TORONTO -- Dr. Alexandra Bastiany had already been practising in the field of interventional cardiology when she realized she was an unknowing role model.
Bastiany, who spoke with 麻豆传媒 Channel on Monday, the first day of Black History Month, is likely the first Black woman in her field in Canada.
Interventional cardiology is a specialty of cardiology that requires additional years of education and training to diagnose and treat heart conditions with minimally invasive procedures.
鈥淚t definitely makes me proud. It鈥檚 kind of surreal, because initially I didn鈥檛 know that I was the first,鈥� she told 麻豆传媒 Channel from Thunder Bay, Ont.
Her unknowing milestone could set a precedent for the industry, she said, and lay a path forward for the Black women that will come after her in the field of interventional cardiology.
Bastiany鈥檚 parents, who immigrated from Haiti, were 鈥渞igorous鈥� about education, but it was her younger brother who really pushed her to pursue medicine.
鈥淚t was my little brother who told me I should consider that area of study because I was always dissecting stuff and looking for living things in our yard,鈥� she told freelance last year.
Her parents taught her that, as a minority, getting a degree could shield her from some of the inequities in society. Despite her education, Bastiany has still faced challenges as a Black woman in medicine, including patients, and even other medical staff, mistaking her for a nurse.
The medical training that doctors endure can be 鈥渄emanding, physically and emotionally,鈥� she told 麻豆传媒 Channel.
鈥淥n top [of that], being a double minority, being a woman in a men鈥檚 world and being a Black student, kind of brought another [layer of] difficulty,鈥� she said.
In a December video for the , Bastiany expanded on those challenging times. 鈥淚t was difficult not to have someone who looked like me who was going through the same thing,鈥� she said, adding that she faced 鈥渕icro-aggressions鈥� in the workplace. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 necessarily always have someone to share that experience.鈥�
She hopes that will change for the women coming after her in the field. Though she鈥檚 been called a 鈥渞ole model鈥� by many in recent months, Bastiany prefers to think of herself as a 鈥渕entor鈥� for young Black women.
鈥淎ll I want to do is help the next generation,鈥� she said.
