Billings Clinic celebrates graduates from its newly accredited Psychiatry Residency Program

Billings, Montana – The Psychiatry Residency Program at Billings Clinic received independent accreditation in June, and the program’s graduates were honored.

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education accredited the Clinic’s Psychiatry Residency.

According to Billings Clinic, this residency will be the first and only one of its kind in Montana devoted to teaching aspiring psychiatrists.

“We are excited and honored to achieve this accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education,” Jared Bozeman, M.D., Billings Clinic Psychiatry Residency Program Director, said. “It speaks to the quality of our planning team as well as the dedication from our psychiatry faculty and leadership. With the ever-growing need for those working in the psychiatry field we look forward to training the next generation of psychiatrists right here in Montana.”

On June 16, they also recognized the program’s initial graduating class.

“This first class of residents is a very intelligent, well-educated group of young doctors with a pioneering spirit and a passion for serving rural and underserved communities,” said Jared Bozeman, MD, Billings program director and Billings Clinic psychiatrist. “Each of them is moving on to do exactly what this residency is designed for – to bring well-trained, caring psychiatrists to rural and underserved areas and meet the mental health needs of people no matter where they are. This residency will continue to increase the number of well-trained psychiatrists we have here at Billings Clinic and in the region and expand access, which will provide the communities we serve with much-needed mental health services.”

The following are the graduating psychiatry Residents:

• Brian Schlidt, MD (Casper, WY) will open up a private psychiatry practice in Wyoming, serving patients in Montana and Wyoming. He also plans work per diem for Billings Clinic in the inpatient psychiatric unit and teaching medical students and residents. He completed his undergraduate degree in Physiology from the University of Wyoming and is completing Medical School at the University of Washington as part of the WWAMI program. During medical school he volunteered at a free clinic in Cody Wyoming. He participated RUOP (rural and underserved opportunities program) during which he helped design a program to try to decrease suicide by increasing mental health literacy in rural underserved parts of Wyoming.

• Russell Ollerton, MD (Half Moon Bay, CA) has signed a contract to work at Billings Clinic in Billings in outpatient behavioral health and will assist with teaching duties in the psychiatry residency. He completed his undergraduate degree at Brigham Young University in Exercise Science. During that time, he volunteered extensively as a crisis hotline operator. Before attending medical school at the University of Utah, he worked at a care facility for people with intellectual disabilities. During medical school he developed a psychiatric educational YouTube channel and helped to cofound a Music in Medicine Group. He also produced a music therapy album designed to help people with PTSD and anxiety.

• Kimiko “Koko” Urata, MD (Juneau, AK) is entering a collaborative one-year care fellowship with the University of Washington in July, allowing her to delve more deeply into integrating behavioral health and primary care before returning to her home state of Alaska in 2024. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from Stanford University, and completed medical school at the University of Washington, where she participated in the underserved pathway, a program for medical students interested in caring for underserved and vulnerable populations. She also participated in a special program focused on enhancing the health of rural populations. Urata was the two-time recipient of a service award for commitment to advocacy work.