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Dr. Jamil Asaria achieves top score on ABFPRS exam to win 2010 Anderson Prize
Jamil Asaria, M.D., of Toronto, Canada, earned the highest score on the 2010 ABFPRS examination and will be awarded the prestigious Jack R. Anderson Prize for Scholastic Excellence at the AAFPRS Fall Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.
Dr. Asaria began his medical training when he was in elementary school. "No one else in my family was in the field of medicine but I knew from a very early age that I wanted to be a doctor, and specifically a surgeon. I still have an old diary that I wrote at the age of seven where I vividly describe preparing slides of my own blood cells to examine under a microscope. I also dissected earthworms to practice my surgical technique. I knew that I was destined to be either a surgeon or a very successful butcher!" Asaria laughingly confides.
Not so funny are Dr. Asaria's recollections of his family's troubles in Uganda during the reign of Idi Amin. "My grandfather was an incredibly successful business entrepreneur in Uganda. Our family owned car dealerships, grocery stores—life was good. Then Amin came into power and gave the edict that anyone who was not black had to leave the country in thirty days. Nobody believed him until his thugs pulled one of my grandfather's dearest friends out of his car and executed him. After that, my entire family fled Uganda, landed in England, and eventually settled in Toronto, Canada, where they had to start life all over again with nothing," states Asaria.
"In Toronto," he continues, "my grandfather opened a printing press business. It was a very humble type of job and I helped out there during the summer. I hated working at that printing press and believe me, my grandfather noticed my attitude. He told me that ‘There's no embarrassment doing any job, but it's embarrassing if you don't give it 100 percent—your whole heart,' says Asaria, remembering his Grandfather's words. "His attitude about life and what you do with it changed me. From then on, I made sure that my attitude and people skills were a good reflection on the man who gave up so much to give his family a new life in a new country."
Asaria advanced from dissecting earthworms by entering a more recognized medical training program at the University of Toronto. At this prestigious institution, He completed his bachelors and medical school degrees in addition to completing his residency in Otolaryngology. "During my residency I was motivated by doctors who were technically gifted surgeons like Dr. Ralph Gilbert and charismatic leaders like Otolaryngology Chairman, Dr. Patrick Gullane. I was also fortunate to come under the tutelage of consummate educators like our Residency Program Director, Dr. Ian Witterick and powerful communicators like Dr. Peter Adamson.
But most importantly, Dr. Asaria relates, "I could not have found a stronger mentor than I discovered in my fellowship director, Dr. Baker," states Asaria, referring to the AAFPRS fellowship he started at the University of Michigan in 2009. "Never have I met such a technically gifted, thoughtful, diligent and precise surgeon. Of course, that was Dr. Baker's reputation before I started my fellowship, but during the course of my training with him, I was astounded by his patience, honesty, and humility." Dr. Asaria is Dr. Baker's second fellow to win the Anderson Prize. The first was Dr. Brian Driscoll in 1998.
When asked what were contributing factors that led him to pursue a career in facial plastic surgery, Asaria notes, "The Burn Unit in Mulago Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. I was in the middle of medical school in Toronto and I had the opportunity to go to Uganda. The patients in the Burn Unit at that hospital had suffered terribly disfiguring facial injuries caused by terrorists who used acid as a weapon. Through working with these patients, I gained an appreciation for the impact that deformity can have on an individual's life, and the potential for positive change that could be fostered through reconstructive surgery. It was an experience I will never forget and the one that contributed most to my decision to become a facial plastic surgeon," he states.
He continues, "I foresee myself developing an academic practice that will allow me to deliver exceptional care to patients with facial deformities. I'd like to balance that with a busy private practice that would allow me to follow my grandfather's entrepreneurial spirit while providing care at the highest and most cutting-edge level. I expect that international surgery will also be a strong focus and I'm committed to working with the AAFPRS Face to Face program."
Asked if he plans to complete ABFPRS certification, Asaria says without hesitation, "Absolutely. For Canadian surgeons, it's very important because of the legislative restrictions on specialty identification in this country. Having the ABFPRS credential in Canada might even be more important than it is in the U.S because it will help my patients know that I'm board certified in facial plastic surgery. That's a big deal in Canada," he concludes.
The 2011 examination will be given June 18-19 in Washington, DC. To register for the exam or apply for certification, go to www.abfprs.org and click on Applying. Or contact the ABFPRS office by emailing: info@abfprs.org or calling (703) 549-3223.
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