Black Physicians’ Association of Ontario honours five doctors for being the first Black doctor in their respective leadership positions

The Black Physicians’ Association of Ontario (BPAO) recognized five doctors for ascending to leadership positions at five renowned medical posts in Ontario. The five doctors have officially become the first Black physicians in their respective posts. The five physicians—Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman, Dr. Everton Gooden, Dr. Lisa Robinson, Dr. Dominick Shelton and Dr. Olufemi Ayeni—were honoured at the BPAO’s inaugural gala, the Black Joy Awards Gala, earlier this month. “This inaugural event marks a significant moment in Black history in medicine, honouring and recognizing BPAO members who are taking on the “First Black” posts in their field,” wrote the BPAO in a press release.Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman was honoured for her position as president elect of the Ontario Medical Association (OMA). Dr. Abdurrahman, a pediatric immunologist and allergist in Toronto, has built a career that includes posts at the McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton, an assistant clinical professor at McMaster University, and has worked to address issues like vaccine allergy, asthma, anaphylaxis and food allergy. “We shouldn’t think leadership is only for certain types of people or certain looks of people,” said Dr. Abdurrahman while accepting her honour at the gala in June. Dr. Abdurraham is the first Black physician in this OMA leadership position in its more than 100-year history. Dr. Everton Gooden was honoured for his position as the president and chief executive officer of North York General Hospital. Dr. Gooden, an otolaryngologist and surgeon in Toronto, has had an extensive career as a physician, which includes posts such as head of otolaryngology/head and neck surgery at North York General Hospital, and co-director for the Centre of Diseases of the Oral Cavity at Mount Sinai Hosital in Toronto. He took on the role of president and CEO at the hospital in December, making him the first Black physician to hold the position. In accepting his award, Dr. Gooden spoke about the importance of mentorship for Black physicians. Dr. Lisa Robinson, a clinical scientist and paediatric nephrologist, was honoured for her position as dean of Medicine at University of Toronto’s (UofT) Temerty Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Robinson assumed her role on July 1. Since earning her MD at UofT, she has had a long career as a staff physician and former head of the nephrology division at the Hospital for Sick Children where she is also a senior scientist in the cell biology program. She is the first Black physician to hold the position. Dr. Dominick Shelton was honoured for his position as interim assistant dean of Admissions and Recruitment at Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Medicine.Dr. Shelton, an emergency physician at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre is also a founding member of UofT’s Faculty of Medicine summer mentorship program for Black and Indigenous students, which gives Black and Indigenous high school students a chance to explore health sciences. Dr. Olufemi Ayeni, an orthopedic surgeon was honoured for his position as the president elect of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association (COA). Dr. Ayeni’s career includes posts as both a professor and the Academic division head of Orthopaedic Surgery at McMaster University in Hamilton, as well as posts at the university’s medical centre. He is the first Black physician to hold his post at the COA, which was formed in 1943.

Black Physicians’ Association of Ontario honours five doctors for being the first Black doctor in their respective leadership positions

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