WCM-Q celebrates as Class of 2019 graduate as physicians

The hard work and dedication of Qatar’s newest doctors was celebrated as Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar held its annual graduation ceremony, attended by Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, vice chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation.

This year 49 students - 12 of whom are Qatari - received their Cornell University MD degrees in front of an audience of VIPs, faculty, family and friends. The graduates will now embark on the next stage of their careers when they will take up residency positions at elite-level healthcare institutions in Qatar and the United States, such as Hamad Medical Corporation, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland to pursue specialties including internal medicine, neurology, pediatrics and general surgery.

This year’s 49 graduates – comprising 26 men and 23 women - mean that WCM-Q, a Qatar Foundation partner university, has produced 384 new doctors since the first graduation ceremony in 2008. 

Dr. Javaid Sheikh, dean of WCM-Q, congratulated the new doctors on their achievements.

He said: “Graduation is the culmination of everything that we at WCM-Q strive for, both as faculty and as students, and it is the highlight of the academic year. I speak for everyone at the college when I say that it gives us all tremendous pleasure to be able to address these young, talented people, as ‘doctor’ for the very first time.

“Becoming a physician is no easy task, and the Class of 2019 have demonstrated great commitment to their studies, intellectual curiosity and compassion for their patients. These qualities will develop as they progress through their careers and I look forward to seeing many of them working in hospitals in Qatar, healing the sick, sharing their wisdom with future generations and contributing to building the country’s world-class healthcare system in line with the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030.

“Everyone at WCM-Q is confident that these new doctors will be wonderful ambassadors for the college, for Qatar Foundation and for the entire nation, demonstrating Qatar’s commitment to unlocking human potential to the whole world.”   
 
Student speaker and Class of 2019 graduate Dr. Moaz Abdelrehim said he had huge respect for the compassion of his fellow graduates.      

Dr. Abdelrehim said: “It is truly an honor to be graduating alongside a group of doctors, but more importantly people, as caring as you are. To willingly wake up each morning in pursuit of a career that confronts suffering on a regular basis and demands substantial amounts of self-sacrifice is truly amazing. And now as we each go on to pursue our residencies or our research, our white coats will become longer and heavier because of the growing commitments and the self-sacrifice required by this profession.”

The keynote speech of the graduation ceremony was delivered by Dr. Aisha Yousuf, medical director of reproductive surgery at Sidra Medicine. The 49 graduates and the audience also heard from Dr. Augustine Choi, dean of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, who thanked the leadership of Qatar and Qatar Foundation.

Addressing the new doctors, Dr. Choi added: “To have the greatest impact, and to really help your patients the most, you’ll need to keep learning.  Today you walk out of those doors as doctors, but your education does not stop here.

"As you go forth as new physicians, I urge you to remember the lessons you’ve learned here at Weill Cornell Medicine, as well as the friends and colleagues you’ve made. They will sustain you as you find your own path and your own way to Care, Discover, and Teach. 

“I wish you all the best and want you to know that you will always have a home at Weill Cornell Medicine.”