family Medicine and Psychiatry at the University of California Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, California. He currently serves as an Associate Professor in both the Department of Family Medicine & Community Health and the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences here at Duke. In his shared role, he provides both primary care and mental health services in outpatient settings. He is also a member of the Duke Primary Care collaborative care team, where he assists primary care providers in initiating and monitoring treatments for depression and anxiety. Dr. Cohen is deeply committed to medical education and advancing the integration of mental health into primary care. He has delivered lectures at national and international meetings and currently serves as Director of the Psychiatry Clerkship at Duke University School of Medicine, overseeing the clinical and didactic experiences for third-year medical students. He is also an Associate Director of the Duke Master of Biomedical Sciences Program, a one-year graduate program designed to prepare students for careers in medicine and other health professions through rigorous biomedical coursework, advising, and professional development. In this role, he directly supports professional development, student mentorship, and academic advising. Outside of his professional work, Dr. Cohen enjoys cooking, college football, and running ultramarathons. Dr. Julie Penzner is the Vice Chair for Education in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Director of Residency Training and UME in Psychiatry. In these roles, she contributes to high quality training and education for psychiatrists and psychologists from early career through faculty. She practices clinically in acute care psychiatry on the Behavioral Health Inpatient Unit at Duke Regional Hospital. Prior to her arrival at Duke, Dr. Penzner led the psychiatry residency training program at Weill Cornell Medicine.