Dr. Nadia Abunassef poses outside Toronto Hospital for Sick Children. ©Julia Pelish Photography
Every one has a story. Journalists are pros at uncovering amazing people and introducing us to the twists and turns of their personal dramas that quietly play out in our midst as we shuffle past each other every day.
With family and practice scattered between Toronto, Cairo and Jeddah, Dr. Nadia Abunassef is one of these people. I had the pleasure of photographing her for a recent article by Adrian Brijbassi that ran in the Toronto Star headlined: “Medical Graduates Still Find It Hard to Practise Here.”
Dr. Abunassef has the unique distinction of being a foreign-trained doctor and a Canadian resident. A pediatrician and neonatologist, she received her medical degrees and experience in Egypt and Saudia Arabia. She recently immigrated to Canada after qualifying as a skilled worker in the hopes of seeking equality for her daughters and stability for her family. She had also wished to contribute back to her new country by working as a physician, but that has not been possible because of the province’s licensing regulations for internationally trained medical graduates.
Dr. Abunassef’s situation has forced her into an unsettled lifestyle. While she waits for the day when her family and work will coincide in one country – she commutes!
From her home in Toronto, where she lives with her daughter (also a physician waiting to be licensed in Canada), she travels to care for her patients in Jeddah, Saudia Arabia, and visit with her younger daughter who is in university there. From Jeddah, she travels to Cairo, Egypt, in order to check in and tend to her two sons and husband. Then it is back to Toronto to be with her eldest daughter. Certainly not one of the easiest of commutes, but Nadia and her daughter, Dr. Maha Saleh, diligently focus on taking every positive step available in seeking to become licensed doctors in Ontario.
Photos capture our attention and pique our curiosity to know more. I have often reflected on Dr. Abunassef’s situation since taking her portrait. After getting to know her, I feel that Toronto kids and parents could only benefit from the knowledge and experience of this lovely, dedicated physician. We sure could use them, couldn’t we?
