Meeting MI: Resident Doctor Appreciation Week Edition

Meeting MI: The next generation
Resident Doctor Appreciation Week

#MeetingMI offers the Department of Medical Imaging the opportunity to meet the members of MI and learn about their experience in their own words, starting with the next generation of radiologists: MI Residents and Fellows.

Name: Anahita Malvea
Residency Training Program name & PGY: Diagnostic Radiology Residency, PGY4

1. What inspired you to pursue radiology residency?
I’ve had a bit of a circuitous path to radiology: I first completed a degree in Nanotechnology Engineering at the University of Waterloo and decided that I wanted to work at the interface of medicine and engineering working on device development for medical applications, this led me to pursue a career in medicine. Medical school, at the University of Ottawa, was a whirlwind and my initial interests in technology and medicine led me to start off in Neurosurgery Residency. Like some other co-residents of mine, I was exposed to Radiology through Neurosurgery and was really fascinated by this field that I had little exposure to as a medical student. I soon became very interested in the diagnostic and interventional aspects of radiology and the impact across all disciplines. This, coupled with my interest in technology, an ongoing desire to be in a field with procedural elements led me to make the switch to Radiology two years later!

2. What has been the biggest highlight of your education in MI so far?
The people I’ve met through my training have definitely been the highlight! Being in such a large program at a big institution has offered the opportunity to meet people from across the country and across the world. It really is a unique experience and a wonderful opportunity to learn about different cultures and the practice of medicine across the globe, all while being in Toronto. Also, the vast exposure, across different sites, to the rarest medical presentations and conditions has also been an exciting experience.

3. What has been the biggest challenge?
I think it would definitely be the amount of knowledge you need to acquire in a short period of time – having to know pathology across all disciplines of medicine along with understanding and interpreting multiple modalities on daily basis is a big a challenge, especially with the ever changing landscape of radiology and medicine which require you to keep abreast with whatever is coming down the pipeline.

4. What is the camaraderie amongst residents like, and how does it help shape your education and time in residency?
We have a big and great group of residents. Academic Half Days, Rounds and Retreats are where we’re able to get together and enjoy each other’s company. Despite being a big program, we have many close-knit groups who often meet up outside of the hospital. It’s so important to have a good group of people to spend 5 years with, you learn from them, you enjoy with them, and you can count on them to be there when there are inevitable challenges during your training.

5. As Chief Resident, what is something you’d like to say to your co-residents for Resident Doctor Appreciation Week?
I just want to thank everyone for all the work they do and for always stepping up for each other and for us as the Chief and Deputy Chief Residents! It really makes a huge difference when people are kind and there for each other, I’m very lucky to train alongside such wonderful people!

6. Tell us something about you that might surprise your colleagues!
Those who have seen me in person know I’m very short – but I loved basketball growing up and played through high school and continued on with intramurals in medical school – I guess you wouldn’t expect that from 5’2 me!! 😊