| Description | Interview with Yasser Abulhasan from Kuwait, recorded 2 July 2002 by Jennifer Carter.
Transcript of Interview :
JC So you are one of the students, who I believe, came in under the special Kuwaiti Medical Students Scheme. Can you tell us a bit about that?
YA Yes. That's true. I was actually one of the first students who came at that time. About 6 years ago the Kuwait Minister of Higher Education contacted Aberdeen University and then set up a course whereby they take about 5 students each year. They do a year of a bridge course whereby they take science courses, plus some computing, and some English, and then if they succeed and get the necessary grades, they would enter first year medicine, the following year.
JC Where is that course conducted? Is it in the University or in the College of Commerce?
YA It is in the premises of the University of Aberdeen and it is under the Faculty of , what is known as Access courses.
JC Oh yes, I am with you.
YA Plus some first year courses, and sciences.
JA Good. So you took that course successfully?
YA Yes. I took that course successfully. It was not a challenging course that time, because I'd already done most of that course work back home at my high school, and so it was an interesting year.
JC A year more for orientation, I suppose, apart from anything else.
YA Yes. It was probably useful for a person who is coming from abroad to get to know what Aberdeen is all about, before starting an intense course, such as Medicine.
JC Why, incidentally did you wish to study medicine? Was it a lifelong ambition, or something that grew on you as you got older, or was it a family connection? People have many different reasons.
YA It is probably - I cannot pin-point it at one factor there. It is probably a combination of what you said. I had an ambition of becoming a doctor, during my teen life. It didn't start during my adolescent years, but yeah towards the later part of my teen life, I was 14/15 years old, plus the fact that I got to do some social work in hospitals when I was back home, and I enjoyed the atmosphere, and I have some family members, i.e. my cousin and my uncle, who are in that profession. So it is a polyfactorial [decision].
JC Polyfactorial - that's a wonderful term. Excellent. So as far as Aberdeen was concerned you have explained that you came in under this particular course. Did you know anything about Aberdeen before you came? I mean how much prior information did you have?
YA When I first learned about this new course, as everyone does, I went on to the internet and I looked up information about Aberdeen, the city itself, and then Aberdeen University. Plus the fact that I had one of my cousins had been to Scotland before, and she was a huge advocate of me studying here.
JC In Aberdeen particularly, or in Scotland?
YA No she was in Glasgow, Scotland, so she was a huge advocate, and she laid a few of the ground stones for my work there, and she gave me a few information about Scotland itself. Aberdeen University Medical School is very renowned back home in Kuwait. The Kuwait Medical School and Aberdeen have had plenty of work together, they have correlated for probably more than 30/40 years. So a well known university. Would be a good choice, I would say.
JC I am very interested that you said as if it was absolutely automatic "I went on to the Internet". Now that was what - 6 years ago? And did you find the information about the University useful, or was it a bit crude at that time? I am trying to think back to what the Web site would have been like 6 years ago! Not very good, I would have thought?
YA Not as good as they are now, of course. But it gave me the necessary information that I needed, especially about Aberdeen University, and then I had to go back to the hard copies, text books and that sort of business. But it was a good foundation stone, or a good background information about what Aberdeen is at the certain point.
JC Interesting. Okay. So then you set off, and arrived in Aberdeen, what, one September I suppose?
YA September of 1996. I just remember that date!
JC And what about arrangements for your arrival. Did somebody meet you? Was there something official laid on? Or was it all left up to yourself?
YA It was an official representation in London, at Heathrow. The Kuwait Cultural Attaché met a number of us who were planning to come to Aberdeen. They gave us some orientation on what we should expect, and I was probably one of the lucky ones who knew some contacts in Aberdeen at that time, and a few of my friends who happened to be Kuwaiti, met us at the airport.
JC That must have been reassuring.
YA Yes. That was very reassuring. Then they did most of the research accommodation-wise, so I was probably luckier in that term in that everything was pre-searched and everything was laid on for us, so we didn't have to put that much effort into it.
JC That was great. So where did you live, in fact, in your first year?
YA I lived in private accommodation, a flat in Littlejohn Street, which is just opposite Marischal College.
JC Oh yes, that very steep street.
YA Yes, a very steep street there. And because we had never stayed in student accommodation, but if time goes back, I would have rather have stayed there for a year. Just to get to know the gist of the place.
