Resident Spotlight: Dr. Wendy Kennette, Department of Family Medicine

  • Where were you born and raised?

I was born and raised in Essex County. I grew up on a small hobby farm nestled between the towns of Maidstone and Essex.

  • What degrees do you have, and from what universities?

After high school, I attended the University of Waterloo and obtained my Bachelor of Science in the Honours Biology Cooperative Program. The work experience gained through this program fuelled my interest in research and therefore I decided to obtain my Master of Science in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology from Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University. My passion for research kept me in the field for an additional 10 years after completing my graduate degree, at which time I then decided to change gears and become a physician. I moved back home to Windsor, where I could be close to family, as I attended medical school at the Schulich Medicine & Dentistry - Windsor Program and obtained my Doctor of Medicine. I am currently completing my Family Medicine Residency training at the Schulich Medicine & Dentistry - Windsor Program.

  • Why did you choose to pursue your residency at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry?

Schulich Medicine & Dentistry has an excellent Family Medicine residency program and I am ecstatic to be able to train in my hometown where I plan to practice. The Windsor Program offers an excellent one-to-one experience with faculty, a diverse multi-cultural patient population and a wonderful community that embraces the development of the local medical training program.

  • What inspires you in your work?

I'm inspired by the people that I work with every day. I have had amazing mentors throughout the years that take so much of their time to teach me and push me to become the best physician that I can be.

  • What has been your greatest experience to date in your residency?

My family medicine faculty member admits and manages his own patients in hospital and, as such, on most days of the week while on my family medicine block, I start my day off bright and early rounding on these patients before clinic starts. One of these patients was an elderly man with dementia, who had developed difficulties with swallowing, and every day I would visit him and his lovely wife, who often slept in a chair at the foot of his bed. At these visits, we would discuss how he was doing and what options we had to manage his functional decline. Initially, he was full of spirit and quite animated when I would visit but as time progressed he began sleeping more and more. In the end, I would visit with his wife on those early morning visits while he rested. Unfortunately, I wasn't around when he was discharged from hospital since I had started a new rotation in Sarnia, but my preceptor contacted me several months later to let me know that he had passed away and that the family had thanked me in his obituary for the care that I had given him while in hospital. I was very touched to know that my regular morning visits meant so much to them. I think one of the greatest things about medicine is how even our simplest acts as a physician can affect our patients and their families.

  • What special interests or hobbies do you have?

I enjoy landscaping, reading and camping.

  • What do you do when you're not working?

When I'm not working, I'm spending time with my family. Kevin and I have been married for 15 years and have two wonderful sons, Ethan and Colin, aged 12 and nine. The past five years have been quite the roller coaster ride for me and my family, but well worth the adventure.