AFFILIATE MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
March 2023
Name: Rand Abdulrahman Education Details: MB BCh BAO from RCSI Bahrain & Foundation Doctor at Wexham Park Hospital What is your motivation for pursuing a career in surgery? My biggest motivation has to be the charm and the art of surgery. There is appreciation for delicacy, cleanliness, swiftness, and grace. I have always thought of it as the most gentle speciality, and one requiring the most rapport with patients. I see it as a complete form of medical practice; often times, the ‘buck ends’ with surgical intervention, and I have always wanted to be at the centre of that elegant dance.
What has been the best piece of advice you have received since you started becoming interested in pursuing a career in surgery? Fortune favours the prepared.
When choosing a training pathway, there are many factors to consider, and for each of those, surgery always seemed like the right answer for me. It’s long and challenging; what medical speciality isn’t? I always believed if you do something you love, you will never work a day in your life, so surgery it is. What about finding your tribe? Surgeons have invested time in my development, encouraged, and pushed me to grow. When it comes to tribe, surgery it is. But isn’t it competitive? I like a good challenge, so surgery it is.
Despite our best efforts, things don’t always go as planned. This is particularly stressful in our career where almost all decisions are high risk and require extended time investments. One of my mentors told me that being prepared, putting efforts into more than one venture, and being open to change can bring about results we never knew we wanted.
I have found beauty in every day work, impactful and meaningful work. I consider myself lucky to feel so passionate about what I do for a living. It is no longer a job, but very much a privilege, so surgery it is.
In other words, serendipity can play a bigger role in our careers if we remain receptive to our surroundings.