Meet the first Black woman elected to represent Ontario doctors

The Ontario Medical Association (OMA) has elected its first Black woman president to advocate for the province's physicians, residents and medical students.

Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman, a board certified clinical immunologist and allergist, will serve as the association's 144th president and hopes to inspire others in her new role.

"It feels actually, to be honest, amazing. I take on this role knowing there is added responsibility being the first Black woman," said Abdurrahman, whose father is a retired physician.

"I think of every time in my office when there's a little Black girl and they get really excited when they see me. They're so excited to know they could be the doctor, so I'm hoping these opens doors and people think of all the leadership roles they can take."

Her inauguration took place May 1 at the OMA's annual general meeting in London while celebrating Doctors' Day.

As the new president, Abdurrahman will advocate for the more than 43,000 physicians across the province — rural, urban and remote — aiming to bring a unified voice to members with different experiences and ensure they are heard, she said.

"I'm really hoping that I'll bring a unified voice to the membership," she said. "I'm also ensuring that during my term I'm going out and seeking them and trying to hear about what's happening in their communities, what's happening in their practice, what are their pain points."

One of Abdurrahman's main priorities is to address the crisis in family medicine in Ontario, she said.

"Every Ontarian deserves a family doctor, and this is really their gateway to all of the care — we have exceptional doctors in Ontario ... but currently the systems have underfunded them," she said.

Family doctors are drowned in paperwork, she said. "We need to address that so that it's more open for everyone to consider doing comprehensive family medicine."

Leading more patients to family doctors will help provide preventative care, catch health concerns early, get patients to the specialists they need and keep them out of emergency rooms, she said.

"This all trickles down into affecting the entire healthcare system."

Abdurrahman also wants to focus on the well-being of physicians, increasing efforts and dedicate support for mental health and well-being for physicians along with address healthcare mistrust among patients in the community at large.

She will serve in a one-year term as president, and will have locum support for the year in her practice in the Golden Horseshoe region.

"We're hoping that with with this next year, we're going to continue to see infusions into medicine and into family medicine," she said. "We're looking for continued advocacy and support toward that to ensure the patients of Ontario are going to get the best care and opportunities to have a family doctor."