Women in Medicine: Natalie Solomon, PsyD, DBSM

Share a memorable experience or accomplishment you are proud of in your career. How did it impact your journey?

I recently traveled to Shanghai to train providers in insomnia treatment. I was nervous for my first international work trip. I needed to fly ~13 hours, teach ~100 providers for eight hours a day, for four consecutive days, 15 hour jet lag, 105 degree heat, new food, as I was entering the third trimester of pregnancy. As soon as I started teaching on the first day, I felt so calm. I love thinking about sleep. I was really touched by how far some of the providers had traveled (from all over China), to learn insomnia treatment for their patients. I saw a doctor run into a former patient in front of the hospital and give her the tightest hug. A doctoral student wore a shirt on the first two days that said “women in science.” I like your shirt, I said. “I like it too” she said. I was also told that when the patients at the hospital are not doing well, the doctors bike over to the nearby temple to pray during their break. On my final day, I went to the temple myself. I was told not to pray and ask for anything if I wouldn’t come back to the temple to give thanks. Since I don’t know if I’ll come back, I didn’t ask for anything, just gave thanks. I love working with a translator, it slows the conversation down in a way I find therapeutic. At the closing ceremony, there was a thunderstorm outside. One doctor shared that he had started using insomnia treatment with his elderly mom and that she had experienced her best sleep in years, another said it felt amazing to be a student again in his 50s. I left feeling so centered and fulfilled.