Kansas City,
25
April
2017
|
09:33 AM
America/Chicago

Dr. Sarah Soden of Children's Mercy honored among Family Circle's 20 Most Influential Moms

A familiar face at Children's Mercy is listed alongside Drew Barrymore, Jessica Seinfeld, Melissa Bernstein (of Melissa & Doug), TV anchor Gretchen Carlson and other amazing women as neurodevelopmental pediatrician Sarah Soden was honored among Family Circle's 20 Most Influential Moms. Read her profile below, and you can find the entire list here

The Medicine Woman: Sarah Soden, MD

Neurodevelopmental pediatrician and director of the Center for Pediatric Genomic Medicine at Children’s Mercy Kansas City, age 46

Mother of Benjamin, 16, and Samuel, 14

When Sarah was in grade school, her class got to job-shadow and she chose to follow her pediatrician. That early experience set her on the path to her life’s mission. As director of the center, Sarah and her team use groundbreaking genetic testing to help uncover elusive diagnoses affecting infants and children.

I’m honored to work with families whose children have special needs. When I can be of service to them, it makes my day. Sometimes that includes using genome sequencing to solve a difficult diagnosis, which is particularly fun because it brings my clinical and scientific roles together.

When I first began to learn about genomes and gene sequencing, I was overwhelmed by the lingo and the rapid pace of technological advances. Mastering it all seemed truly impossible. So instead of trying to do that, I just tackled manageable pieces, one at a time.

The qualities that got me where I am today are curiosity, flexibility and a willingness to fail.

My mother was an educator for students with disabilities. She taught me to care about all kinds of children, especially the ones that need us most. Also, I don’t think I could have thrived as a working mother without her assistance.

My children are teenagers now, and I love that they are starting to express independent authentic opinions about their world. They are both tuned in to issues of social justice, which makes me so proud.

See the rest of Family Circle's 20 Most Influential Moms.

Learn more about the The Center for Pediatric Genomic Medicine at Children's Mercy.