What does give back mean? How do we take care of our mental health? How should one stay busy during the pandemic? Dr Arish Haider’s talk, ‘Life in a rut- Graduated and Pandemic hit!’ addressed these questions, amongst others, to an audience of more than 200 students from various medical colleges on Wednesday. Alumnus of the Class of 2018, Dr Arish Haider is also the ex-convener of Surgery Interest Group (SIG), which organized this inspirational talk.
Dr Arish gave advice on these uncertain times, gave insight into the Internship, and talked about his volunteer work. Recently awarded for his selfless services at the Field Isolation Centre at Expo Centre Karachi, Dr Arish has emerged as a prominent figure in light of his service to mankind. Thus, students were excited to hear his story. He not only talked about his journey, but also imparted his knowledge about volunteering, motivating students to take this time to do meaningful work.
He also talked about his plans for future training, and how the skills he acquired over the last year helped shape his residency interviews and how his work made his CV unique. Don’t get trapped in the bubble of competition, he warned students. Similarly, he talked about mental health, how one can care for their own health, and how one can care for others well-being. After his insightful talk, he answered a number of questions about internships, finding volunteer-friendly NGOs, and helping those around us.
Full of examples from his own life, Dr Arish talked about his medical school journey, his internship experience, and his work as a junior doctor. This talk helped students think about the side of medicine that is often not given due importance: being a good person. Students left that session thinking back to the reasons they gave for wanting to become doctors in their medical school interview, such as, ‘it’s a noble profession’. Dr Arish’s words say it best, ‘you need to bring nobility into the profession’.
The recording of the talk is available here.