Fahima Osman
Dr. Fahima Osman is a Somali-Canadian surgeon specializing in Breast Cancer surgery and research. She is best known for her performance of rare oncoplastic breast cancer surgery, a specialized surgical procedure which combines tumor removal with plastic surgery methods to reduce scarring and provide better cosmetic outcomes. Osman holds degrees in Public Health, Medicine, and General Surgery, and has practiced medicine across Canada and abroad. She is currently a practicing surgeon with North York General Hospital and an assistant professor with the University of Toronto.   Early life. Born in 1978, Osman is the eldest of 9 children . She moved to Canada from Somaliland with her family in 1989, when she was eleven years old, under refugee status. Osman dreamed of being a doctor since she was a young child, and has discussed her vivid memory of the day she received her acceptance letter to McMaster University for medical schoolon June 4, 2001. She was once told by a school guidance counsellor to not aim too high with her career aspirations. Osman is the first Canadian-trained doctor in the Canadian-Somali community. Education. Osman attended Johns Hopkins University for a Masters in Global Public Health, for which  she received a full scholarship. She also holds an M.D. from McMaster University in Hamilton, and an FRCSC (Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada) in General Surgery from the University of Toronto. Osman has said that she chose to pursue a degree in Public Health in addition to her M.D. and surgical qualification after several years of volunteer medical work in Somaliland. She wanted to work with and train Somali students in medical care. Osman was awarded funding for her Masters to research ways to improve access to healthcare in low-and-middle-income countries. Osman has  further pursued additional specialty training in Oncoplastic Surgery at the Institute de Sein in Paris since formal training in this area was not available in Canada at the time.   Career. Osman completed her surgical residency training in general surgery with the University of Toronto. After completing her residency, and prior to her specialization in Oncoplastic Breast Cancer surgery, Osman worked as a volunteer surgeon in Somaliland. Also during this time, while back in Canada between trips, she also worked in rural, Northern Ontario communities as an acute care surgeon. Oncoplastic Breast Cancer surgery continues to be rare in Canada, with  Osman as one of only a handful of Canadian surgeons performing the procedure. She is a surgeon at North York General Hospital in Toronto, Ontario.