The world got 33 new physicians following the graduation of Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q)’s Class of 2016 last week.
The 33 new doctors join the ranks of 223 other alumni of WCM-Q, who are currently working at hospitals in Qatar and around the world.
The latest graduates received their US-accredited medical degrees in front of an audience of family members, faculty, staff and friends during a ceremony at the Hamad Bin Khalifa University Student Centre in Education City.
They will now join residency programmes in Qatar and the US, where they will specialise in their chosen area of medicine or take up positions in research laboratories.
Dr Javaid I Sheikh, dean of WCM-Q, paid tribute to the students, saying: “Graduation is the highlight of the academic year and it is the culmination and a celebration of everything that we strive for. It gives everyone at WCM-Q great pleasure to be able to address these young, talented people, as ‘doctor’ for the very first time.
“The Class of 2016 have demonstrated great commitment to their studies, intellectual curiosity and compassion for their patients. These qualities will continue to grow and develop as they progress through their careers and I am sure that many of them will return to Qatar to work in hospitals here, sharing their wisdom with future generations and so contributing to the knowledge-based society being created under the provisions of Qatar National Vision 2030.
“Everyone at WCM-Q is confident that these new doctors will be wonderful ambassadors for the college and Qatar, demonstrating to the wider world that the country’s leadership is committed to excellence in education and unlocking human potential.”
Student speaker Sally Elgazar thanked HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, HH the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chairperson of Qatar Foundation, for their continued support.
She also thanked the faculty and staff of WCM-Q, physicians and employees of Hamad Medical Corporation and New York-Presbyterian Hospital and the families and friends who have supported the students through their time at the college.
She then imagined the future lives of her fellow graduates and reminded them to always keep the patient at the centre of their work. Dr Elgazar said: “It was Gandhi who said that science without humanity is one of the seven roots of evil. Similarly, medicine without empathy is the most basic reflection of that.
“So, let’s place ourselves in a patient’s shoes. Place our mothers or fathers, sons or daughters in that situation. Would we like ourselves, our parents, our children to be treated with the compassion and empathy they deserve? Or would we like our physicians to be self-involved, frowning and glowering at us while performing the most basic service?
“If there’s anything I can guarantee, it’s that we’ll all be patients at one point or another. We’ll all need that empathy. And we’ll all have a myriad of compassionate and alternatively indifferent doctors.
“So be what you would prefer yourself, your parents, and your children to have.”
Watching the students receive their medical degrees and take the Hippocratic oath were HE the Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan al-Kuwari, US ambassador Dana Smith and dean of WCM-New York Dr Laurie H Glimcher.
Dr Glimcher told the students to always focus on their patients and strive for new knowledge. “Whether you end up working at the bedside or in a lab, becoming an ophthalmologist or an orthopaedic surgeon, remember that the patient is always the motivation for your efforts - and your source of inspiration.
“And as you gain specialised skills, technical expertise and a deep base of knowledge, never stop trying new things or asking questions. Be creative in finding ways to help your patients. Set yourself on a path of discovery - to learn more about yourselves, about science and medicine, and about the world. Take the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson to heart: ‘Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail’."
Class of 2016
Mustafa Adel Abdul Karim, Ahmed Abdulhamid, Mutie Ullah Ahmed, Ikram Nabil al-Lawati, Maryem al-Manaa (with academic distinction), Ameen Abdulwali al-Aghil (with academic distinction), Nadeen Wael al-Baz, Ibrahim Abdulla al-Emadi, Mohamed Senan al-Hajjaji, Alreem al-Nabti, Moza Fadala al-Sulaiti, Seham Mohsin Alebbi, Hebatalla Khaled Allam, Erfan Alotaki, Noor Anabtawi, Karim Bayoumy, Minkyung Choe, Shereen Mohamed Darwish, Dana Diab, Rana Tarek El-Maghraby, Sally Elgazar, Ahmad Tariq Hamed, Ahmed Hassib, Yasin Hussain (with academic distinction and honours in research), Navid Iqbal, Hayaan Kamran, Risheek Kaul (with academic distinction and honours in service), Perola Lamba (with academic distinction), Noor Nema (with academic distinction), Lama Obeid, Mohamed Siyab Panhwar, Vignesh Shanmugam (with academic distinction and honours in research) and Amro Wagih Wafi.