In honor of National Women’s History Month, BrownStyle Magazine is proud to virtually recognize female doctors who, through their sheer brilliance and dedication, are contributing to the constantly evolving field of medical innovation.
Although it’s a rewarding career, it can also prove to be stressful due to the long hours, early mornings, voluminous research, and, of course, the weighty responsibility of helping others. Ahead, find out what inspired this hero in a white coat to dedicate her life to caring for others.
Kimberly Syres, MD
Rochester General Hospital, Rochester, NY
The Inspiration Behind Her Career Choice
According to Dr. Syres, she always wanted to be a doctor. To make her dreams a reality, she pursued a degree in Biology, Premed from Vassar College. She also worked as a research technician in a microbiology lab at the University of Pennsylvania.
“While in the Navy, I was granted the Health Professions Scholarship, which allowed me funding from the military for medical school and a living allowance,” Dr. Syres tells us. Following completion of medical school at the University of Pittsburgh, she was accepted into a military residency in general surgery.
After seven years, she finished her residency and passed her general surgery boards, which made her a board-certified general surgeon.
“This journey took 13 years from the start of medical school,” she tells us. “I didn’t stop there because my ultimate goal was to become an Acute Care Surgeon and this required additional training in which I received a fellowship in Las Vegas, NV. This training was intensive and included one year of surgical critical care, taking care of the sickest patients in the hospital, and one year of emergency general surgery and trauma.”
In 2016, Dr. Syres became dual board-certified in general surgery and surgical critical care.
Her Motivation
Dr. Syres was motivated to become a doctor because she wanted to help people.
“This is my calling from God,” she explains. “I leave my home every day and tell my spouse and cats, that I have to go help the sick people. I pray to God every day before I go to work and before I enter the operating room, to show me the way to help heal or fix the human body because God made us and knows what we need.”
Why She Advocates For Diversity In Medicine
Although Dr. Syres feels as though diversity and inclusion in medicine have certainly improved, she notes it still needs work.
“The world is diverse with multiple different ethnicities and thus, so should the medical field,” she declares. “Patients feel more comfortable when their physician looks like them because they can relate on a deeper level, a cultural level. We need doctors from all ethnicities and walks of life. This will enable us to provide better, more compassionate care to our patients.”
“Patients feel more comfortable when their physician looks like them because they can relate on a deeper level, a cultural level.”
Dr. Syres reminds us all the importance of speaking up and advocating for our health. She continues, “Be an active participant in your health and make it a priority. Do your research and have a list of questions that you want answered when you have doctors’ visits. You know your body the best and if your doctor is not listening to you, find someone who does.”
Her Advice For Aspiring Physicians
For Women of Color (WOC) considering a career in medicine, Dr. Syres encourages them to pursue their passion relentlessly. “We need you and you are needed in your community,” she emphasizes.
“I realized my talent early in life and my passion for helping the sick drove me to a 25-year journey to achieving my goal of becoming a trauma/critical care surgeon. My innate God-given talent of working well with my hands and effortlessly learning surgical techniques enabled me to excel in this field,” she explains.
Dr. Syres continues, “I remember, my late Grandmother once told me, ‘If it’s worth having, you have to work for it, and it won’t come easily,’ I can tell you now that my journey was not always easy, but it was worth it. I would do it over again. I wake up and look forward to another day to help a sick member of my community. This is my calling, and I am so grateful to have made it this far.”
