Graduation ceremony honors Qatar’s newest doctors

May, 2014

The latest graduates of WCMC-Q in Qatar have been presented with their M.D degrees in front of an audience of family and friends.

In all, 34 students received their degrees, and can now officially call themselves “doctor” for the first time. The graduates will now go on to their residencies at hospitals in the U.S and Qatar, or take up research positions.

Dr. Javaid Sheikh, Dean of WCMC-Q, congratulated the new doctors on their achievements.

Dr. Sheikh said: “This is a proud day not only for you and your families but also for all of us at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar. It is a great honor that we can gather to celebrate your hard work and ultimately your success.

“You will now go on to take residencies or embark on a career in research. I have no doubt that the determination you have shown in completing the first phase of your medical studies will stand you in great stead for the rest of your lives.

“I am confident that you will be wonderful ambassadors for Qatar, for the college and for the medical profession. You are the building blocks of Qatar’s knowledge-based economy and proof that the creation of Qatar Foundation was both visionary and inspired.”

The 34 new doctors are made up equally of 17 women and 17 men. Between them they represent 13 different countries, with four of the graduates coming from Qatar.

Student speaker and Class of 2014 graduate Dr. Mouhamed Yazan Abou-Ismail said he and his peers were the future of medicine.

Dr. Abou-Ismail said: “From now on, we are responsible not only for the lives of others, but for the changing shape and nature of medicine itself.

“From now on, we can no longer blame misfortunes on the system – we have become part of it and must work hard to make that system better. And with every step, we must remain true to our profession, generate new knowledge, and pass it on to the younger generations who will fill the seats we once filled.

“As of today, my friends, the torch has finally been passed on to us, and I am ever so certain that it has been placed in the right hands.”

Along with receiving their U.S-accredited M.D degrees – Cornell University is the only American institution to offer its M.D degree overseas – the students also recited the Hippocratic Oath.

Watching them take it was Dr. Laurie Glimcher, Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.

Dr. Glimcher said: “I am so pleased to be here to offer my congratulations to the Class of 2014 as they receive their medical degrees.

“Every member of the graduating class has worked with great diligence to realize his or her potential and reach this important milestone in their lives. Each graduate has displayed the virtues of integrity, civic responsibility and the highest levels of academic achievement that Cornell stands for, not only in the way they have approached their studies, but also through their contributions to the life of the college.

“These young men and women have also made a wonderful contribution to the ongoing mission of Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar to establish a culture of excellence in the practice of medicine in the Middle East, and for that they have the gratitude of every member of the Cornell family.”

Dr. David Skorton, President of Cornell University, addressed the audience via a recorded video message and spoke of Cornell’s pride in the new graduates and of Qatar Foundation.

He said: “I offer my congratulations to the graduates, to their families and all faculty and staff at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar. Cornell University is honored to be a partner of this path-breaking endeavor which the whole world is watching with admiration.”