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Meet Dr. Tom Kovesi, Pediatric Respirologist
As a child, Dr. Tom Kovesi was determined to be a paleontologist. Hoping to inspire him to become a doctor, his parents took him to visit CHEO’s open house in 1974 – offering the unique opportunity to peek inside Eastern Ontario’s first children’s hospital before the doors opened. He remembers being impressed with the Radiology Department – the high-tech equipment and the greenish grey equipment – but it wasn’t enough to convince him – yet!
Years later, his uncle had a profound impact, igniting his passion for medicine and guiding him towards a career in medical research. Reflecting on his journey at CHEO, from medical student to intern and finally a resident, Dr. Kovesi discovered two pivotal truths: a desire to directly engage with young patients beyond research and a strong aspiration to serve at CHEO. In 1992, Dr. Kovesi officially became part of the CHEO team as an Intensivist and the institution's first Pediatric Respirologist. Reflecting on his tenure in the Intensive Care Unit, Dr. Kovesi shares, “Once you deal with kids with the sickest lungs, it helps you learn how to manage everything else.”
Armed with this learning, Dr. Kovesi now splits his time between practicing as a clinician, doing research into respiratory health of Canadian Indigenous children and youth, and teaching a new generation of doctors, pediatricians, and nurse practitioners.
“CHEO has been very responsive to meeting my professional needs. While many things have changed since I first started at CHEO, our sense of community hasn’t.”
Thinking back on his early days at CHEO, Dr. Kovesi remembers how lab results used to be printed on long strips of paper and arrived every morning in a shoebox for the residents to review. Or how there were only two pulse oximeters, each on a little cart (a device used for measuring pulse and heart rate), for the entire hospital – today there is at least one in each ward.
“While CHEO has become much bigger than when my journey first began, the excellent care we provide, hasn’t changed,” shares Dr. Tom Kovesi. “We do some amazing things for our patients, and you can feel how proud the community is. It’s hard to be a clinician here and not remember certain patients. Some of them don’t have a great prognosis and yet make a wonderful recovery. That’s what CHEO is all about.”
CHEO is filled with committed and caring physicians like Dr. Tom Kovesi. Join us.