A child of two continents and cultures, Dr. Tanyaradzwa Kajese absorbed lessons from both on her way to becoming a surgeon.

Kajese spent her first 13 years in Zimbabwe before moving to Clay Center, Kansas, with her mother.

"There's an African saying that it takes a village to raise someone," she said. "What I was taught growing up was that nothing you achieve or accomplish is because of your own ability, but that the generations of people before you allowed that achievement."  

Shaped by two cultures

In the United States, she added, "The belief is if you pull up your bootstraps and work your tail off you'll become whatever you want. Both vantage points have played a role in helping me become the person I am."  

That person is an accomplished surgeon, personable, hyper-articulate, and with a motor that seemingly won't stop. Kajese completes her five-year surgical residency program at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita this month. On July 1 she'll start a one-year fellowship in minimally invasive surgery at the University of Texas in Houston.  

When not in scrubs, she finds time to play the guitar, write songs, and enjoy a brisk game of basketball or tennis.  

From Zimbabwe to Clay Center, Kansas

Kajese, 31, was born and grew up in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, population about 13 million, where her parents lived after meeting during college. Her father, Kingston Kajese, is a retired theology professor and native of Zimbabwe. Her mother, Faye Martin, is a nurse and Kansas native. The couple divorced when Kajese was 13 and Tanya moved to Kansas with her mother.  

"It was a pretty big adjustment," Kajese said of the move to Clay Center, population 4,333. Kajese was the only person of color in her new school. She also had to adjust to "being an African-American" when she'd known life only as part of an unhyphenated majority before.  

But overall, she calls her teen years in Clay Center "a wonderful experience. Clay Center is a very welcoming place."  

Kajese zeroed in on a career as a physician at the age of nine, when she helped her parents deliver Christmas presents to an orphanage for children with AIDS in Kenya.  

"There were no physicians, nobody to give care. I think that's the first time I thought about being able to make a difference in somebody's life."  

Years of interest in medicine leads to Wichita

She kept sight of that goal in high school, earning an academic scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and observing doctors at Clay Center's hospital, where her mother worked as a nurse. Back in Kansas after college, Kajese completed her last two years of medical school on KU's Wichita campus, deciding during her third-year rotations that she wanted to become a surgeon.

"I like using my hands to do things -- the technical ability -- but also the medical knowledge you need in managing a patient. And there's something rewarding about being able to operate on someone and make them feel better immediately."  

Reality of surgical residency

It's a demanding residency. Kajese typically starts pre-rounds at 5:30 a.m. or earlier, five to seven days a week. The first surgery of each day usually starts about 7:30 a.m., with up to a half-dozen more following. Kajese said the physical requirements of that lifestyle weren't that tough. The real challenge, she said, was "keeping up the medical knowledge to make sure you're doing what's in the best interest of the patient."  

"I think residency taught me, number one, that hard work pays off," she said. "It also taught me to believe in myself, to know I have the competence to go out and practice as a general surgeon."  

Kajese plans to specialize in laparoscopic surgery, also known as minimally invasive surgery, both because of its technical demands and the benefits for patients. "Imagine tying your shoes with chopsticks while looking at your progress on a TV screen," she says, describing the process. For the patient, it means less stress on the body and usually a better post-operative outcome.  

Bariatric surgery, used to help patients lose weight, is a particular interest. "There's something very rewarding about helping somebody change their life that way."  

Dr. John Smith, one of Kajese's attending physicians, said she has thrived under the challenges of surgical residency. In addition to "outstanding technical skills," Kajese's personality means "patients love her," Smith said. Kajese is also considered one of the best teachers by KU medical students, he added.  

Future career steps

"I love teaching," Kajese said. "I want that to be part of my future career, to be involved with students and residents."  

Kajese wants part of that teaching to take place in Zimbabwe. She'd like to arrange her practice so that she could spend several months a year there, teaching minimally invasive surgery to the nation's physicians. Kajese wasn't able to return to her birthplace during residency, but she hasn't forgotten the lessons she learned there.  

"It takes a whole bunch of people to help get you where you're going."