JC So the Littlejohn Street was what - a Kuwaiti friend's flat, or something like that?
YA No. We just went to one of the property agents, our friends went there, and they just picked it up for us, we viewed it, and then we took the flat.
JC And "us" was yourself, and the other Kuwaiti medical students?
YA Yes. When we first came in, there were 2 guys, me and another colleague of mine, and then three girls, at that time. So me and the other Kuwaiti medical student, we stayed together and we have been flat mates up to a week ago, whereby we were both graduating and we are going in different ways, different directions.
JC Did you find that was a bit of a, in some ways, a bit of a disadvantage, that if you stayed in private accommodation with people you knew well, did that make a bit of a barrier against the rest of the world? Or didn't it work like that?
YA That is probably a very hard question to tackle. As I mentioned, that if time was back, I would have rather stayed, especially in the first year, when there was a lot of Access course, in student accommodation. Just to know what my class was about. But looking back at it know, I don't think it was a barrier. I got to meet many people. I didn't think at any point that living in private accommodation was a barrier to the outside world.
JC That's good. What were your networks for getting to know people? Obviously one meets the people with whom one is studying, in class, but were there other networks?
YA I remember the first day we came up here. We didn't have any classes to attend so we set off to Union Street, and there was a nice part, which was between the Clydesdale Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland, which is opposite Marks & Spencer ..
JC A courtyard effect.
YA Yes a courtyard effect over there, and there and there is a few pigeons, I just remember that day. It was nice Aberdeen weather, as opposed to what today is, not pouring with rain, it was a bit sunny that day, and we just sat down there, and we were fortunate that there were a few Aberdonian locals, mainly elderly, who came up to us and started chatting to us that time ..
JC In a friendly way?
YA In a very friendly way. A very friendly manner. And that was probably the first contact. Then later on "Freshers Week" started, so we mixed with a few other students, and as we started our University work, as we started attending our classes, we made a bigger network of acquaintances that time, and some of them turned out to be friends of ours, and I still keep them as dear friends to me, and we are still in contact.
JC That's nice. What about Clubs and Societies? Did you join any of those, or are you a sporting person?
YA Oh, yeah. I have always been a Tai Kwon Do player back home, which a type of martial art, so in the first year my main task was to join a Tai Kwon Do club over here in Aberdeen.
JC Was there one at the University?
YA At that point there was not one at the University, so I had to join a private club that time, and I made a few friends through there. So that was nice. Unfortunately I couldn't continue for many years, because of the intensity of the medical course work.
JC It is a very demanding course, in terms of time…
YA Both class work and outside class, plenty of revision has to be put into the course to get to grasp and just feel what medicine is. So time wasn't a luxury, as probably other students would have had it.
JC Did you have any opportunities to travel outside Aberdeen and see anything of Scotland?
YA I was very fortunate in the first year, we had a few, as I mentioned, a few of our friends who were Kuwaiti's at that time they had cars, we visited Loch Tay, at a certain point and we also went down to Glasgow on a number of occasions. We visited a few of the castles, which were up north and west of Aberdeen. These were the main places we have been to.
JC Sounds as if you saw rather more of the countryside than many students, because of having transport, or having access to transport.
YA Unfortunately though, although there is a running bus system in Aberdeen now, it is not as adequate as one would wish it would be.
JC Did you normally live then in your various digs, or flats, did you live always within walking distance of your classes?
YA Yes.
JC Well that is also good, isn't it? As you see something of everyday life as you are walking through the streets to your classes.
YA That was the main priority to me. To find somewhere which was close to the venue of my class work.
JC And how did you manage domestically. Do you cook yourself, or do you go out to eat? Or what do you do?
YA Ah, I was not expecting that question to be asked!
JC It is an interesting one though, as many people from abroad do not look after themselves at home at all, either their family does or servants do, you know?
YA As you mentioned, yes that was true, back home, but I did not acquire the "art of cooking" as I can say it, very delicately!
JC So - but you survived. How ?
YA Yes, I think I survived on takeaways, the good food section from Marks & Spencer! I know I am not supposed to be advertising them, but I survived on that for the past 6 years!
JC Jolly good!
YA So I wouldn't consider myself a chef at all! I would rather be on the opposite side!
JC Did you ever eat University food, as a matter of interest? Did you ever eat in any of the student Refectories?
YA Yes, yes. During lunch hours, we were on the premises of the university so it was more than convenient to eat there.
