New OMA president shares how early leadership opportunities, lived experience and a commitment to connection are shaping her approach
Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman made history this month as the first Black woman to serve as OMA president. Get to know her philosophy on physician leadership, as well as why she decided to pursue leadership and why strong, diverse leadership matters in medicine. Read on for insight into her vision and values as she represents Ontario’s 43,000+ physicians.
Why did you decide to pursue leadership at the OMA? A: As an allergist in a very small section, I looked over at our section executive and I thought, ‘okay, I’ll put my name in the next iteration.’ Maybe I would start off as a treasurer or secretary. Then our executive said, ‘we've been doing this for 20 years, so we’ve actually hit the max of our term limits, so we're all leaving. I suggest you move your application to chair.’
So, leadership sometimes drops in (your lap).
My parents have always said to me, if you have time to complain, you have time to be part of the solution.
A: I think back to the importance of the spokesperson, the person who is leading and representing at the forefront. It’s important to see yourself in this space. In my office, I love it when the little Black girls come in and they're like, ‘Whoa, wait, what?’ That's also really important for me when I look forward to where I'm going – to remember who's also looking.
We sometimes forget about that, but it's really important to remember: just by being present is also a form of leadership in itself and just showing the future generations that they can be in your space as well.
A: We're leaders before we come into medicine, we're leaders in medicine and every physician is seen as a leader. When you go into a room, people will ask you questions, they will look to you. Whether it's a code, whether it's a conversation, whether it's advocating, people will still look to you as a leader. So, really take opportunities to lean in and learn how to listen. It's not about speaking loudly, it's about how we listen and how we're able to bring those voices into the room and how we become the unified voice.
A: Within the OMA, we're focused on building leaders. So, we want to make sure that we're investing in growing our leaders. And that means that we provide a lot of programming that is focused on building leaders.
We have things such as training people to be health-care advocates. We offer media training. We also have our Physician Leadership Program, which is a world-class program partnered with Rotman School of Management. You also have the ability to be part of the elected physician leaders. And then we also have the leadership learning hub. And I particularly love the leadership learning hub because it's something that any member can access, and this really gives you the opportunity to learn about whatever you're interested in.
A: Look around now, because the people who are interested in leadership, you'll still continue to see them. No matter where you end up working, you meet other enthusiastic people and you keep intersecting with them, so it's great to make these connections now and to see each other as leaders and continue to grow.
Sometimes you fall into some leadership roles and sometimes you're seeking them out. Every journey is different, and I just really want everyone to embrace their journey and enjoy the journey.
Editor’s note: This Q-and-A was adapted from a keynote address delivered by Dr. Abdurrahman at the Ontario Medical Students’ Association’s recent leadership summit and Annual General Meeting. The keynote has been edited for length and clarity.