ParentMap’s 2023 Superheroes for Washington Kids and Families

Pediatricians Abena Knight and Michelle Terry are colleagues who work alongside one another in Seattle Children’s Division of Hospital Medicine, taking care of kids who are hospitalized for a variety of illnesses. They both also work as clinical professors at the University of Washington School of Medicine, where Knight serves as the associate vice chair of education for the Department of Pediatrics, and Terry serves as the assistant dean for the Underrepresented in Medicine and Science Career Development program. They both have the best infectious laughs. So, you could say that these two already have a lot in common. But wait until you hear their professional “meet cute” story.

Terry recounts their conversation from when they first introduced themselves during Knight’s medical residency. “I said, ‘Abena, where are you joining us from?’ And she said, ‘I’m joining you from Baylor College of Medicine.’ And I said, ‘Oh, I went to Baylor College of Medicine. Where’d you go to college?’ And she said, ‘I went to Stanford University.’ And I said, ‘Oh, I went to Stanford University. What is your hometown?’ And she said, ‘My hometown is Houston, Texas.’ I said, ‘Oh, my hometown is Houston, Texas!’ And fast forward, she completed her residency in pediatrics and joined the Division of Hospital Medicine. And now we get to work together!”

Terry, who was honored as one of the inaugural ParentMap Superheroes back in 2008, says of colleague and friend Knight, “She’s amazing in multiple domains. She leads our educational program at the University of Washington Department of Pediatrics and she leads our clinical operations within the Division of Hospital Medicine. She’s an excellent physician. She provides outstanding clinical care to our patients. So, given that and all of the things that we have in common, I just really feel close to Abena and wanted her to share this honor.”

Dr. Knight, what motivated you to become a pediatrician?

Knight: I was diagnosed with lupus at the age of 10. I was quite ill and spent a lot of time at the children’s hospital in Houston. My doctors were wonderful, but my parents had great distrust, which was understandable given their backgrounds, and [that lack of connection with] our medical team really affected my care over a period of time, because we were that family that was super difficult and noncompliant. I watched my family navigate this relationship with the medical team, as we learned to trust and they learned to understand why we would not trust them immediately. I started to wonder about what things would’ve been like if there was a physician or provider who looked like my family or had a similar experience to my family — would that have made a difference?

This led me to think maybe that could be me, for the next set of families encountering our health-care system and feeling that sense of distrust. That was what really started my interest. It’s really kind of cool that I’m now in that hospital setting, which is a very stressful place to be for families, even if they’re there for something routine. For some families, it’s really the worst day of their life. So, being able to navigate relationships with families and to teach people how to navigate those relationships with families based on my experiences has been really humbling.

I occasionally have patients who come in presenting a constellation of symptoms, and they eventually get diagnosed with lupus. I had one particular minoritized-background family with a young daughter, and they were really struggling to make that connection with the team. While I didn’t presume that their experience was similar to mine, I could empathize in a way and was able to pick up on cues that maybe there were deeper questions. Their ultimate fear was not knowing if their child would have a future. So, I opted to disclose my history, and I think it was just so important for the family to have hope in that moment, because they were really not hopeful.

I was able to say, “I was super sick and I struggled, but I did what I was supposed to do and followed up on my doctors’ orders. I was one of the lucky ones who went into remission and I’ve been very healthy since. And now I’m a doctor. Know this is not a life sentence, this is a condition, this is one part of your child’s identity, and they have the opportunity to do so much more than be their disease.”

Dr. Terry, what motivates you in your day-to-day work?

Terry: My biggest motivation is knowing the potential in every child, knowing that kids get better and that parents do everything in their power to make sure that their kids get better.

What’s your worst habit?

Terry: I would say it’s challenging for me to be early, even on time, meaning I try to do one more thing, reply to just one more email, answer one more phone call, you know, put in that load of laundry. I just can’t stop and plan for the next thing.

Knight: Probably that I talk too much. I bother people when they want to just relax and be quiet. You could say that sometimes I don’t read the room well.

What is the one-word touchstone that guides you in your work?

Knight: Empathy. Everybody has their own experience, and it’s really important to not center everything on yourself.

Terry: Perspective. Almost every day I learn something new by looking at it through someone else’s point of view.

How have you seen pediatrics change over the past decade?

Terry: I’d say that pediatricians are managing a lot more behavioral health and mental health in primary care practices and in the hospital. I don’t ever recall seeing kids in psychiatric crisis when I was training all those years ago. And now it’s kind of an expectation that we manage social, emotional and behavioral diagnoses while the patients are in the hospital.

If you could wave a magic wand to fix something in the world, what would it be?

Knight: For me, inequitable access underlies a lot of what we see. It affects access. I think about money, I think about food, I think about health. I think about opportunities, and so, for me, it would be fixing the inequity of what people can actually have in order to realize their fullest potential.

Terry: Opportunity, having more of an open society where people can pursue their heart’s desire in terms of education, job prospects — without worrying that if they lose their job, they’re going to lose their health insurance, or if they choose to change their major, they’re going to be in a lot of debt. I don’t think we’ve adequately invested in education and health care like we did in previous generations.

What is one small piece of advice you would give to our readers to encourage their journey of raising kids?

Terry: Now that I’ve raised three children to young adulthood, I think the most important thing is to encourage them. You have to be supportive of almost everything that they say and do. You want to encourage their dreams. You want to encourage their studies, you want to encourage their friendships, you want to encourage their abilities. And if you do, they will develop that self-confidence to pursue what’s right for them.

Knight: I’m a bonus mom, so I came in as an additional parent. I think nurturing your child’s strengths is super important. They each have their own incredible strength. So, help them discover what that strength may be and support them in developing that particular talent with all you’ve got.

— Patty Lindley

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