Highlighting women physician leaders

I’m Dr. Nina Ahuja, an ophthalmic surgeon and president of the Association of Canadian University Professors of Ophthalmology.

One of the highlights for me is always after cataract surgery, when you see someone so thrilled to be able to see their family photo, for example, that they weren’t able to see before. Moments like that are really special to me, and that’s something I hold really dear.

As a woman in medicine, there have been times in clinic where I’ve walked into a patient room and they think I’m the nurse, for example. When I introduce myself as a surgeon, they often comment, “Oh, you look so young,” and say things like, “You’re a young girl—we didn’t think you were the surgeon.”

For women moving forward in medicine, one of the big things I would say is: don’t be afraid to really own who you are in that role, and don’t be afraid of what other people are going to say.

International Women’s Day is a very important day to reflect. It’s really a chance to stop, pause, and assess what we’re doing, where we’re at, and where we need to be.

Thank you.

I'm Dr. Kathy Andrews, I'm a family physician in Toronto. I work in women's health care, and as a menopause practitioner and in preventative health. 

I think as a woman physician, we are caregivers plus to our children first of all, to our aging parents, to our patients, so we juggle it all I think those are the biggest challenges.

When I was in first in medical school, we were referred to like the girlies, we wouldn't even be referred to as female women doctors, and so that was really quite degrading. There was a senior and when we would get in the OR he moved me closer and closer and so he could actually touch up against my breast, and it was actually quite horrifying.

Over the 30 years I've been in medicine, I think the way that the role of a woman has changed first of all in numbers. We've still got ways to come, but we've been grown immensely.

Do what you love, and don't be afraid to find your voice. What International Women's Day is for me is a chance to acknowledge and to honor all kinds of women in all walks of life, but I particularly like to take a minute to pause for a lot of women who are less fortunate than myself who have had a lot of strength and endure a lot that I don't have to.

I'm Dr. Michelle Barton Forbes, and I'm the chief of pediatric infectious diseases at London Health Sciences Center.

So I think I was inspired most by my parents. My dad was a pastor and my mama a teacher, and it birthed within me a loaf of people and a need to serve. I've faced several challenges; I am obviously foreign, I am black and I am female, you have to win the favor of others and so it feels like it's one battle after the next, but if you are confident in what you can do and who you are you can win.

I'm heartened that the International Women's Day has become so global, and to me, that spells hope. No, we haven't reached where we need to reach yet, but the discussion has started and to me that's promising.

I am hopeful that the woman who will follow me will not have to face what I face, they need to believe in themselves, they have to lead through excellence and integrity, so that they can leave a trail for others to follow.

I'm Dr. Lisa Calder, the CEO of the Canadian Medical Protective Association.

In grade seven I did a shadow day with my family doctor, and after that experience made the decision that I wanted to go into medicine, and now I have been at the CMPA for seven years. I started as the director of safe medical care research and for the past two years I've been CEO.

Emergency medicine is a male-dominated specialty, although it's starting to change which is really exciting. And so I did experience some sexist comments. I was very fortunate that I never experienced sexual harassment and never interfered with my performance or my career. But I could see the challenges in the environment.

I think the biggest piece of advice is to support each other to listen to each other. Also to choose your opportunities to speak up and look to really make the system better. We still have a challenge getting women into leadership positions and there's a lot of reasons for that, but I think it's exciting to see more and more female leaders emerge, especially leading Health-care organizations in Canada.

I think International Women's Day is a chance for us to celebrate and to raise each other up as as women physicians, um, in our community. I think that is the great opportunity of International Women's Day.

I'm Samira Jeimy, I'm the program director for clinical immunology and allergy at Western University. 

I have always liked health and medicine and science. Being a female doctor can be tiring. There are a lot of microagressions many of us deal with often. Our titles are forgotten when we get introduced a conferences. Often I get told, 'you don't look like what I was expecting,' so you know that sort of thing happens on a day-to-day basis.

In my field for example, there's almost a 25 per cent discrepency in pay between male and women physicians.

Know your worth. And be pretty loud about your accomplishments. You really have to be your biggest advocate. 

International Women's Day is a day that we can dedicate to highlighting each other's accomplishments, supporting each other, and straightening each other's crowns.