PostGres Profile Detail – Faculty

Kira S Vader
Associate Teaching Professor
MEDEX
kvader@uw.edu
(206) 616-7585

Biography

I have been a physician assistant since 2002 and am a graduate of the Duke University Physician Assistant Program. I have been on faculty since 2005 and am the course chair for Anatomy and Physiology. I also work clinically and have experience in cardiology, inpatient internal medicine, urgent care and occupational medicine. I received my undergraduate degree at the University of Washington and also have a master’s degree in cross-cultural studies from Fuller Theological Seminary.
My love of medicine began at a young age. I grew up on Whidbey Island and joined the local volunteer fire department at the age of 16. As soon as I turned 18 I became an EMT and worked in EMS throughout college and graduate school. Knowing that I wanted to practice medicine at a higher level of care, I attended the PA program and have worked clinically since.
I love the study of physiology and am continually amazed by the beauty and complexity of the human body. Seeing PA students enthralled by the inner workings of the body reminds me to never lose sight of what an amazing, intricate, and sometimes delicate thing the human body is.
I am a second generation PA (there aren’t too many of us!) and like my mother before me, I believe that quality health care is a basic human right. In addition to my teaching and clinical responsibilities I volunteer at a free clinic in my community.