Ah, So This Is How It Should Be.

in English / by ismamesir / on March 8, 2014 at 8:22 am /

By: Hana Hassan

An event hosted by I-Medik Mesir and ISMA-Mesir, OMEC (Opportunities in Medical Career)was held in Cairo last week. Malaysian overseas medical, pharmacy and dentistry undergraduates and fresh graduates from all around Egypt gathered for the day event held at Al-Azhar Conference Centre. From the name it’s obvious that the event revolves around medical stuff BUT looking at the organisers, the audience is safe to assume that they will be getting more than just medical talks. What kind of ‘more’? Let me fill you in.
There were four speakers flown specially for us from motherland Malaysia:
Prof Madya Dr Zainur Rashid Zainuddin
Prof Madya Dr Rafidah Hanim Mokhtar
Dr Irfan Salmi
Prof Madya Dr Azizi Ayob
Let’s start with the first speaker shall we.

Prof Madya Dr Zainur Rashid Zainuddin

Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, and Dean of International Medical University (IMU) Clinical School. Focusing on one of the ten qualities of a muslim – being useful to others, Dr Zain started the session focusing on volunteer work from a muslim medical practitioner’s perspective. It was made clear from his speech that volunteer work is no child’s play. There are vast preparations needed, be it medically or spiritually and even more so when you have the responsibilities of presenting the values of Islam to the community. You not only want to use your medical knowledge and skills to help fix things, you also need to be able to patch up the hearts and souls of the people into bringing them closer to Allah swt.
We want to seize the power to move the people around us.
We want to captivate people towards the teachings of Islam.
We want to ignite the curiosity of the fundamentals of such astounding individuals amongst the subconscious thoughts of the society.
To let our actions speak louder especially in times when no words can be uttered.
Like RasulAllah saw, we need to let our behaviour show that the true values of Islam is constituted within us.
‘Membodek’ without we ourselves realising it.

Next.

Prof Madya Dr Rafidah Hanim Mokhtar

Deputy Dean and Academic Research of Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Dr Rafidah talked about child education and family management from a career woman’s perspective. On top of that, she showed how important it is for one to strive in becoming a public figure in order to voice out the understandings and syariats of Islam in everyday lives.
As a woman, I’d be lying if I weren’t one of the female audiences whose eyes sparkled and focus level rose during Dr Rafidah’s session. Ladies (and gentleman), one of the things that I got from her talk that ought to be repeated is that no matter how packed up you are, child education absolutely must not be neglected for the core foundation of a human being is from their upbringing.
In another matter, she stresses on the need to become a muslim medical practitioner with prestige in accordance to the need of implying the syariat of Islam especially in the medical field. Public figures carrying the syariats of Islam are in dire need nowadays.
In Egypt, 40-50 years back, the natives referred to doctors as el-Hakim – meaning wise men. They not only come to physicians for medical consultations but came asking for advice on life in general. Yes, religious matters included. That’s what we should be aiming for.

Dr Irfan Salmi

Current House Officer at Hospital Tuanku Jaafar, Seremban, Malaysia and a graduate of Cairo University. Close to the hearts of the audiences, Dr Irfan Salmi broke down the details into the life of a houseman. Dr Irfan gave the audience a clear picture on what they should prepare for right before graduation, up to the point on how to cope with life as a houseman.
“Absorb the pressure” was his repeated advice in facing the well-known stressful life of a HO. Dr Irfan is one of the few proofs that being a HO does not ultimately mean that you are the underdog of the medical profession. If one truly possesses the values of greatness within themselves, there’s a high probability that it will be reflected onto their conduct and he/she will stand out above the rest.
Though it takes great effort into making this work, it is important to not let our lives get caught up merely with medical stuff. Can’t get any free time off the hospital? No problem! Imply what you’ve got onto your patients during rounds and what not. We now have no excuse to not shine during horsemanship both as a physician and as a da’iee for many had proven that it definitely is possible to rise to the occasion.

Prof Madya Dr Azizi Ayob

The Professor of Clinical Pharmacology at IMU exhibits the need for fellow muslims to pursue what they do until they reach the level of proficiency. Formerly an Associate Professor in Pharmacology at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Dr Azizi mentioned that he felt that his job at the time was somehow redundant in terms that the things taught in class were routine and there were not many exposure to research opportunities within his career at the time.
With the desire to challenge himself, Dr Azizi decided to march out of his position at IIUM in order to dig deeper into the hearts of pharmacology, studying the constitution of drugs to further compliment the Islamic laws. One more thing. “Secure your license”. He repeatedly emphasized on this so I feel obliged to spread the importance of doing so again here.

“MasyaAllah, it was truly constructive and was a huge wake-up call. As a future doctor, my soul was greatly hit.” says Ummi Fatihah bt Rusli, a second year medical student of Mansoura University.

Before summing things up, let’s get this straight. We are caliphs of Allah swt first, and whatever our career is, that comes second. I hope fellow readers are wise enough to understand that one role does not restrict men from fulfilling the other. On the contrary, item one (being a muslim) is an ideal item to synergize with other roles.
I was rested on the fact that not one of the speakers neglected the importance of using your career or position as a medium to spread the deen to the community.
On top of discussing a holistic approach to becoming a competent muslim medical practitioner, the audiences were also drawn back to the reality of the concerns in the medical field ranging from their fate upon graduation, continuing to the deteriorating competency of current physicians, up until administrative concerns.

“Quality products come from quality efforts.” – Dr Zain.
I believe that the quote explains itself. However, in the end, no matter how much knowledge we have gathered, how much effort we have strained to shape ourselves up, what a waste it will be if we were not to place any impact whatsoever on the community.
[Quran 24:35]. Let us try to be that kind of light that shines ours and others’ paths.
Give yourself more credit, the ummah needs you.