Three graduates of Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) now working as physicians in Qatar and the US returned to the college to offer advice to help medical students plan their career paths.

Radiologist Dr Jehan Al Rayahi of Sidra Medicine joined dermatologist Dr Sara Alkhawaga of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and Dr Mustafa Alkawaaz, a pathologist at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, for the latest instalment of the biannual WCM-Q Career Advising Seminar.

Dr Mai Mahmoud

Speaking to medical students, the doctors described their own career paths, explaining the influences of their own experiences as well as the guidance they received from mentors, that led them to choose their own particular medical specialities.

Hamad General Hospital Head of Hospital Medicine and Senior Consultant Dr Anand Kartha, also joined the seminar session to offer advice to students. At least 50 students participated in the career seminar.

The seminar was coordinated by WCM-Q Director for Student Academic Advising Dr Mai Mahmoud, who said that studying medicine opens a vast array of career pathways in many different fields of clinical practice, but also in research, education, management, and other areas.

 This means that students are advised to begin thinking about their career goals at an early stage so that they can orient their studies and extracurricular activities toward those ambitions.

Hearing the stories of successful physicians in our Career Advising Seminar gives them both inspiration and guidance as they begin to form ideas about their own paths.

Dr Mahmoud is also the Assistant Dean for Faculty Affairs and an Associate Professor of Teaching in Medicine at WCM-Q.

Academic advising programme

The broad objectives of the academic advising programme at WCM-Q are to assist students in reaching the highest level of competence, provide the support to overcome academic challenges, and help students make informed career decisions.

The programme has two components: longitudinal advising and career advising, which both extend across the four years of instruction of the WCM-Q Medical Curriculum. The longitudinal advising service assigns every student at WCM-Q to a faculty member who monitors their progress and provides support when needed. Medical students also receive special support and career advice in their final year when they choose their medical speciality and apply for post-graduate residency positions.

According to Vice Dean for Academic and Curricular Affairs Dr Thurayya Arayssi, the Career Advising Seminar is a great way for current medical students to benefit from the advice of graduates who already built successful, rewarding and fulfilling careers in Qatar, the US and elsewhere. She said that these examples show students the wealth of opportunities that will become accessible to them when they complete the WCM-Q MD degree.

For more information about their MD programmes, visit qatar-weill.cornell.edu


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