Scholar update: Sarah Kuramoto

Sarah Kuramoto, DNP, PMHNP, CARN, received a Lois Price Spratlen Scholarship in 2023 while attending the University of Washington PMHNP program.

After graduating, Sarah was a fellow at the Minority Fellowship Program at the American Nurses Association.

Dr. Kuramoto is now a member of the Spruce Psychiatric Associates practice group in Seattle. Her approach is to come alongside clients to support each unique individual holistically, looking at mental health from multiple angles.

She works collaboratively with clients to support their needs through medication management that considers cultural values, social support, interpersonal relationships, and lifestyle factors such as sleep, nutrition, and exercise.

As a bilingual provider in English and Japanese, she strives be sensitive to the cultural needs of all populations.

LPSF Board member Dr. Elaine Walsh, PhD, RN, PMHCNS-BC, FAAN, recently chatted with Dr. Kuramoto about her experience as a PMHNP student and LPSF scholarship recipient.

Walsh: Is there anything you wish you had known prior to beginning a PMHNP program?

Kuramoto: I think I only had a vague idea of what role I would step into as an NP before entering the program, and specifically the responsibility of an NP seems nebulous at first.

Walsh: Do you have any advice for schools about supporting students pursuing their PMHNP?

Kuramoto: I would encourage schools to emphasize each student's sharing more about their context of clinical rotations since it is impossible to experience all different rotations while in school, since practicing as a mental health NP could be so vastly different depending on where you work.

While clinical seminars let us choose any patient to present on, maybe narrowing it to certain diagnosis "themes" for each clinical rotation would give us more of a side-by-side comparison of how similar disorders can look in different settings.

Walsh: How did the scholarship help you?

Kuramoto: The scholarship helped me not only feel more focused on school because it helped me lessen the financial burden of paying for school, but it also gave me confidence and re-visited my motivation to pursue the psych NP route.

I also felt immediately plugged in professionally by attending the Association of Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses conference and I plan to renew my membership once I get settled in my practice.