Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Miriam Hakim.
Hi Dr. Hakim, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, to two parents who fortunately believed greatly in education. My mother, Maxine Hakim, was a pediatric nurse at the Children’s Hospital and later on an educator in the Cincinnati Public Schools. She put her career on hold and put her time and resources into raising and caring for her family. My father, Dr. Simon Hakim, was an immigrant from Beirut, Lebanon, who came to Cincinnati Ohio to train in (and eventually practice) pathology at the University Hospital of Cincinnati in his career of Pathology and Laboratory medicine. Both of my parents were part of a culture that put high value on my attending school and striving to do well! Even as children, they expected us to work hard and took pride in setting a work ethic for their children. My parents were also excellent examples in that they were both very physically active at home, gardening in the yard and active in the community as we attended the JCC year-round, and I started competitive swimming at a young age and eventually became a lifeguard. This modeling of an active life by my parents stuck as I am an avid runner and still can be seen mowing our lawn in the summer!
I was fortunate enough to grow up in a neighborhood that allowed me to attend Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati. Walnut Hills was an incredible experience for me, allowing me to attend school with kids from a variety of socioeconomic and racial backgrounds. Upon reflection and speaking to friends from that time, I realize what a gift it was to attend Walnut Hills during a period when it seemed that there was a collegiality between kids across the spectrum of races and backgrounds. I loved being able to be able to be part of such a vast intersection of people, it made the future seem so bright! Being amongst so many different types of people made me realize that I really enjoyed talking to and getting to know people, this was perhaps one of the earliest signs of my desire to be a physician.
Ironically, my interests in high school were of two completely separate directions. I really loved theatre and thought that it was something I wanted to explore, but I also pushed myself to pursue science, as I could see that it could open doors as I watched my father in his trade. Pretty young for a high school graduate, at 17 I was accepted into the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering and began my freshman year as an engineering student. I had never experienced something so challenging and difficult and quickly had to rethink my game. I put every ounce of effort that I had into trying to survive and surprisingly (to myself and others), I did extremely well! About a year into the studies, I realized that I really wanted to be a physician, mainly because I figured that it was the application of problem-solving (like engineering), but on people. I also realized at that time I wanted to always work in a field where there was some essence of my contributing to humanity, and that was my method of doing so. I also realize how fortunate I was to have the example of watching my dad speak about and observe his work as a clinical pathologist, hearing stories daily, and watching him read at home at night in his pathology textbooks…
After five long years of engineering at the University of Cincinnati, I started at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, I was so happy to be there! Words cannot convey how thrilled I was to be studying medicine, something that I had dreamed of doing and that I knew I would be using for the rest of my life. It was still quite young – only 22. The next four years were spent mostly in the library, almost like the previous for five years! Although medical school was exciting and thrilling, it was very difficult knowing that the next phase my life would change drastically as I would have to go on to pursue residency training.
When it came time to choose a specialty, I was one of the medical students that loved everything. I reasoned that Dermatology had everything – surgery, medicine, art of aesthetics, the challenge of pathology, a great schedule for being able to raise children, and the bonus of dealing with patients. The only downside was that it was extremely difficult to get into. I was fortunate enough to be ranked very high in my class (as one of the top three students) and had done some publications in the field as well as worked in a lab for Dermatology research. When it came time for interviews during my fourth year, I received invitations from all over the United States: as far as Seattle, back to the East coast (some fantastic hospitals in New York City) all the way down to Texas and over to Chicago. The residency search was probably one of the most stressful things I had had to deal with at that point in my life. I knew that I would be picking up and moving quite possibly very far away from my loved ones and support system during a time when I probably would need them the most…
In the end, I moved to Montreal Quebec in 1999 to start my program of training in Dermatology for five years at the McGill University Health Centre, that would allow me the ability to practice both in the United States and Canada. Although it was a huge challenge for me, leaving Cincinnati, I did get to rejoin some of my roots in Montreal, as it was where my some of my father’s side of the family had settled after leaving Beirut. In fact, Montreal was the first place that my dad moved prior coming to the United States and settling in Cincinnati. Somehow it was fated for me to pick up and move to this completely different country to pursue a residency training where the first language that had to be spoken in the hospitals and in the community was French.
Fast forward 20 years, through residency training and the blessings of marriage and children, I am still in Montreal. Since I am a Cincinnati girl at heart, I have stayed very close to friends from childhood, high school, university and even medical school that still reside in Cincinnati and all over the states. I’ve been very grateful to have had my parents see me succeed as a physician, and get to know my husband and children while building my career over the last two decades.
I absolutely love what I do… I love patient care; I love hearing patients’ stories. Although I am a physician that enjoys the practice of Dermatology, I have always felt that I am first and foremost a healer. I strive to listen to and treat patients with respect and dignity and try to come to a solution that works for them.
I know that a lot of people jest at the practice of Dermatology (after all, it is the industry of Seinfeld’s pimple episode!) but it is a breadth full field. I enjoy preventative skin exams, the diagnosis and surgical management of skin cancers, aesthetic medicine, and overall, I do not take lightly the privilege I have to treat patients.
I think about it every day and though I’ve worked at it for many years, I will continue to learn and to strive to be a better physician.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
If there’s been an obstacle, I certainly have faced it!
I have had doors shut in my face, I have had times where I have had to be so far away from family and loved ones that it was physically and emotionally painful, I have had to strive to succeed during a period of time where women were treated a certain way. I have repeatedly had to invent myself as a professional through motherhood and balance work and life constantly…
My education and training were during a time where it was an ‘old boys club’ in both engineering and in medicine, in the hospital system with faculty that would determine my grades and fate. I have experienced uncomfortable #metoo moments (before there was a name for that!) and there were several times when I felt uncomfortable or judged or misjudged, and that has been challenging.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a dermatologist in a multipartner office and practice medical and aesthetic dermatology. Accredited by the American Board of Dermatology as well as the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, I am a member of the American Academy of Dermatology and the Canadian Dermatologic Association. Although my physical practice is part of Victoria Park Pointe Claire in Quebec, I also practice teledermatology.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to discuss my path in life and my career.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I’ve heard the harder you work the luckier you get, and that is true to some degree, at least in the initial phases of a career. Resilience is key to good luck because if you don’t find good luck at first you have to just keep knocking on doors until one opens, and that takes resilience.
The random aspect of luck that I can think about is in the ‘people’ aspect of any career. For example, finding a mentor with similar values, or finding teachers and evaluators who are kindhearted and open-minded instead of punitive in their teaching methods. Furthermore, I feel like the world has evolved in the last 5 years with the discussion of mental health in an open and more inclusive way, and that is a huge part of luck for the present generation of students.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vicpark.com/our-experts/dr-hakim/
- Instagram: Hakimdermatology
- Facebook: Dr. Miriam Hakim
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/hakimdermatology/
