Workplace Challenges
Award-winning doctor has come a long way from war-torn SomaliaAn immigrant's storyDr. Abdul Abdulrahman has come a long way in his life, both personally, professionally and geographically. |
|
 [ 2008-03-19 ] |
Dr. Abdul Abdulrahman, a resident anesthesiologist at Mount Sinai Hospital, is the winner of the 2007 Ontario Premier's Award for Health Sciences.
This story ends with Abdulrahman, a resident anesthesiologist at Mount Sinai Hospital and an Algonquin College graduate, winning a prestigious 2007 Ontario Premier's Award for Health Sciences. The annual awards are given to six college grads who've made outstanding contributions to the province of Ontario in the categories of creative arts, technology, health sciences, business, community services and recent graduate.
But to fully appreciate the meaning of this recognition, you have to start at the beginning, when Abdulrahman was in a very different time and place.
In 1990, Abdulrahman, a medical school graduate, found himself and his family in the middle of a dangerous and gruesome civil war in his native Somalia. In 1992, he managed to flee to neighbouring Kenya, where he and his wife spent three years in a refugee camp before being accepted by Canada as refugees.
Abdulrahman and his wife faced the typical challenges of many newcomers, including adapting to a new cultural climate, learning a new language and, of course, building a career. He began participating in ESL classes to learn English and took on a variety of survival jobs, which included positions as a dishwasher, an assembly line worker and a security guard. In his scant spare time, he helped take care of his two new children. All the while, he remained philosophical and optimistic about his situation.
"DIRE SITUATION"
"We came from a dire situation, where life was really tough, so coming to a peaceful country where I could go and work and earn a living for my family -- that was very satisfying. All the other problems were just secondary," says Abdulrahman, who is in his early 40s.
Abdulrahman was determined to return to medicine and contacted the deans of 12 medical schools across the country, but his credentials went unrecognized.
He began researching alternative health-care professions and discovered respiratory therapy, which seemed to be a good fit. He applied for and was accepted into Algon- quin College's three-year Respiratory Therapy program, and he and his family moved to Ottawa.
The advanced diploma program prepares students to apply medical and psychosocial principles, as well as applied technical skills, to assist physicians in the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory and cardiac problems, and to function effectively within a health-care delivery system. Students cover such subjects as pharmacology, anatomy, anaesthesia, neonatal and paediatrics and communication.
"I really enjoyed it. Some of the material I was familiar with because of my medical background, but some of it was new to me, particularly the portions on the technical aspects of the job and the high-tech equipment involved," he says.
He adds that the extensive knowledge and expertise that his teachers openly shared, and their consistent support, greatly influenced his success.
"I didn't do this by myself, but with the help of a lot of people," he says. "My teachers were mentors who understood where I was coming from and helped me a lot."
HONOURS GRADUATE
Before even graduating in 2003 -- with honours and an academic excellence award -- he was offered and accepted respiratory therapy positions at three different Ottawa hospitals.
Working again at the patient's bedside was extremely fulfilling, Abdulrahman says, and the chance to learn about how the Canadian health-care system worked was very valuable.
Things got even better in 2005, when Abdulrahman completed four sets of medical exams and became one of 100 candidates -- out of 1,600 foreign-trained physicians -- to qualify to complete one year of retraining to become a doctor in Canada.
Currently, Abdulrahman splits his time between Toronto, where he's completing the second year of his anesthesiology residency at Mount Sinai, and Ottawa, where his family still lives.
Despite the 60- to 70-hour work weeks, he still finds time to guest lecture to anesthesia assistant students at Algon- quin. He has also been instrumental in developing the college's new ACE IT program, which helps other internationally educated health- care professionals transition to the workforce.
"Algonquin was a major turning point in my life, it's when the wheels really started turning," he says. "The experience gave me everything I needed to succeed and gave me a huge boost in morale."
How many hours a week do you work?