Honoring three generations of women in medicine

For Dr. Randa Noseir, the calling to practice medicine was in her blood.

The story begins in 1964 in Cairo, Egypt where her late mother, Dr. Faiza Barsoum, graduated and began practicing gynecology. Dr. Barsoum was the only gynecologist in her village. Even more impressive, she was one of very few women doctors at that time.

“Medicine was a strong mission for my mother,” explains Dr. Noseir. “She worked all hours of the day and then returned home to cook and take care of her children.”

Dr. Noseir had always looked up to her mother, noting the sacrifices she made and the lives she changed. When it came time to choose a career, she felt compelled to follow in her mother’s footsteps.

After graduating from Ain Shams University Medical School in Cairo, the same school where her mother studied, Dr. Noseir immigrated to the United States. She spent several years in residency, taught as an assistant professor, and later went into private practice. Currently, Dr. Noseir is an anesthesiologist at Aurora Sinai Medical Center.

On Friday, May 10, it’s time to pass the torch. Dr. Noseir’s daughter, Hannah William, will walk across the stage at University of Wisconsin-Madison and officially add the letters “MD” and “MPH” after her name.

“Growing up, Hannah watched me and her Teta (grandma in the Egyptian dialect) work as doctors,” says Dr. Noseir. “On ‘take your kids to work day’, Hannah came with me to tour the operating room. She also got to dress up in scrubs. The experience really caught her attention.”

From then on, Hannah set out to keep the family tradition going.

As a student, Hannah completed several clinical rotations in internal medicine, neurology, and anesthesiology at Aurora Sinai Medical Center and Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center. Her next goal is to become an anesthesiologist, just like her mother.

“She’s already made jokes saying four years from now, after her residency, she’s going to take my job. Well, in four years I hope to still be working. I don’t plan to retire, so maybe we will work together,” laughs Dr. Noseir.

When she says the calling to practice medicine runs in her blood, Dr. Noseir isn’t kidding. Her brother, Dr. Emad Barsoum, is an anesthesiologist at Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center. Her father, Dr. Kamel Barsoum, also had a long, accomplished career as an internal medicine physician in Cairo.

This Mother’s Day, Dr. Noseir reflects on the woman who inspired three generations.

“My mother set a great example for me and her granddaughter. She showed us that women can work hard and make history in medicine,” says Dr. Noseir.