Catherine Son, MD

I was born on the outskirts of Vancouver, British Columbia, but did the majority of my learning, growing, and mistake-making in Portland, Oregon. Eighteen years of Pacific Northwest living left me dreaming about the California sunshine and led me to Santa Clara University, where I studied public health. When I had the unexpected chance to work in the medical clinics of the Santa Clara County jail, I took it, not knowing that my time in jail would become a turning point for me in how I viewed the injustices of incarceration, the importance of social determinants of health, and the belief that health care is a fundamental human right.

After Santa Clara, I headed back up the West Coast to spend some time working with the Korean immigrant community in Portland and helping to lead a breast cancer screening outreach program. I then made my way to Saint Louis University for medical school, where I was able to continue working with incarcerated populations both through research identifying women’s pregnancy intentions as well as a juvenile detention center tutoring program. On the clinical side, I knew from early on that Family Medicine, with its exposure to nearly all the fields that had piqued my interest, ability to see a variety of populations and build long-term relationships with patients, and emphasis on community and advocacy, was where I belonged.

I am incredibly excited to return to this corner of the continent but especially thrilled to be at Swedish First Hill and join a program that is passionate about so many of the things that have shaped my life and career. My particular interests include health care for undocumented immigrants and incarcerated populations, culturally-responsive care, and the role of trauma in health outcomes.

In my free time, you can most likely find me feeding peanut butter and apples to my dog Cheddar, attempting to improve my cocktail-making skills, scoping out my local cheese counter, dreaming about snowboarding and boating, or re-watching Parks and Recreation.