by Giselle Lussier
Dr . Banafsheh SalimArouny grew up in Iran, as a youngster she had dreams of following her father’s footsteps and becoming a physician. Her other dream was to move to another country once her first dream was realized. “I really wanted to move to a country where English was the main language as I could already speak it and really didn’t have any desires to learn another. And Canada was on my radar for the country itself,” replied the young general family physician who just recently began her practise in Glenboro.
The admiration she has for her father was evident when she spoke of how he was her inspiration. The majority of his practise was in the city, but he did spend time working in a number of rural communities and really enjoyed the opportunities.
Just barely moved in to their new home, Banafsheh reported that her husband, Arman, and her mother-in-law, Hakimeh, along with 17-month-old Aran are settling in and loving the community.
Although new to this area, Banafsheh has been in Canada for 6 years; the first two of which she lived and practised medicine in Southern Ontario. She explained that she had relatives there which is why she settled on that area, and it was there that she met and married the love of her life. Following two years in Ontario the young couple moved to Winnipeg where she received a position with Prairie Mountain Health. Arman is an environmental engineer and is able to work remotely for his employer, only having to travel to Winnipeg once a week.
“I was thrilled when PMH (Prairie Mountain Health) notified me that I was appointed to Glenboro. The idea of living and having a practise rurally was very attractive to my family and I. So far we are not disappointed, although it has only been a couple of weeks since we moved we are all very happy with everything available and the location.”
During a recent interview, Dr. SalimArouny commented that she chose to be a general practitioner because she didn’t want to limit her practise to a certain part of the body. “I wanted to have the opportunity to care for various age groups from infants to elderlies. I felt family medicine can be very challenging and I like to be challenged!” she exclaimed with a dazzling smile.
The first two weeks have been pretty hectic; moving and jumping right into her work upon arrival. “I’m so grateful for my family who have helped so much with the move and getting things organized. And we are so grateful for how the community has made us feel so welcome. It’s already feeling like home!”
She is not the only one who is grateful as the community of Glenboro is ecstatic to have acquired a full time physician in the community and the big bonus is the SalimArouny family is wanting to make this their home indefinitely!
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