- Story by Erin McPhee Photography by Don Denton
Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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A conversation with her youngest daughter set Dr. Ana Teresa Armas EnriquezB次元官网网址檚 life in an entirely new, exciting direction.
Back in 2016, the Cuba native had just moved to Nanaimo with her husband and two girls after spending 12 years in Morden, Manitoba, practising rural medicine. She was becoming increasingly frustrated at the challenge of securing a permanent position at an existing medical practice in her new Vancouver Island home.
B次元官网网址淚 actually found it almost as hard to settle in the practice of medicine on the island as I encountered in getting my credentials recognized in Canada,B次元官网网址� she says.
Ana TeresaB次元官网网址檚 daughter, Camille, six years old at the time, patiently listened to her mother express her desire to hear back about a job, before asking her a series of eye-opening questions.
B次元官网网址淏次元官网网址楧o they know how to do something you donB次元官网网址檛? Do they know how to run a business in a way that you donB次元官网网址檛? Then why is it that you donB次元官网网址檛 just do it yourself?B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Ana Teresa recalls her wise-beyond-her-years youngest inquiring.
B次元官网网址淚 looked at her and I said, B次元官网网址榊ouB次元官网网址檙e right, I should probably do this alone.B次元官网网址� So I went and did it,B次元官网网址� she says.
Ana Teresa, 42, graduated from medical school in Havana before immigrating to Toronto in 2002. After arriving in Canada, she worked hard to become licensed to practice here, and spent a number of years working and learning all she could in what she considers her B次元官网网址渉ome clinicB次元官网网址� in Morden. Reflecting on her experiences, she decided it was time to launch a solo practice, WomenB次元官网网址檚 Vita Medical Clinic, and to do it her way.
B次元官网网址淚 decided this is my opportunity to take everything that I learned in medical school and medical practices in Cuba and Canada, make my own blend and make my true identity shine,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淭here are things from both places that I absolutely respect, and there are things from the two places that I absolutely think that they could do better.B次元官网网址�
A three women partnership B次元官网网址� herself, a full-time nurse, Kassidy Delcaro, and receptionist Ani Rodriguez B次元官网网址� WomenB次元官网网址檚 Vita offers family medicine with a strong focus on womenB次元官网网址檚 health. Ana Teresa treats women at every age and stage of their lives, often seeing them during challenging periods. She aims to offer a safe, supportive and accessible option for women. She also works in the hospital, treating patients in the emergency room, labour and delivery, and during longer stays.
B次元官网网址淚 love what I do for a living. IB次元官网网址檓 very, very blessed that I have a job that I absolutely love,B次元官网网址� she says.
Ana Teresa continues to advocate for more studies focused on women to better serve them as a whole, and works to integrate new technology into her practice. She also seeks to empower and educate her patients about their bodies, their specific health risks and how to take good care of themselves.
Growing up west of Havana as an only child B次元官网网址� the daughter of an engineer and an accountant B次元官网网址� Ana TeresaB次元官网网址檚 family thought she was destined to become a lawyer.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 the shortest of the entire family and I was one of the shortest of my entire school B次元官网网址� but for sure I was the loudest,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淚 made my points.B次元官网网址�
Measuring five feet tall, she credits her strong-mindedness to her fatherB次元官网网址檚 side of the family and her perseverance to her mother, the combination of which helped her defy the odds and move to Canada.
B次元官网网址淚 feel like I had to be triple strong,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淔irst, because no matter which country you go to, women are still the greatest minority. Take that on top of being a foreign physician, and I had to prove myself many times. I want to be an example for my two daughters, showing that itB次元官网网址檚 not going to come easy, but getting there is your journey. If you persevere and put all your might and passion into it, and work really hard, you get to it, and then you become another example for the greater good.B次元官网网址�
Ana TeresaB次元官网网址檚 life during and after graduating medical school in Havana was challenging.
B次元官网网址淚 studied hungry with nothing to eat, with no light,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淵ou do all of this, and then you get out of there, youB次元官网网址檙e a doctor, you know your job, yet you donB次元官网网址檛 have food on your plate that was provided by your own work.B次元官网网址�
According to Ana Teresa, in Cuba, doctors are among the poorest professionals, and it is not unusual for tourists to find that their taxi driver or bed and breakfast host is also a surgeon or doctor.
B次元官网网址淚 didnB次元官网网址檛 want to do that; I wanted to be a doctor not having three jobs on the side. ThatB次元官网网址檚 not how I envisioned my life,B次元官网网址� she says.
B次元官网网址淚 love the culture I come from, and I love my family. I love the beaches B次元官网网址� thereB次元官网网址檚 no beauty in the Pacific Ocean that quite competes with the beauty of the Caribbean. But I had no hope. I graduated and I had to be fed by my parents and my parents-in-law. I had to be dressed by my grandmother. Those were the reasons to leave and never look back.B次元官网网址�
Wanting to provide a better life for herself and her future children led her to convince her husband, Joel Victores, an IT engineer, to join her in immigrating to Canada.
The couple met when Ana Teresa was 15 and they got married five years later.
B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 know if I can fathom my life without him,B次元官网网址� she says.
When sheB次元官网网址檚 not practising medicine, Ana Teresa enjoys time with her family. Weekends are spent ferrying their girls, Cosette, 13 and Camille, nine, to different lessons and activities, and with her parents and brother-in-law, who have followed in their footsteps, similarly moving from Cuba and settling in Nanaimo.
During quieter times, she can be found immersed in a good book and or experimenting with a new recipe B次元官网网址� Mediterranean cuisine is a family favourite.
B次元官网网址淲e live near Brannen Lake in Nanaimo, which is a blessing. My neighbourhood feels like I live in a resort all year round,B次元官网网址� she says.
B次元官网网址淧art of the beauty of living on the island is that you can go anywhere. I enjoy the drive to Port Alberni and looking at the lakes and mountains. We go to Coombs often. We go and look for shells on the beach. I grew up doing that in CubaB次元官网网址nd then we go and do some art with those shells or the treasures we find on the shores. ItB次元官网网址檚 beautiful; you donB次元官网网址檛 need to invest in anything, all you need is to look around and your spirts are uplifted with the beauty of the nature around us.B次元官网网址�
You can check out Dr. Ana Teresa Armas EnriquezB次元官网网址檚 clinic .
