Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) has recently awarded MD degrees to 41 new doctors, of whom 12 are Qatari nationals, during the first graduation ceremony to be held in-person since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ceremony was attended by Minister of Public Health HE Dr Hanan Mohammed Al Kuwari and by the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, HE Sheikh Faleh Bin Nasser Al Thani.
The 41 new physician-scientists of the Class of 2022 will now begin the next stage of their careers as they take up residency positions at elite-level healthcare institutions in Qatar and the United States: at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, Case Western/University Hospital Cleveland, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania, Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, among others.
With this year’s 41 graduates – comprising 23 men and 18 women – WCM-Q has now produced 504 doctors since their first graduation ceremony in 2008. A total of 16 nationalities are represented in the Class of 2022, the 15th graduating class in the history of WCM-Q.
WCM-Q Dean Dr Javaid Sheikh congratulated the new doctors, paying warm tribute to the Class of 2022 for their resilience in completing the final two years of their medical training under lockdown conditions as Qatar battled the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr Sheikh said that their tenacity in completing and excelling in an extremely rigorous course of study under the most difficult and unusual of circumstances is a truly impressive and remarkable achievement.
You have not only shown total dedication to your studies and the patients you have served during your training, but you have also rallied around one another, defying the isolation of lockdown to support each other in the most commendable and inspiring way.
I offer you and your families my warmest congratulations on behalf of everyone at WCM-Q, and I wish you the very best for what I am certain will be hugely rewarding and successful careers.
Dr Sheikh also gave thanks to Qatar Foundation Chairperson, HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser and Qatar Foundation Vice Chairperson and CEO HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, for their vision, guidance and support to WCM-Q.
Vice-Dean for Academic and Curricular Affairs Dr Thurayya Arayssi also commended the Class of 2022 for their unity as a group, for their incredible resolve and patience, and for the way they have applied their wonderful talents to the science of medicine and the art of healing.
In so doing, you have made your families, friends and the faculty who supported you along the way immensely proud. We all look forward to seeing you go on to excel in your careers as physicians, scientists and leaders working to enhance the health of every member of the community.
Associate Dean for Student Affairs Dr Sean Holroyd was the macebearer this year, while Dr James Roach, Associate Dean for Pre-Medical Education, was the university marshal. Graduating student Ahmed Fares gave the Qur’an recitation. Student Arabic address was given by Nasser Al-Kuwari and the student English address was made by Dana Al-Ali.
The keynote speech was given by WCM-Q alumnus Dr Mohammed Al-Nufal (Class of 2012), who is now an American board-certified paediatrician who serves as chief of committees for North Florida Pediatrics – USA. Back in 2010 when Dr Al-Nufal was a third-year medical student at WCM-Q, he spoke in Zurich as part of Qatar’s official delegation as epresentative of the younger generation in Qatar’s successful bid to host the World Cup.
In his speech during the graduation ceremony, Dr Al-Nufal told the Class of 2022 that making it to this point is not the end of a journey, but the door to a path full of excitement, knowledge and serving others.
You were put on this earth for a reason, which is to ease the suffering of others, so go fulfil your destiny. Go save some lives.
The 41 graduates also heard from Dr Augustine Choi, Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, who was present in-person to congratulate the new doctors and give thanks to the leadership of Qatar and Qatar Foundation.
As graduates of Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, you’ve seen first-hand how medicine and research can improve quality of life. I challenge you to be advocates for better healthcare, for health equity worldwide, and for science and the pursuit of knowledge.
The impact that the new doctors have, according to Dr Choi, extends far beyond them as individuals. Each of them have the power to improve communities and organisations if they commit to being the best doctor they can be.
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