Woman. Interventional radiologist. You rarely heard those terms together in Manitoba until Dr. Alessandra Cassano-Bailey entered the field of interventional radiology in 2012.
Before Dr. Cassano-Bailey was a doctor, she was Miss Cassano, physics and chemistry teacher at St. John’s High School where she attended as a student not too long before. This position is where she first made room for herself in what was traditionally a male-dominated field. “I took over from my old physics teacher who was retiring and was happy to have a female in that role,” says Dr. Cassano-Bailey.
While Dr. Cassano-Bailey knew from a young age that she wanted to be a doctor, she awakened a passion for teaching when she tutored her fellow University of Manitoba basketball teammates. Dr. Cassano-Bailey pursued teaching before following her childhood dream of becoming a doctor. Even though Dr. Cassano-Bailey has retired from the basketball court and the high school classroom, she has found a field where she can weave in teaching. In her current role as an interventional radiologist at HSC Winnipeg, Dr. Cassano-Bailey mentors resident doctors and teaches her patients about their liver health. “I was able to build one career on top of the other,” notes Dr. Cassano-Bailey.
Full article via HSC Foundation.