She Followed Doctor’s Orders. Now, She Gives Them

She’s back in the same operating rooms, but this time with a different colored coat and a stethoscope. Nearly 10 years after working as an OR assistant before attending medical school, Keena Kohl, MD, is back on staff at Hoag Orthopedic Institute, but this time as a board-certified anesthesiologist.

“I wanted to be a doctor since I was little. I was always interested in the medical field, and since I was into sports, health and wellness really interested me,” shared Dr. Kohl. “Growing up with my grandfather as a doctor and my mom as a nurse probably influenced me as well.”

After running track and field at UC Berkeley during her undergraduate degree, the Orange County native decided to join HOI as a volunteer critical care extender while she finished a couple of prerequisites and applied for medical school. She then joined HOI’s staff as an operating room assistant where she worked in the post anesthesia care unit (PACU) with both HOI nurses and anesthesiologists for almost two years.

“I was originally interested in sports medicine but I was interacting with the anesthesiologists a lot and learned so much more about their scope of practice,” she said. “If I hadn’t worked at HOI, I wouldn’t have gotten into anesthesia because I wouldn’t have known as much about it.”

After medical school, Dr. Kohl did her residency at Rush University Medical Center where she worked with a lot of orthopedic surgeons, before coming back to Southern California to join Allied Anesthesia and HOI’s medical staff.

“It’s so crazy being back and seeing the growth over the past decade, especially because of all the construction,” Dr. Kohl said. “Anesthesiology is really hands on, you’re making real-time medical decisions and watch the treatment in action, which is instantly gratifying. I really enjoy making the connection with my patient to put them at ease so quickly and I like being a part of the team as we work together to ensure everything goes smoothly.”