Dr. Paul Galiwango

Cardiologist Dr. Paul Galiwango mentors future healthcare professionals

BY: Jason Roberts

Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable. For many Canadians, the memorable television doctor, played by funnyman Bill Cosby, is the closest we come to actually having a black family doctor; moreover, the fictional character remains one of the few points of reference that black Canadians connect with the medical field. However, Rouge Valley Hospital cardiologist Dr. Paul Galiwango aims to act as a new reference point for black healthcare in Canada.

Growing up exposed to healthcare-related talk around the house from an early age (his mother was a nurse and his father is a pediatrician), it is not hard to see why Dr. Galiwango found himself a physician later in life.

“I think I definitely was influenced by the fact that I had two healthcare professionals as role models in my house. I grew up in a smaller town, so there were a lot of my friends and peers who were looked after by my dad as their pediatrician. It was impressive to see how they were gratified by the care they got, and the appreciation their parents would show to him. It showed the virtues of being a healthcare provider,” he says.

Dr. Galiwango finds a certain satisfaction in being a mentor to visible minority youth interested in pursing a career in medicine, but not lucky enough to have been raised in a supportive environment like him. In his case, Dr. Galiwango discovered his interest in cardiology while working alongside a cardiologist in university.

“I think having a mentor like that really sort of solidified my interest in medicine, and specifically in cardiology,” he says, adding that he sees mentorship as an opportunity to give youth the benefit of first-hand experience that provides them with real-person contact and the kinds of insights that demystify career uncertainties.

“When you can actually say, ‘So-and-so did it, they are successful, they are happy. If they can do it, why can’t I?,’ it takes it from the abstract to the real. It makes it a sort of practical goal to reach.”

Dr. Galiwango’s own turn mentoring started early at the University of Toronto. He and a handful of black students started what would later become the U of T Black Medical Students Association. The purpose of the association is to reach out to high school and undergrad students, offering them information about getting into and thriving in medical school.

Today, most of Dr. Galiwango’s mentoring successes come from informal connections with youth: speaking to small groups at churches, high school career fairs, or taking time to chat with the kids of hospital staff. He notes that finding a way to make medicine an attractive career goal for black men is a priority.

“Where we have a lot of work to do is getting young black males as interested as girls in academic excellence from a young age.” – Email [email protected]