Resident Spotlight: Dr. Kriti Kumar, Paediatrics
For Dr. Kriti Kumar, working with children brings positivity and inspiration to her residency training experience. As a second-year resident in Paediatrics, she works with a range of patient populations, from infants to adolescents.
She says the residency program at Schulich Medicine offers early hands-on experiences and exposure within a supportive clinical environment.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of residency?
Pursuing a residency in paediatrics is such a privilege. It is extremely rewarding to care for children and their families – to be part of their lives at some of their most vulnerable points. In paediatrics, there is so much positivity and innocence from the children themselves – it really keeps me going even when days are hard, especially when I get drawings and crafts from my patients.
The most surprising part of residency for me is seeing how resilient children are. I am always in awe of how much they’re physically and mentally fighting when in hospital. Children are so strong, it’s incredible to see it in action every day.
Why did you choose the School’s Paediatrics program?
I completed medical school at Schulich Medicine and loved the program from the first time I got to be on a paediatrics team. The residents were extremely strong, some of the best teachers I had, and were given so much responsibility early on. There’s also a perfect mix of standard paediatric patients, as well as more complex patients.
What is the program’s biggest strength?
The people in our program are all incredible – from my co-residents who have become my family to the staff who are so invested in us and our learning. There’s a culture of giving residents as much experience and exposure as possible, so that we can become excellent paediatricians moving forward. I have gotten so many hands-on opportunities and so much responsibility right from the start of my training, which has been critical to my learning.
What types of cases and patient populations do you work with?
In paediatrics, we take care of infants all the way to adolescents until the age of 18, in a variety of different settings. There’s an excellent mix of acute care and general paediatrics in an academic setting and in the community. We also rotate through many paediatric subspecialties, so there is a wide range of cases that we get to see and patients who we care for. We take care of children with various infections, diabetes, malignancies, autoimmune conditions and so much more.
London has a very large catchment area for paediatrics; we get patients all the way from Thunder Bay and other areas in Northern Ontario to Windsor.
What learning opportunities have you pursued as a resident beyond the clinical environment?
I’m hoping to make medical education a big part of my career moving forward. During my residency training, I’ve developed some paediatric educational modules for medical students and other residents. I’m also serving on the Residency Program Committee as a resident representative, which has given me the opportunity to be involved in various aspects of training and education.
I was also the Canadian Paediatric Society representative for our program and have been working on an advocacy project with a team of co-residents to improve physical activity among children.
What do you enjoy most about living in London?
London is full of some of the best local coffee shops that I’ve ever been to. Pre-pandemic, I loved sitting at a coffee shop and reading or doing work. Now, I love grabbing a coffee and going for a nice, long walk.
