Irene Cybulsky is a Canadian lawyer and former cardiac surgeon. She was the first woman in Canada to be appointed head of a cardiac surgery division. After being dismissed from this position, she "represent dherself in a human rights tribunal case against her former hospital", which was ultimately successful.

Education

Cybulsky grew up in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and was a member of the first

co-education Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

class at the

University of Toronto Schools University of Toronto Schools (UTS) is an independent secondary day school affiliated with the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school follows a specialized academic curriculum, and admission is determined by a written exam ...

. She received her undergraduate and medical degrees from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. After a one-year surgical internship, Cybulsky applied for a residency position, which she did not receive, potentially due to her gender. She completed a master's degree in research science before being accepted to a

general surgery General surgery is a Surgical specialties, surgical specialty that focuses on alimentary canal and Abdomen, abdominal contents including the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, Appendix (anatomy ...

and later a two-year cardiovascular and thoracic surgery

residency Residency may refer to: * Artist-in-residence, a program to sponsor the residence and work of visual artists, writers, musicians, etc. * Concert residency, a series of concerts performed at one venue * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or m ...

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

Career

By 1995 Cybulsky was employed at

Hamilton General Hospital The Hamilton General Hospital (HGH) is a major teaching hospital in Downtown Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, located at the intersection of Barton Street East and Victoria Avenue North. It is operated by Hamilton Health Sciences and is formally aff ...

, starting as a clinical assistant and later becoming the director of the cardiac surgery residency program. She faced significant gender-based discrimination from male colleagues at the hospital. When she developed a

deep vein thrombosis Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a type of venous thrombosis involving the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein, most commonly in the legs or pelvis. A minority of DVTs occur in the arms. Symptoms can include pain, swelling, redness, and enl ...

during a pregnancy in 1998, the administration initially refused to allow her to take

sick leave Sick leave (or paid sick days or sick pay) is paid time off from work that workers can use to stay home to address their health needs without losing pay. It differs from paid vacation time or time off work to deal with personal matters, because ...

but instead suggested she start maternity leave early. According to a profile in ''

Toronto Life ''Toronto Life'' is a monthly magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ''Toronto Life'' also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including ''Real Estate'', ''Stylebook'', ''Eati ...

'', "the experience taught her a lesson: organizations need policies to protect employees from discrimination". Cybulsky was named head of cardiac surgery at

Hamilton Health Sciences Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) is a hospital network of seven hospitals and a cancer centre serving Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. In 2018 it was ranked 3rd in Canada on Research Infosource's Top 40 Hospitals in Canada list. Hospit ...

in 2009, becoming the first woman to ever hold such a position in Canada. In this role she led a reform of the referral process, which was unpopular among physicians; a later contentious hiring process she managed caused further unrest. Prompted by complaints from the unit's surgeons (including one who threatened to resign), Cybulsky's supervisor launched a divisional review process which recommended that Cybulsky receive communication training and coaching. In 2015, Cybulsky's new supervisor informed her that he was "opening her position to new applicants"; she was ultimately dismissed in July 2016. She submitted a complaint to the

Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario () is an administrative tribunal in Ontario, Canada that hears and determines applications brought under the '' Ontario Human Rights Code'', the provincial statute that sets out human rights in Ontario prohibit ...

regarding her treatment by Hamilton Health Sciences. She then closed her surgical practice to begin a law degree at Queen's University, while representing herself in the tribunal process. Cybulsky completed a

Master in Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the i ...

at Queen's in 2010 and in 2020 received her law degree. In 2021 the human rights tribunal concluded that Hamilton Health Sciences breached Cybulsky's rights by ignoring her concerns regarding gender discrimination.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cybulsky, Irene Living people Canadian lawyers Canadian cardiac surgeons Year of birth missing (living people) Lawyers from Toronto Physicians from Toronto