Deena Kishawi, MD, is a Chicago born and raised Obstetrician and Gynecologist resident physician.
She is a product of Chicago Public Schools and attended DePaul University for her undergraduate degree, in which she majored in Cognitive Neurosciences. She attended Stritch School of Medicine Loyola University Chicago for her medical education.
Dr. Kishawi is currently chief resident at Ascension St Joseph’s Hospital in Chicago.
Her own personal experiences in the operating room revealed to her the need to raise awareness about the barriers faced by hijab-wearing women in surgery. This has caused her to create educational materials about Muslims in medicine – as trainees, students, residents, and physicians, as well as patients. She has led a national movement to create accommodations for hijab in the operating room and has presented policies, presentations, and Grand Rounds about this (amongst other related topics) nationwide. She has also spearheaded hospital-wide policy changes that create inclusive environments for hijab-wearing Muslim women.
Dr. Kishawi is interested in diversifying the field of surgery including surgical subspecialties to accommodate for females and minorities who would otherwise be hesitant to pursue surgery as a career choice.
She is also interested in health outcomes that are unique to Middle Eastern and North Africans residing in the United States. She is currently working on creating a demographic identifier in the U.S. Census for Middle Easterners and North Africans in order to properly represent this unique population and to better provide them with needed resources.
With her fluency in the Arabic language, her ability to resonate with Muslim patients in healthcare, and her work with immigrant, refugee, and first-generation communities in Chicago, she is currently conducting research on these vulnerable populations and is working towards training and educating healthcare providers about the unique challenges these population face.
She strives to teach, research, mentor, and learn within her medical community as well as the Chicago community at large. Her research interests include medical education, Islamic bioethics, religious and cultural competence, and health equity.