QF medical graduate says COVID-19 brings ‘a great responsibility’ to new wave of healthcare professionals

Dr. Abdullah Al Mulla, a member of Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar’s Class of 2020, speaks about the challenges the pandemic poses for medical graduates - and the motivation it gives them

For the health professionals of the future who are graduating from Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar this year, their step into the next stage of their lives is being taken in a world where the need for highly-skilled, and equally highly-dedicated, healthcare workers has been driven home by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest batch of graduates from the Qatar Foundation partner university have seen the crisis bring home to them the responsibilities that their chosen profession carries. And as Dr. Abdullah Al Mulla, one of the members of its Class of 2020, says: "By seeing what is happening in the world as a result of the spread of COVID-19), and the great efforts of healthcare workers on the frontlines, we feel, as medical graduates, a great responsibility and great enthusiasm to contribute and play our role in tackling this epidemic.

“We realize the magnitude of the challenges that will face us, but our belief in the nobility of the message that we carry as doctors motivates us and increases our will and strength.

“Just by reading the newspapers, watching TV, and checking social media, I see healthcare workers around the world risking their lives to save those of others, and how they have turned into heroes in people's eyes, That gives me more motivation and enthusiasm to get onto the frontlines, and use the knowledge and the moral principles I gained during my studies at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar to help fight pandemic.”

The Class of 2020’s achievements at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) were celebrated through a recent online graduation ceremony, and Dr. Al Mulla says: ”Having graduated from medical school during a pandemic is, in itself, an achievement – not only for us as graduates, but also to all the people behind the scenes.

“They worked hard to orchestrate the graduation and to get us to where we are today. From all our professors at WCM-Q, to the university’s administration, they were able to seamlessly transition all educational activities from the classroom to the screens in our homes, in the midst of a pandemic that brought the world to a halt.”

Dr. Al Mulla, who will now embark on a residency in pediatrics at Virginia Commonwealth Hospital in the US as the next step in his medical career, says his journey in WCM-Q, beginning from when he was accepted to join its foundation program, “has truly built me into the person I am today”.

“Going from high school to WCM-Q is difficult, because as a high school student you do not really have all those life and study skills that you need to get through medical school,” he said. “But you gain them, and in addition to that, you gain something more important: lifelong friendships.

“Looking back on my first days after I stepped into WCM-Q, when I met all those new faces, I could not have imagined then that, seven years later, I would consider all of them to be my family. We endured sleepless nights together studying for that notoriously hard exam, and we experienced emotionally difficult events, and happy times, together.

“I will cherish the memories of my time at WCM-Q throughout my life. It is where I have met people who are so important to me and who enabled me get to where I am today. Ultimately, my goal is to serve my country and specialize in areas that are in urgent need of Qatari doctors.”

Dr. Al Mulla explained that WCM-Q has driven him to develop the skills to become a well-rounded physician, stretching beyond medical capabilities and into areas such as time management and studying efficiently.

“I also gained great insight into different areas of medicine, such as understanding human physiology and pathology,” he explained. “As I entered the clinical study years of medical school, I started to understand how doctors must be understanding and empathetic to a patient and  have the utmost professionalism.

“Sometimes, in medicine, a physician might forget that a patient is sitting in front of them and instead sees just a case that needs to be solved, a disease that needs to be treated. But WCM-Q’s amazing clinical team and professors have reminded us of the importance of the human side of medicine.

“All patients are humans; they have their ups and downs; they have their loved ones the same as anyone else. That’s why, as healthcare professionals, we must be really humble about our role, and honored that they have come to us for help and that they trust us with their lives.”