It’s all about the smiles, giggles for new pediatrician Dr. Megan Hawes

Dr. Megan Hawes, pictured with her husband, Kevin, is Akron Children’s newest pediatrician in Portage.

What Dr. Megan Hawes enjoys most about her job is working with kids, of course! From an infant’s coos to a preschooler’s silly response to a teen’s plans for the future, kids make her job exciting, interesting and meaningful.

So it’s no surprise that she is most looking forward to building strong doctor-patient family relationships in her new role as a pediatrician at Akron Children’s Hospital Pediatrics, Portage. She wants families to know she can relate to them as a mother of 2 herself and that her “door” is always open to answer their questions and concerns.

Being the first point of contact for families no matter what issue their child may be facing is something Dr. Hawes doesn’t take lightly. After all, success to her is a wealth of happy, healthy and thriving patients.

Why did you choose to come to Akron Children’s Hospital?
I wanted to be a part of an organization whose focus is solely on the care of children. It was clear from the beginning of my hiring process that everything Akron Children’s does as an organization revolves around its patients, their families and the larger Akron community.

Describe your role at Akron Children’s and what you hope to accomplish?
My role is a general pediatrician and my focus is primary care. I hope to keep my patients healthy, happy and thriving.

What is your area of expertise and why did you choose it?
My area of expertise is general pediatrics. I chose this area because I wanted to be the first point of contact for families no matter what types of problems or questions they have. Being a generalist allows me to see patients for a variety of problems and help them navigate the larger health-care system, if need be.

When did you decide to become a provider and why?
I have always loved science, all the way back to grade school. It wasn’t until I found a way to blend science with a career that had the potential to positively impact people that I landed on medicine. It dawned on me sometime in high school that being a physician would be the perfect way to balance both science and service to others.

What impression do you hope to leave with your patients each day?
I want patients to know that I truly care about them. I want to see them happy and healthy. I want parents to know that I can relate to how they feel as a parent myself, and that I also only want is best for their children. Also, I want patients themselves to feel comfortable around me and know they can approach me with whatever problems or questions they have.

What is the easiest part of your job?
Being with the kids, of course! They make my job fun, interesting, exciting and worthwhile.

Dr. Hawes wants patient families to know she can relate to them as a mother of 2 herself. Her daughters Abigail and Gwen are pictured here.

What are you most looking forward to?
In my previous job, I only got to know families in a very small snapshot of time. I had the privilege to care for them while in the hospital, but for most of my patients I never saw them again. I am so looking forward to getting to know families and see them grow over the years.

What does success mean to you?
A successful career to me is having a wealth of happy and healthy patients. My success will be marked by whether the families I care for feel that they know me and they can trust me to care for their kids. It also means helping to train the next generation of medical students and residents to do the same.

Where did you grow up?
I’m originally from a small town in Trumbull County called Braceville.

Who makes up your family, including pets and their names?
My husband, Kevin, our two daughters, Abigail and Gwen, and our two dogs, Ellie and Brutus

What’s one thing on your bucket list?
I have always wanted to visit many of our country’s most popular national parks, including Yosemite, Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon. However, I’ve only been able to cross a couple off my bucket list. I’m hopeful that as my girls grow older I can share these adventures with them.

What do you do when you aren’t working?
My husband and I just bought a home in the country. We have a couple acres to take care of now, which is a big adjustment after living in the “city” (Columbus, then Cleveland) for the last 10 years. So when we can manage to get some extra time between chasing after the 2 kids and 2 dogs, we’ve been spending a lot of time working in the yard and on home-improvement projects.

What advice would you give your younger self?
I would tell myself to be more patient. I have always been a very goal-oriented person, always looking to the next phase or the next step. There definitely have been times in my life when I could have been more intentional about enjoying the journey rather than always looking to the destination. I’m still trying to learn this lesson now!

What was your first paying job?
I worked at a steel company, a forging mill in Warren, Ohio, called Ohio Stage Forge. I worked as a temp one summer in high school entering some inventory data into their computer system.