Sudi Devanesen

Sudarshan (Sudi) Devanesen, CM (born 1943), is an Sri Lankan-Canadian family physician and educator, public health activist, and member of the Order of Canada. An order of which he was initiated into for his role in preventing Heart disease affecting South Asians in Canada.

Sudarshan Devanesen

CM
Born1943 (age 76–77)
NationalityIndian, Sri Lankan, Canadian
Alma materBishop Cotton Boys' School, Madras Christian College, Christian Medical College
OccupationPublic health activist, member of the Order of Canada, educator.
RelativesLeslie Goonewardene (Great Uncle)

Devanesen was founding president (1994–1997) of a South Asian Community Council of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, and has both studied and educated on the risks of cardiovascular disease in the South Asian community in Canada.

Early Life & Education

Devanesen is a Sri Lankan Sinhalese-Tamil. His mother being of Sinhalese ethnicity, and father of Tamil. Devanesen's father, Chandran Devanesan, was the first Indian Principal of Madras Christian College and his mother, Savithri (Norma Amybelle) was a sister of Leslie Goonewardene, aTrotskyist who founded Sri-Lanka's first political party, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, and played an instrumental role in both the Indian independence movement and the Sri Lankan independence movement.[1][2]

Education

In his youth, Devanesen studied at Bishop Cotton Boys' School in Bangalore, Madras Christian College of the University of Madras, and the Christian Medical College in Vellore, all in India.[3]

Career

Early Career & Immigration to Canada

Trained as a surgeon, began his medical practice in remote villages in Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan.[4]

In 1972, he immigrated to Canada. After briefly practicing at Janeway Children's Hospital at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's, Newfoundland, he moved to Toronto, Ontario, and resumed studies to respecialize as a family physician.[5] He began study at St. Michael's Hospital and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Toronto in 1973; he would eventually become chief of family and community medicine at St. Michael's, and is today an associate professor at the University of Toronto.[6][7] He was medical director of the Broadview Community Health Clinic from 1980 to 1989. He also served as physician for the Fred Victor Centre, a downtown Toronto mission serving the homeless, and on the board of directors of Casey House, a hospice serving HIV/AIDS patients.

He earned his Master of Clinical Science degree from the University of Western Ontario in 1990, and is a Fellow of The College of Family Physicians Canada.

Medical beliefs

An advocate of holistic medicine, his practice integrates the medical and biopsychosocial models of health care. Particularly concerned with prevention of disease and interested in cardiovascular disease, he became founding president (1994–1997) of a South Asian Community Council of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, and has both studied and educated on the risks of cardiovascular disease in the South Asian community in Canada.[8]

Personal life & Family

He was appointed Member of the Order of Canada on May 30, 2001 and invested with the honour on December 4, 2001.[9] His citation into the Order called him "a positive role model and mentor to hundreds of medical residents, family physicians and nurse practitioners." [10] The full exert is shown below.

"Former Chief of Family and Community Medicine at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, he has been a positive role model and mentor to hundreds of medical residents, family physicians and nurse practitioners. Believing in the holistic approach to medicine, he combines the medical and psycho-social aspects of patient care to produce a viable alternative to traditional models. In addition, he is an expert in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases affecting Canadians of South Asian descent and has worked tirelessly with the Heart and Stroke Foundation to launch education programs aimed at risk reduction."

— Governor General of Canada

Devanesen practices family medicine in Mississauga and Toronto, Ontario. He practices alongside his wife, Asha Devanesen, also a physician. His brother, Dayalan Devanesen, is a primary care physician who has been awarded the Order of Australia.

References
  1. Alexander, Robert Jackson (1991). International Trotskyism, 1929-1985: A Documented Analysis of the Movement. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-1066-2.
  2. Jiggins, Janice (7 June 1979). Caste and Family Politics Sinhalese 1947-1976. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-22069-9.
  3. LLC, Books; LLC, General Books (May 2010). University of Madras: Madras Christian College, University of Madras, the New College, Chennai, Loyola College, Chennai, Stella Maris College. General Books. ISBN 978-1-156-62907-9.
  4. Rahim, Abdur (2014). Canadian Immigration and South Asian Immigrants. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 978-1-4990-5874-1.
  5. Kidd, Michael; Heath, Iona; Howe, Amanda (19 September 2016). Family Medicine: The Classic Papers. CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-315-34953-4.
  6. "Profs Win GG Awards". University of Toronto Magazine. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  7. Bhatnagar, Rakesh (5 May 2009). "Help treat Sen, apex court tells MP govt". DNA India. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  8. "The Ripple Effect Wellness Organization | Founders & Advisory Board". TREWO. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  9. "First Eelam- Canadian Appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada - InfoLanka Forum". www.infolanka.com. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  10. Order of Canada citation
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.