MedStar Health Advanced Practice Provider Inpatient Transplant Post Graduate Training Program

Karen Strenger, PA-C is an inpatient transplant hepatology provider that oversees professional development for the MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute APP Program.

She graduated from the George Washington University Physician Assistant program in 2012. She began her medical career in Emergency Medicine at MedStar Washington Hospital Center and transitioned into Transplant Surgery at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in 2017. Her passion is caring for patients with end stage liver disease and guiding them through the liver transplant process. Karen also has a special interest in APP wellness initiatives and serves as an APP representative on the MedStar Wellness Champions Committee.

In 2021, Karen developed the MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute APP Council to promote occupational engagement and improve educational opportunities for APPs in transplant. She launched many initiatives to improve orientation, education, and training for new providers. She oversees quality improvement projects, the APP student program, and educational partnerships across MedStar Health. Additionally, Karen is a member of the MedStar Health Advanced Practice Advisory Council (MHAPAC) and the MedStar Medical Group Governing Council representing the interests of APPs across the health system.

Shahzia Lakhani is the Clinical Lead APP in the MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute Inpatient Transplant Service.

Shahzia graduated from her Bachelors of Science in Nursing program in 2011, and began her nursing career on a Transplant surgical unit at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. After earning her Masters of Science in Nursing from Johns Hopkins University Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program in 2016, she is now a Board Certified Acute Care Nurse Practitioner. She provides care to solid organ transplant recipients and living donors. She collaborates with Transplant Surgeons, Hepatologists, Nephrologists, and Gastroenterologists to provide medical care.

She also enjoys caring for patients within MedStar Georgetown’s Nurse Practitioner readmission prevention program, to ensure patients can continue plans from discharge including performing medication reconciliation and ensuring safety at home. She has supported reducing length of stay as well as preventing 30-day readmissions.

She is a member of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, American Society of Transplantation, American Society of Transplant Surgeons- Advanced Transplant Provider, International Transplant Nurses Association. She is a Fellow of American Society of Transplantation and an APP representative on the MedStar APRN Council.

In her role as Transplant’s Clinical Lead APP, Shahzia is responsible for the strategic direction and development of clinical protocols that promote quality and safety. In collaboration with her physician and APP colleagues, she provides leadership to meet the strategies, goals, and performance targets for the clinical care provided to transplant patients. Shahzia supports the MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute APP Council to promote the education, mentorship, and wellness of our Transplant APPs.