“Radiology is still a male-dominated field, so every time a female graduates from medical school and becomes a radiologist it’s a success, advancing women in this field.”- KiAnne Hardee, MD

By Joycelyne Fadojutimi

Dr. KiAnne Hardee is managing partner for the Longview firm Medical Imaging Consultants, but her specialty and passion is breast health. In 2005, she graduated from the LSU Medical School, and moved on to UT Southwestern Medical Center to complete her diagnostic radiology residency in 2010 and breast imaging fellowship in 2011. Besides being managing partner for Medical Imaging Consultants she is director of breast imaging and lead interpreting physician at the facility’s Longview and Marshall locations. After starting down her chosen career path she never looked back.

“I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be a physician,” she says. “When I started medical school, I had no idea of what kind of physician I wanted to be. I found that I enjoyed anatomy and physiology, which led to an interest in radiology.”

Breast imaging struck her as the surest path to make a positive impact on women’s’ health. She also strives to make a difference outside the clinic by raising awareness on the vital nature of exams/mammograms. When she arrived in Longview she had to start from scratch.

“There were no women radiologists, and I’m still the only one,” she says. “I think being a female in this field, especially with a specialty in breast imaging, is positive.”

She concentrates on helping her patients learn everything possible about breast health and the procedures that insure it. She feels that being a woman makes it easier to empathize with them on female health issues. There are surprisingly few women practicing this area of medicine.

“Radiology is still a male-dominated field, so every time a female graduates from medical school and becomes a radiologist it’s a success, advancing women in this field”

Like most physicians, radiologists have very busy workdays. Her mornings are generally used for diagnostic mammograms, sonograms, and biopsies. Furthermore, she does diagnostic mammograms of patients who have or have a history of breast lumps, pain, or breast cancer. Moreover, the screening of mammograms, screening of whole breast ultrasounds, and breast MRIs are performed throughout the day. She also has to find time for paperwork/charts, reviewing biopsy results and discussing individual cases with other physicians in order to coordinate treatment. For KiAnne it is a labor of love.

“I love my profession because I feel like I can truly make a difference in women’s health,” she says. “As women, we often put others like our spouses and children before ourselves.”

She affixes strict priorities to the procedures she administers, insuring the best care for her patients is given when it is needed. With cancer treatment, time is a major determining factor. Early detection is of the essence. By catching malignancies in their primary stages when they are still vulnerable to treatment, KiAnne and her colleagues greatly increase the chances of successful treatment. Typically, healthcare professionals have too little time for everything that matters to them.

“I am constantly doing both my job as a physician and a mother,” she says. “Giving 100% to both is exhausting, but both are completely worth it.”

Too frequently, KiAnne has to draw on her inner strength as part of her job. The heartbreaking task of informing a patient she has cancer forever changes her life, but after presenting someone with this awful news, KiAnne is still there, offering support and hope, and not just for her patients.

Dr. Hardee is married to Hamp Hardee, her husband of 15 fifteen years. The couple have 3 girls; Olivia who is fourteen years old; Camile twelve; and Hallie eight.

She encourages her three daughters to work to be whatever they want to be, to be kind to and respect others, and never give up. She emphasizes how this philosophy is rewarding if carried out with skill and determination but will rarely be easy. She points toward the example of Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, who was the first woman to graduate from medical school. In 1849 she not only completed her medical training, but was valedictorian of her graduating class. She spent her career and her life healing her patients and advocating for women in medicine. Dr. KiAnne Hardee is cut from the same mold as this nineteenth century trailblazer.