Name: Raja Rampersaud
Title: Spine Surgeon
Number of years working in health care: 30
I was born and raised in: Born Lancaster, Guyana; grew up in Hamilton since I was eight
I decided to get into health care because as a youth I always thought I was going to be a mechanical engineer as I loved building “stuff.” My desire to pursue medicine as a career was triggered at age 16 when my father suddenly died of a heart attack. This event was unexpected. He was the model of good health, being very active, a non-smoker and non-drinker, and looked 10 to15 years younger than his actual age. Although beyond my comprehension at that time, the effort and compassion of the paramedics and ER staff to save my father profoundly impacted my desire to pursue a career in health care. I quickly learned that the options in health care were endless and I had a natural attraction to the biomedical engineering possibilities.
The seemingly infinite dimensions and diversity of health care is what keeps me passionate about contributing, even in small ways, to the betterment of others and hopefully in turn myself – I believe it provides a lot of good karma.
My role here at UHN is a staff spine-surgeon in the Division of Orthopedic Surgery – a role I have had since 1999. My practice focuses on minimally invasive spine surgery for degenerative conditions and at times maximally invasive (20+ hour) surgical marathons to remove and cure rare cancers that directly affect the spine.
The thing I love the most about my job is the bonus of becoming an orthopedic surgeon supercharging my love of building “stuff” to another level. What’s even better is that I can do it with amazing and diverse teammates that I learn from every day.
The most incredible thing I’ve seen at work is the unbelievable gratitude that our patients express, even when things are not perfect, or they have just gone through an unimaginable experience.
I’m inspired by my wife Samina daily. Her unwavering support of me and our children, despite being a functionally single mom (especially on 100+ hour on-call weeks), is truly inspirational.
One of my personal heroes is my mother because of her absolute selflessness… try as I may, I don’t think I could ever come close.
I sometimes worry about finding the right balance between providing the best possible care for my patients, paving the way for the next generation, creating meaningful new knowledge, and being there for my wife and four kids (ages 11-18). For your information, I strive not be the fifth child in our home!
I’ve found joy recently from cooking. I have always loved cooking for others – especially if they liked it – but the joy of cooking has become so much more now that my four kids cook with me (my little sous chefs).
My favorite movie is… I actually don’t have one, because I love many different genres. If forced to pick one, it would be in the sci-fi genre. Think of all the amazing things that were once only in the imagination of the creators of concepts within sci-fi movies/shows that today are indispensable (e.g. cell phones, AI, etc.). To quote Albert Einstein: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. “In other words, it is often the inspiration/source of innovation and new knowledge.
My ideal day off is planning and making a home cooked “foodie level” dinner with my family and then all six of us snuggling up and watching a great movie.
Did you know you can recognize a UHN staff member through our Honour Your Hero program? Express gratitude for the care you or a loved one received and share a personal message of thanks with the people who supported you throughout your care journey. Your gift will supported research, education and the enhancement of patient care right here at UHN.
