Cardiologist

What do you like the most about your job?

Helping patients get better, but also helping those who don't get better to work with their health conditions and to live as healthily as they can. Cardiac disease is a lifestyle and often leads to very difficult situations. Finding the positive in all of it and helping my patients find the strength to that they don't always think they have can be so rewarding.

What's your normal day like?

I typically see patients in the office for half of the day, and then spend the rest of they day calling patients with results or to answer questions, interpreting test results, and seeing patients in different hospitals. It can be a really long day but the outcome of each patient encounter makes it worth the time spent.

Who is your biggest inspiration?

My father for sure. He was a cardiologist for nearly 20 years before he passed away in 2015, and I still hear every single day how he touched the lives of so many people. Not only did he save lives, he was a mentor and fatherly figure to many. He left me enormous shoes to fill

How was your path becoming a cardiologist?

My path was a little bit unusual in that I participated in an accelerated, 6 years combined BS/MD program, which means I completed undergraduate and medical schooling in 6 years instead of the usual 8 years. After that was fairly usual, in that I spent 3 years in internal medicine residency training followed by 3 years of cardiology training. It's a lot of time spent, but this can also a high stakes field to be in.

Did you face any struggles being a Muslim woman in this field?

As many Muslims do, I got a lot of ignorant questions sent my way in my early years of training. The questions still come my way here and there, no doubt, but they have never impeded my progress or affected my comfort level in the field. I'm sure there are those who have experienced otherwise, so I consider myself fortunate. Being a woman has always been a challenge, however, especially in cardiology where women are very much the minority. For instance, being the only female in a group of 17 trainees at one point was always a bit strange, and although my colleagues were wonderful and accepting, that fact always stood out to me if not them. Patients will often look for the male in the room or assume that I am a male physician before I step in. This is very gradually changing, but any form of progress is great.

What’s your favorite thing about being Muslim?

Islam is intertwined with such a distinct but also diverse culture. No matter where Muslims come from, we can often come together as one community and support each other through mutually understood difficulties. It's a beautiful thing.

If somebody wants to be a cardiologist when they grow up, what should they do?

Well, let me try not to sugarcoat this because it is not an easy process. It takes a lot of studying and a lot of hard work. While I started in high school, that's not necessary. Work hard no matter what stage of life you are in, get good test scores, and try to stand out amongst the crowd. Understand that it's a long road ahead, but a fruitful one.

If you can give any advice to young Muslim girls/teens, what would you tell them?

Don't let anyone convince you that you're not good enough. I work in a challenging field, but frankly some of the most successful physicians I know are women who have dealt with the same or similar obstacles that I have. Those challenges become even greater for us Muslim women, but we come out stronger because of it.