People Profile: Dr. Qingwen (Wen) Kawaji

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Qingwen (Wen) Kawaji, MD (PGY-5, General Surgery)

Qingwen (Wen) Kawaji, MD, (PGY-5, General Surgery) has a Charm City Football flag hanging in her office as a reminder of the town she calls home. Baltimore is not only where she met her husband and completed higher education, but it’s also where she was first inspired to pursue medicine while working on a research project with a general surgeon at Johns Hopkins University. She’s fallen in love with the hands-on work of surgery and the impact she can make on her patients.

“You see a problem, you fix it, and patients have an immediate change of symptoms. If a patient comes in with appendicitis, you take out the appendix, and the next day that pain is gone,” Dr. Kawaji says. “That is always extremely gratifying. A lot of times in medicine you don’t always get to see those immediate results.”

Dr. Kawaji has stepped into leadership roles during her time at MedStar Health, serving as the Academic Chief Resident for the MedStar Baltimore general surgery residency program and a resident representative on the Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC). She is passionate about her work on the GMEC and the opportunity to work alongside her colleagues on the GMEC as well as GME leadership to turn resident concerns into action items.

Dr. Kawaji encourages residents and fellows to take advantage of the peer-to-peer listening sessions hosted by the resident GMEC representatives and submit feedback so the GMEC can improve the program and strengthen the educational opportunities available to residents and fellows.

“It’s really hard if GME leadership doesn’t know what we need, and that’s where me and my colleagues get to be that channel to make sure that resident concerns and needs are brought to the right people,” Dr. Kawaji says.

Dr. Kawaji’s work on the GMEC is driven by her desire to turn problems into solutions, and by her appreciation for the comradery and community among the residents and fellows. It’s one of the things Dr. Kawaji appreciates most about working at MedStar Health. She explains that even though there are times where medicine can be tough, it’s important to share those challenges with your colleagues. “However you feel, you’re definitely not alone,” she says.

Dr. Kawaji encourages her colleagues to look at the big picture: “Everything you do, as little as it is – it could be a diet order you’re putting in – that will have an impact. You’re taking care of a person, and that’s truly a privilege. What you do truly has a meaning, it has an impact.”

“We’re all here in the hospital to do the same thing: take exceptional care of our patients.”

People Profile: Dr. Sant Kumar

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Sant Kumar, MD, (PGY-3, Internal Medicine)

From a very early age, Sant Kumar, MD, (PGY-3, Internal Medicine) was exposed to the world of medicine through his mother’s work as physician in their hometown of San Francisco. Dr. Kumar quickly learned that he was interested in not only the science of medicine, but the need to work across multiple disciplines to solve medical problems and treat patients.

“In internal medicine, you really get to play this role of medical detective where a patient comes in with a chief complaint, and you need to try to piece together and solve what’s going on with the patient,” Dr. Kumar said.

Dr. Kumar and his cat Ferdinand moved from San Francisco to Washington for medical school at Georgetown University, and then residency at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. Here at MedStar Health, he has put his passion for lifelong learning to good use.

“One of the best parts about internal medicine and medicine as a whole is that you’re always learning – there’s really no finish line,” Dr. Kumar said.

Dr. Kumar pursued Internal Medicine thanks in part to the supportive culture of the department, and leadership’s commitment to helping residents achieve their goals. And Dr. Kumar draws inspiration from his resident colleagues, saying, “I think my peers are all exceptional physicians.”

Dr. Kumar also serves as a resident representative on the MedStar Health Physician Leadership Council, advancing Graduate Medical Education (GME) initiatives on a system level and representing the voice of the more than 1,000 MedStar Health GME residents and fellows. Not only has Dr. Kumar gained valuable insight into the more administrative and policy aspects of medicine, but he’s been able to share that insight with his colleagues and work towards positive change.

“I would like my colleagues to know that their voices do matter,” Dr. Kumar said. “And the more that we can raise awareness about issues or raise awareness about specific things that are impacting us, both positively and negatively, the more likely change is to occur. And the administration does want to know what our experience is and what’s going on.”

As for the future of medicine, Dr. Kumar would like to see greater attention given to creating equity in health care, more resources devoted to addressing mental health and its effect on physical health, and greater incentivization to encourage medical students to pursue primary care and close the growing gap in essential primary care services.