Emergency Medicine
He came to a new country with no family support and hardly an education. But he wanted to do something with his life, so he took steps toward it, although he knew it was a long shot.
When you read about the hardships which he had to overcome, you will realize the many possibilities ahead if you are sufficiently persistent.
While the facts of this story arise outside the United States, the opportunities created and the challenges overcome are common to many American stories.
FAMILY BACKGROUND
WA was born in Afghanistan during a time of war. Neither of his parents were formally educated but regardless of their backgrounds, it didn’t matter at the time whether they had ever attended school because daily survival – from enemy bullets and bombs while gathering food and water for the family – was the everyday focus for anyone beyond infancy.
CHILDHOOD
When WA was 5, his father knelt by his side and handed him a big, colorful kite. That small moment, in Afghanistan, seared itself into the son’s memory. “I was a child born into war. I had no idea what normality was like, and I only have a couple of happy memories like this from the first years of my life,” said WA.
Those years, in the late 1980s and 1990s, were spent in the chaos of war, with uncertainty swirling around him, first in his home city of Kabul, then in a refugee camp in Pakistan where he was displaced with his family; and then back to an Afghanistan engulfed in civil war.
Decades later, driven by hopes of one day becoming a doctor, AW established a new life in Britain.
When his parents sent him to Britain, alone at age 15, it was a tough decision for them. But, AW explained, “I was at risk of being taken as a military soldier. I didn’t have a future. I wanted to become a doctor, not a killer.” So, his parents scraped together the money to pay a man to help get AW to Britain to join a family friend. He boarded a plan from Pakistan, a false passport in hand and claimed asylum when he arrived.
“As soon as I landed in the U.K., I was handcuffed and I was put in a prison,” said AW. “But I did come with that hope of safety, and the dream to become a doctor.”
That dream began in childhood when AW was treated for tuberculosis contracted in the refugee camp in Pakistan. Despite a grim prognosis, a local doctor gave him excellent care – and a textbook and a stethoscope. AW made a full recovery, and he then knew what he wanted to be when he grew up.
“On one hand, I saw so much suffering,” he said. “And on the other hand, there was this healer who could actually magically heal people.”
CHALLENGE – LEARNING YOUR NEW COUNTRY’S LANGUAGE
After receiving refugee status in Britain, WA worked three jobs and began studying for his college exams while at the same time, he took the time to learn the English language – all while working and studying his school courses.
EDUCATION
Achieving language proficiency within his adopted country while dedicating himself to his schoolwork earned WA admission to a university and medical school.
CHALLENGE – POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)
“I was working so hard, three jobs at first – cleaning, kitchen porter, as well as a salesman, and in the evening, I was studying English. At that time, my PTSD started showing.” He found himself unable to relax, clenching his hands and having flashbacks. In the middle of the night, he would wake up with intense nightmares.
Working with a psychologist helped WA to identify and learn to cope with the emotional problems caused by the ghosts of his childhood days spent growing up with war all around.
CHALLENGE – AVOIDING FRIENDS’ ADVICE TO TAKE THE EASY ROAD
WA made friends with other Afghan refugees, who told him that he didn’t need to waste time trying to become a doctor; instead, he should devote his main efforts to earn money by becoming a driver or maybe a shopkeeper. Then he could relax while off-duty – either sleep, watch tv, chase romance at bars or do whatever else he wanted.
But WA envisioned a more useful adult life for himself so he thanked his friends for thinking about him but quietly ignored their advice, which eventually slowed to a halt when the friends realized that WA was determined to follow his own path.
CAREER IN MEDICINE
Editor – Emergency medicine is the medical specialty concerned with the care of illnesses or injuries requiring immediate, unscheduled medical attention. Often called “ER” (short for ‘emergency room’) doctors, they are first-line providers, in coordination with emergency medical services, primarily responsible for initiating resuscitation and stabilization and performing the initial investigations and interventions necessary to diagnose and treat illnesses or injuries in the acute phase. ER doctors generally practice in either hospital emergency departments and intensive care units or in primary care settings such as urgent care clinics.
While medical students must rotate among several medical specialties as part of their training and to provide the opportunity to consider different types of care before applying for a residency as the first step on a specific career path, WA knew from the outset – based on his childhood experience – that he wanted to help patients in emergency settings.
PAYING IT BACK
After WA had completed his education and commenced full-time employment within hospital ER rooms, he never forgot the many supporters who had offered him a kind word, a job, or other opportunities over the years. So, WA carved out time from his busy schedule to help other refugees any way he could. “We might think it’s a small thing to pay attention to people who have just arrived in a new country with no immediate prospects for jobs or comfortable living, but even brief words of encouragement can be so helpful” said WA.
A few years after obtaining his medical degree, WA founded a nonprofit online platform that connects British doctors with medics in Afghanistan through video links. The service was later extended to connect doctors in Syria, Iraq, and other war conflict zones, to professionals around the world. It was honored by UNESCO.
WA is now building off that success with another online platform meant to offer culturally sensitive mental health support, which he believes can be beneficial for refugees who have experienced trauma. It will be free for those who can’t afford it.
He hopes to roll out another online platform soon, focusing on ‘wellbeing’ to provide aid for those newly arrived in Britain as part of a pilot program with some local officials. WA’s goal is to enlist thousands of psychologists to offer their services on the platform, to help when the next disaster, like an earthquake or a war, arrives.
Recently, WA visited a local hotel where hundreds of recently arrived asylum seekers from Afghanistan are being housed after being displaced when the country was retaken by the Taliban. “I see the same problems that I experienced, in their eyes,” said WA, describing how the children’s faces lit up when he spoke to them in their shared mother tongue.
CAREER SATISFACTION
Most of all, what WA sees when he interacts with newly arrived refugees, especially the children, is a reflection of his own story. He hopes he can be an example for those who struggle with the complexity of life in a new and unfamiliar place.
WA has said that his own journey showed “what can be done when you allow people to realize their potential. For me, you can see the future I’ve got. But there are so many other futures on the line.”
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This career story is based on several sources: an article written by Megan Specia, published within The New York Times on April 1, 2023 and online research, including Wikipedia.
