Andrea Para, MSc, MD
Hometown: Uxbridge ON
Medical School: University of Toronto
Undergrad University/Program: Queen’s University - Mechanical Engineering and University of Toronto - Masters in Medical Biophysics
Why radiology? I chose radiology because it is such a central part of medicine. Almost every patient that comes to the hospital gets blood work and imaging, so we are involved in nearly every patient’s care and imaging is often the key to making the diagnosis. Imaging crosses all subspecialties of medicine making it very intellectually challenging. If there is an area of medicine that interests you, then you can also subspecialize in that within radiology such as neuroradiology, musculoskeletal radiology, or cardiothoracic radiology etc. If you like doing procedures you could do interventional radiology. There is something for everyone within radiology.
Why Western? Western has been a great place to train for residency. As a mid-size program I think it offers a perfect balance for residents. All our staff are subspecialty trained, we are a tertiary referral center for all of southwestern Ontario, and we have all the high level services - trauma, transplant, stroke, neurosurgery, NICU, cancer center etc. So you will get to see very complex high level patients. But the program is not too big that you get lost, all the staff knows who all the residents are and how they are doing. We don’t have that many fellows so residents are the primary focus. Also London is a great city to live in. It’s big enough that there is lots of stuff to do, great restaurants, but not so big that it’s expensive or has lots of traffic. Most of our residents have bought houses because the city is so affordable which is awesome.
Most interesting job before residency: sailing instructor
Favorite Book: Pride and Prejudice
Favorite Movie:
Favorite Band/Musician/Composer:
Hobbies: Skiing, sailing, mountain biking, golf, travel, photography, cooking/baking.
Favourite Quote: “We’re here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why else even be here?” - Steve Jobs
