s m a l l ta l k
doctors share their picks + pleasures dr. gigi osler lives and practises as an ENT surgeon in her favourite city—Winnipeg!—where she’s also an Assistant Professor at the University of Manitoba. She served as the President of the Canadian Medical Association from 2018–19, the first female surgeon to take on the role in 151 years, and has volunteered on a medical mission with Canadians Helping Kids in Vietnam (chkv.org), a Winnipeg-based charity. She’s also trained surgeons in Africa, hiked the Camino de Santiago, and does hot yoga… We say namaste! My name: Flordeliz Gigi Osler I live in: Winnipeg, MB My training: BScMed, MD, FRCSC Why I was drawn to medicine: I knew in medical school that I wanted to be a surgeon and
psychologically challenging, and spiritually uplifting. Beautiful scenery and amazing food. A favourite place that I keep returning to: The beach. Can’t believe I’ve never been to: Fiji. Because it rhymes with Gigi.
Dream vacation: Would love to finish hiking the Camino de Santiago. Favourite city: Winnipeg! Great people, affordable living, beautiful parks, short commute to work, lots of activities for families.
Favourite book: A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. Must-see TV show: Still love Game of Thrones. I’d describe my home as: Welcoming, messy, full of love.
My fridge is stocked with: Dodgy-looking leftovers of unknown origin and age. My guilty pleasure: Eating chocolate and potato chips at the same time. My go-to exercise/ sport: Hot yoga. My secret to relaxing and relieving tension: Spending time with my family. A talent I wish I had: A good singing voice. Do I have a singing voice? Yes. Is it good? No. A big challenge I’ve faced: Saying ‘no’ to things that excite me and that I am passionate about. I’m inspired by: My colleagues— hardworking Canadian doctors, medical students and residents.
was drawn to Otolaryngology-Head and Neck because of the elegance of the surgery and the variety of subspecialties. My last trip: Hiking the first part of the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain with my husband. It was physically hard (we did no real hiking before the trip),
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Don’t need to go to: Mount Everest. I used to think that I could be a mountain climber but now realize that No, I Am Not A Mountain Climber. When we hiked the Camino de Santiago, the first day was spent going up the Pyrenees from France into Spain. That was hard. It was then that I realized that I Am Not A Mountain Climber.
Just For Canadian doctors Spring 2020
I always travel with: Hope, good intentions, my flat iron.
My car: Is always in need of a good interior and exterior car wash.
Best souvenir I’ve brought back from a trip: A puppy. From Saskatoon. It’s a long story…
Last purchase: Hand lotion (literally my last purchase).
My jet lag cure: I would LOVE to know a good jet lag cure—someone please share.
Last splurge: Hand lotion (it has shea butter). Most-frequented store: Amazon.
On my must-do list: I don’t really have a must-do or ‘bucket list.’ You never know when your time is up and I don’t want to have regrets about places I haven’t visited or things I haven’t done. If I wasn’t a doctor, I’d be: Working for a charity or NGO in a lowincome country.
courtesy of dr. Osler
My motto: Work hard, rest hard, and find joy in what you do.
