Meet Dr. Ravichandiran
I was born in Sri Lanka and moved to Scarborough with my family when I was seven. I’ve had first-hand experience with some of the inequities that exist in Scarborough, and that’s why I chose to dedicate my life to caring for my community as an Emergency Physician at SHN. As a recipient of the Poster Hero Awards by the CMC for my work as an ER MD during the pandemic, I have always advocated for access to better healthcare for Scarborough.
I love Scarborough because of the diversity. There’s such a large Tamil community here, and I think it’s important to have that representation in the immigrant community. Growing up in Sri Lanka, both of my parents were meteorologists. When we arrived in Canada, my parents returned to school to learn computer programming, all while raising three kids. Coming from a place of war, with so many obstacles, my mom taught us the value of hard work and perseverance. Working your way up despite adversity represents a lot of people’s stories in Scarborough, including mine. And that’s what having Scarborough Grit means to me.
My brother is an orthopaedic surgeon in Ajax, and my sister is a family physician at SHN. The passion we all feel caring for others and contributing to our communities would not have been possible without our mother’s resilience. My hope for the future of healthcare in Scarborough is accessible care for everyone. To have the same level of accessibility for all Canadians, including new immigrants and people who don’t have the best understanding of our healthcare system.
Scarborough is a community that really needs and deserves hospital upgrades, and there is a lot of support and momentum to make these changes. If we all work together, we can make these changes a reality.
Love, Dr. Ravichandiran
Dr. Ravichandiran is one of our 11 new faces of the Scarborough Sans Family. To learn more about our campaign please visit LoveScarborough.ca
Read more of Dr. Mayo’s story in our Mother’s Day Piece here.