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BiographyDr. Flaherty was born in New York to young parents, who moved their family to the Big Island of Hawai'i soon thereafter. As the oldest of five children growing up in rural Hawai'i, Dr. Flaherty was raised with a strong sense of responsibility and desire to care for others. In the face of family crises, she dropped out of high school after one semester to help with the family's construction company. While her peers were preparing for college, Dr. Flaherty was developing resilience and learning several trades.
Dr. Flaherty did not consider higher education an option before moving to Colorado and taking the General Education Development (GED) exam at 18 years old. Initially planning to work as a wild-land firefighter during the summer and ski patrol during the winter, her GED score (in the 99th percentile) earned her an invitation to attend the local community college. While registering for an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) course, her life was forever changed by the instructor's recommendation: |
"If you're interested in medicine and want to help people, you should go to medical school."
Dr. Flaherty registered for a biology class and quickly realized she had found her calling. She maintained employment in multiple capacities to fund her education and graduated from Colorado Mountain College two years later. In 2007, Dr. Flaherty was honored with both an Associate of Science degree in Biology and the invitation to give the commencement address during her graduation ceremony.
Dr. Flaherty transitioned to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo for her Bachelor's degree. The epitome of a well-rounded college student and candidate for medical school, she majored in Philosophy, minored in Religious Studies, fulfilled required medical school prerequisites, and worked various jobs before graduating in 2010.
In the year following graduation, Dr. Flaherty obtained an EMT Certification and continued her education through UC Berkeley's Extension Program. She also returned to one of her previous forms of employment, laying tile, and saved enough money to backpack through Europe for two months, concluding her pre-medicine journey. Dr. Flaherty returned to Hawai'i in 2011 to attend the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM).
After graduating from JABSOM, Dr. Flaherty established her surgical foundation as a University at Buffalo general surgery resident from June 2015 to June 2016, before matching into the Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Medicine Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Residency, where she serves in her current role as solo chief resident. Dr. Flaherty trains in the medical and surgical management and treatment of patients with diseases and disorders of the ear, nose, throat, and related structures of the head and neck. The scope of her training includes endocrine surgery, facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, and laryngology (medical and surgical treatment of the voice box).
After graduating from residency in June 2021, Dr. Flaherty will be the inaugural Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellow at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, WA. As a subspecialist trained in head and neck surgery, endocrine surgery, facial plastic surgery, and laryngology, Dr. Flaherty is uniquely equipped to assist transgender and non-binary patients with gender affirmation. Dr. Flaherty plans to further specialize in the emerging field of transgender head and neck surgery, providing both medical and surgical options for gender affirmation specific to the face and voice.
Dr. Flaherty's ultimate goal is to establish a multidisciplinary center of excellence, where transgender and non-binary patients may receive comprehensive medical, surgical, and psychosocial care from a team of providers—including facial plastic and reconstructive surgeons, laryngologists and voice therapists, urologists, gynecologists, endocrinologists, plastic surgeons, psychologists, social workers, family planners, and family services—working together under the same roof.
Dr. Flaherty is genderqueer and pronoun indifferent.
Dr. Flaherty transitioned to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo for her Bachelor's degree. The epitome of a well-rounded college student and candidate for medical school, she majored in Philosophy, minored in Religious Studies, fulfilled required medical school prerequisites, and worked various jobs before graduating in 2010.
In the year following graduation, Dr. Flaherty obtained an EMT Certification and continued her education through UC Berkeley's Extension Program. She also returned to one of her previous forms of employment, laying tile, and saved enough money to backpack through Europe for two months, concluding her pre-medicine journey. Dr. Flaherty returned to Hawai'i in 2011 to attend the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM).
After graduating from JABSOM, Dr. Flaherty established her surgical foundation as a University at Buffalo general surgery resident from June 2015 to June 2016, before matching into the Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Medicine Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Residency, where she serves in her current role as solo chief resident. Dr. Flaherty trains in the medical and surgical management and treatment of patients with diseases and disorders of the ear, nose, throat, and related structures of the head and neck. The scope of her training includes endocrine surgery, facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, and laryngology (medical and surgical treatment of the voice box).
After graduating from residency in June 2021, Dr. Flaherty will be the inaugural Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellow at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, WA. As a subspecialist trained in head and neck surgery, endocrine surgery, facial plastic surgery, and laryngology, Dr. Flaherty is uniquely equipped to assist transgender and non-binary patients with gender affirmation. Dr. Flaherty plans to further specialize in the emerging field of transgender head and neck surgery, providing both medical and surgical options for gender affirmation specific to the face and voice.
Dr. Flaherty's ultimate goal is to establish a multidisciplinary center of excellence, where transgender and non-binary patients may receive comprehensive medical, surgical, and psychosocial care from a team of providers—including facial plastic and reconstructive surgeons, laryngologists and voice therapists, urologists, gynecologists, endocrinologists, plastic surgeons, psychologists, social workers, family planners, and family services—working together under the same roof.
Dr. Flaherty is genderqueer and pronoun indifferent.
Professional Interests |
Dr. Flaherty was drawn to otolaryngology for its broad scope, the opportunity to care for patients of all ages, and its contribution to quality of life by maintaining the human senses and ability to interact with each other as a social species.
Her interests include patient-oriented multidisciplinary team care, quality improvement, and providing specialized services to underserved communities. Specifically, Dr. Flaherty desires to improve the LGBTIQ+ community's access to healthcare and participate in the continued advancement of gender-affirming medicine. |
Personal Interests |
In her free time, Dr. Flaherty enjoys singing and playing guitar, recording music, karaoke, cooking, microbrewed India Pale Ale, single-malt Islay Scotch (and some Speyside), and crime- and science-fiction media.
Despite residency's busy schedule, Dr. Flaherty tries to stay active and enjoys cycling, weightlifting, board sports (snowboarding, surfing, wakeboarding), community-shared agriculture, carpentry, and tile-work. Dr. Flaherty is especially passionate about considering and discussing issues within philosophy and religion, human behavior, the science of teaching and learning, feminism, LGBTIQ+ advocacy, mentoring, and adoption. Dr. Flaherty's life and interests are shared with her wife, Mary, and their six rescue dogs, Paxton, Doofus, Sweetie, Shiner, Nalo, and Cookie. |