We are Women’s offers the WCH community a chance to get to know each other and share our stories. This week, we’re highlighting our incredible physicians in honour of Doctor’s Day on May 1.
Name: Shoba Sujana Kumar
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Title & Department: Physician, Department of Medicine
On the WCH team for: 14 years
1. What does your typical workday look like?
My typical day is a mix of clinics, teaching and administrative responsbilities – I have a number of education and administrative roles now both at WCH and through the University of Toronto Department of Medicine.
2. What excites you the most about working at WCH?
I love working with my colleagues and with our trainees – the environment and the people are what makes it fun and energizing to come to work every day.
3. How does your work contribute to creating a positive patient experience?
I hope that I practice in my day to day, and demonstrate to my trainees as well, how to be empathic and patient/person-centred in my interactions. This holds true for my interactions with patients and with the people around me.
4. What made you want to become a doctor?
I entered medicine looking for a profession that would both stimulate my intellectual curiosity and thirst for learning, and also enable me to connect with people, their lives and their stories. I am lucky that I ended up in a specialty where I get to do all of these things; medicine continues to evolve and there are always new things to learn. I get to work with people in my outpatient clinic, sometimes over years and really get to know them and their lives. Hopefully what I do helps them to live their best lives, and I am grateful for the opportunity to be involved.