Cerrone Cohen, M.D., assistant professor, is co-associate program director of the Duke Family Medicine Residency. He sees patients at the Duke Family Medicine Center and at Duke Behavioral Health Broad Street. He graduated from Medical University of South Carolina in 2010 and completed a combined family medicine and psychiatry residency at University of California at Davis in 2015.
- Years at Duke: 4
- Board Certifications: Family Medicine and Psychiatry
- Patient comment: “Dr. Cohen is very caring and made me feel like things would get better.”
- Where you can see him next: Presenting at the STFM Spring Conference in Toronto: “Molding the Millennial Mind: Creating Engaging Lectures for a New Generation of Learners.”
As the only physician at Duke double board-certified in family medicine and psychiatry, Cohen has found a niche for himself in the Department of Family Medicine & Community Health. Having joined the department in 2015, he has quickly become a rising star after last year being named co-associate program director of the family medicine residency, completing Duke’s Clinical Leadership Program for mid-career clinical faculty, and presenting at AAFP’s FMX Conference in the fall. He also has been the recipient of several teaching awards from family medicine residents and medical students, in addition to be nominated for Duke’s Master Clinician/Teacher Award.
Cohen’s ability to bridge primary care and psychiatry is an asset as the department emphasizes a person’s overall health — physical, mental, and environmental circumstances — in its teaching and care delivery. Cohen currently is focused on an upcoming residency curriculum redesign — which will include adding new rotations and an inpatient service at Duke Regional Hospital — and working on the creation of a rural track within the residency. He also precepts residents at the Duke Family Medicine Center every week and gives behavioral health lectures to both family medicine residents and physician assistant students, in addition to caring for patients in primary care and behavioral health settings.
“I do a lot of primary care, but I also do a lot of mental health care, and being able to help people in times of crisis is important to me; it’s rewarding to me,” Cohen says. “Teaching residents and students how to deliver great mental health care in primary care settings is something I really enjoy.”
In 2019, Cohen looks forward to learning about new models of delivering mental health care
services in primary care settings. Collaborative care is of specific interest to him because it is an innovative, evidence based-method for improving depression treatment in primary care.
“I think it’s really rewarding to work with someone who feels very hopeless and then give them a sense of hope that things can get better,” Cohen says.