Kathleen Swec, MD, is a pediatrician who can trace her interest in medicine all the way back to her third birthday—which she spent in a hospital room.
“It was my first asthma attack and even though I was only 3, I remember it—and being confused,” Dr. Swec says. “It took a long time and a lot of different treatments to get my asthma under control, but all the time I spent with nurses and doctors in a medical setting filled me with a curiosity and a feeling of wanting to be a part of all of this.”
Dr. Swec says she became interested in pediatrics because of her love for children. “Kids are amazing; we have so much to learn from them in their joy and in their curiosity,” she says. “There are so many fascinating factors that go into pediatric illness, and I love serving as a guide for families, as there is so much we can prevent in terms of negative health outcomes. There are huge opportunities for us to counsel families on preventative health steps.”
Additionally, Dr. Swec is a medical champion for Reach Out and Read, a national nonprofit that focuses on the positive effects of families reading with their young children every day. “Through the program, we give new books to children at their pediatric checkups during the first five years of their life,” Dr. Swec says. “It’s not only a way to engage families in school readiness, but also a powerful tool in fostering loving and rewarding interactions between children and their families.”
In fact, Dr. Swec says she often encourages families to look through their new book with their child during appointments. “At those early visits with newborns, I like to empower families. I tell them they are their child’s first and best teachers. I encourage them to describe what they are seeing as they share the book with their child. They are helping build healthy brains,” she says.
Dr. Swec is also known to sing as she examines children, especially infants and toddlers. “This helps distract the kids and model fun language-building activities for families,” she says.
Dr. Swec has the unique experience of having served as an active duty general pediatrician in the U.S. Navy for four years. “Both of my parents were in the military so I grew up with huge respect for all the sacrifices military families make,” she says. “Serving myself gave me wonderful training because I was often in situations where I was on my own and needed to know how to connect patients and families with the resources they needed.”
Becoming a parent herself further enriched her experience as a physician, she says. “Parenthood brings about difficult challenges but also times of immense joy, as we strive to provide a nurturing environment in which our children can grow and thrive,” she says. “I enjoy building relationships with children and their families and partnering with them on their journey.”
