Earlier this month Dr. Allan Fox was appointed to the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest honour. Dr. Fox is a renowned neuroradiologist who has devoted his career to setting the highest standards for patient care and training in the field. He is a Fellow of the CAR and past recipient of the CAR Gold Medal Award, the Association’s highest honour. He has also undertaken over a decade of humanitarian work in Haifa, Israel.
A hallmark of a leader is someone who does not back down despite roadblocks. Dr. Fox’ early efforts to lobby for Royal College accredited neuroradiology training programs in the early 1980’s were not widely supported at the outset. This only motivated Dr. Fox to revise and resubmit his proposal.
“Instead of retreating to a corner, I regrouped, got more advice and support, and did a lot of homework,” says Dr. Fox.
This culminated with the CAR unanimously approving the proposal in 1990. The impact was profound and turned informal fellowship training programs into rigorous programs needing to fulfill all criteria for a Royal College residency. In effect, what we call “subspecialty fellowships” became accredited “subspecialty residencies.”
Dr. Fox devoted nearly two decades of work to lobbying for provincial funding for newly accredited subspecialty training positions in Ontario. Dr. Fox founded and chaired the neuroradiology section of the Ontario Medical Association and addressed several important matters including the lack of funding. Despite more than 70 accredited training programs receiving funding from Ontario’s Ministry of Health, neuroradiology needed to take practice earnings to fund a few positions. This framing of the problem as a prejudiced funding model was successful in convincing the Ministry to provide some funding support starting in 2008.
Toward the end of his career, Dr. Fox spent more than a decade travelling annually to Haifa for practice volunteering at hospitals serving both Jewish and Palestinian Israelis. He became involved with Hand in Hand Schools, an Israeli school system that brings together children from Arab and Jewish backgrounds – communities that would otherwise have little opportunity to interact. Together they study and grow in the same classes from young ages.
“Friends respect friends; friends don’t fear friends,” says Dr. Fox.
We wish to congratulate Dr. Fox on his latest achievement.