‘Citizen of World’ Determined to Help Others Live Full Lives

From an early age, my international upbringing and diverse background instilled in me a deep sense of tolerance and an insatiable curiosity about human nature. My sisters and I grew up in Saudi Arabia, where my parents moved to escape the bloody civil war that was raging in Lebanon. Raising three girls in a country in which women could not drive or go out without a male escort could not have been easy. Nevertheless, my parents made sure that we knew that we were not handicapped by our gender. They instilled in us the belief that our accomplishments would always be a testament to our strength and our ability to overcome adversity.

I attended high school at the Leysin American School in Switzerland, where my love of travel and learning about other cultures blossomed. The friendships I forged there have lasted a lifetime and are proof that people of all backgrounds can live in peace and harmony. I consider myself to be a citizen of the world, and the language we all speak and understand is tolerance and love for others. When I applied for college and decided I wanted to be a doctor, my parents encouraged me to move to Lebanon, as I had never lived there. I agreed, and they told me that they looked forward to the day I would graduate from the American University of Beirut Medical Center, my alma mater.

Although I enjoyed every rotation in medical school, it was the experience of witnessing a catatonic patient awake from two weeks of stupor after undergoing electroconvulsive therapy that cemented my choice to become a psychiatrist. Psychiatry spoke to me because I could impact the lives of patients in ways that would afford them health, but also make it possible for them to live richer, more rewarding lives.

As a fourth-year medical student, I was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. A difficult battle ensued, and I feel fortunate to have survived. Cancer changed my outlook on life and strengthened my resolve to become a psychiatrist. I went through treatment during my last year of medical school, and soon after my surgery I took a job as a research fellow, gearing my work toward measuring quality of life in patients with chronic illnesses. I made the decision to apply for residency in the United States and embarked on what would be my greatest adventure yet.

I matched at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. I was fortunate to have mentors who saw in me the potential to be a leader and encouraged me to get involved with APA. APA has been my guiding light, and through our professional organization, I have been able to not only pursue my own interests, but also help my fellow psychiatrists. I was chosen as an APA Leadership Fellow, and as such was afforded the opportunity to work with the Council on Psychiatry and Law and sit on the Board of Trustees the year DSM-5 was reviewed and approved. The council projects in which I participated fueled my passion for forensic psychiatry, and I completed my fellowship at Case Western Reserve University under the tutelage of Dr. Phillip Resnick.

My burning desire to continue to contribute to organized medicine led me to run for ECP (early career psychiatrist) trustee-at-large, a position that has given me the privilege of sitting on APA’s Board of Trustees. I strive to grow others within the organization and to empower APA members to advocate for what they believe in. Psychiatrists are the moral and ethical backbones of society, and APA holds strong to the values of promoting autonomy and celebrating diversity.

I want to continue to give back to the patients, doctors, and treatment team members who make it possible for us to make a difference in the lives of those we have dedicated our lives to treating. Because of psychiatry and APA, my voice is heard and my work is meaningful, and for that I am grateful. I strive to pay that gratitude forward every day and to show that we, as psychiatrists, represent the values of tolerance, diversity, and equality that our profession stands for. ■