Kathryn A. (Kathy) Hughes, MD, FACS

Dr. Kathryn "Kathy" Hughes is a board-certified general surgeon whose career has been built within community hospitals — the kind of medicine that meets patients where they live. A Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at George Washington University, she is currently part of the surgical team at the newly opened Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center in Southeast Washington, DC — a full-circle return to the program where she completed her residency.

Beyond the OR, Dr. Hughes has become one of medicine's most thoughtful voices on the role of physicians on social media. She lectures widely on the subject, maintains an active presence across platforms, and writes occasionally at BehindTheMaskMD.com. Her advocacy roots run deep: through leadership in the Massachusetts Medical Society and the AMA delegation, she developed an enduring interest in the policy side of medicine. Today she remains active with the Association of Women Surgeons, the American Medical Association, and the Medical Society of the District of Columbia.

Across her career she has held hospital leadership roles — including Chief of Surgery and Vice-President of Medical Staff — that shaped her parallel expertise in medical ethics, quality measures, and peer review. She earned her undergraduate degree Magna Cum Laude in Biochemistry from Mount Holyoke College and her MD from The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. From hospital committees to radio, television, and the lecture circuit, she has consistently translated the work of surgery — for patients, for the public, and for the colleagues who follow in her footsteps.