JC Was that okay?
YA Yes, yes.
JC Not as good as Marks & Spencer's?
YA Probably not a luxurious as Marks & Spencer's!
JC Anything else, do you think, Yasser, on the sort of social side that you would like to tell me about, before we move into the academic side? Anything about your experiences. You have stressed that your initial contacts in Aberdeen were very friendly. Was that universally true through your time here? Or did you meet any form of discrimination or rejection as a foreigner?
YA No. I wouldn't say I went through any of that.
JC That is good to hear, because Aberdeen has a reputation for being very friendly, but one likes to check that it really is.
YA I would agree. I would confirm that.
JC Did you become interested in any local issues while you were here? You know, political, or to do with city life or anything?
YA Being in Aberdeen for 6 years I have experienced, perhaps 2 elections. I was not so much interested, but as everyone is, as it has been proclaimed in the media , everyone has to sit down and listen to what the parties have to say. So partially that and other issues that have been happening . Not much. We had a few protests to get a bus service running from King's College up to Foresterhill, and I remember I signed a few petitions, which went through the University itself, but unfortunately nothing of that has been put into effect as yet. There is a local bus which goes through that route, but the fare prices are a bit on the extreme side for students. So I think, not until recently, I think in the past few months of this year, that a student fare card has been introduced and it is a very reasonable price, as opposed to the single fares that we used to pay, or I used to pay for the past 6 years.
JC Talking of money . Is your time here paid for by the Kuwaiti Government, or do you have to pay yourself through your family or what? Because the Medical School fees are very high.
YA My tuition has been sponsored by the Kuwaiti government, and Aberdeen is an expensive place to live, so there is always a bit from my family.
JC Well the main one is the fees, isn't it, which are very heavy now.
YA Probably the daily life is more expensive than the fees, especially when you consider renting out a flat and living a lifestyle where you don't cook !
JC That's your choice! Okay, now moving on, well back to the academic experience of medicine here. You told me a bit about the induction year, the first year, and from then on you just become a normal medical student, following the standard course . Is that right?
YA Yes,
JC So how well did you enjoy it?
YA I thoroughly enjoyed medicine to start of with. It was a 5 year course so anyone might appreciate there is ups and downs. I was fortunate enough to pass all my exams on the first sitting. Although many of my class-mates did not experience that. Many of them had to resit exams, and I would have been devastated if I been through any of that stuff.
JC So you worked very hard to make sure you passed.
YA Yes!
JC Of course - natural genius!
YA I am not sure, probably the working hard! Plus the charming bit !
JC How soon did you begin to have patient contact and be taught on the wards. Is that 3rd year or what?
YA No Aberdeen medical curriculum had changed 2 years prior to my entrance of the medical school, and we started meeting with patients and having proper patient contacts in 2nd year. So we did the year "normalities" where we did the Physiology and the Anatomy and all the Pharmacology which was attached to that, and the Bio-Chemistry, and then from sort of 2nd year we do the "abnormalities", and then we partially get attached to the clinical atmosphere of a hospital. We did all the formal stuff, we took their histories and we did some examinations, although it wasn't just in 1st and 2nd year, it was built up on since. So it was in 2nd year we saw patients.
JC So did you find that easy? Or was there, for example, a difficulty with the local accent, which in some cases is very strong?
YA Yes, that is very true.
JC I would find it difficult.
YA I am still finding it difficult. To start with I was attached to a geriatric ward which is a ward for the elderly, and I remember during my final assessment of that particular course, my consultant in charge at that time, assigned me to a patient who had a strong local accent, and I found it very difficult that time to obtain a good history. Examination wasn't that particularly emphasised on, but emphasising all the details of the history was very, very hard and very demanding. But as the time passed I got used to that. I got better at it. Got more used to the language.
JC Is the sun troubling you, by the way, because you can move.
YA No it's fine.
JC So you enjoyed the practical work, and what about doing parts of the course outside Aberdeen. Did you go Inverness or Elgin, or any of the places where we have...
YA Yes.
JC Did you enjoy that?
YA It was a nice experience. I remember I went, during my 4th year, I went to Inverness for about 10 weeks. Prior to my Xmas exams, which were the most demanding exams that time. I did not like that experience because of the stresses the exam put on any student, so that wasn't a good period of time for me, but during my final year, we got to do 2 attachments, 7 weeks in different places, and we got to do a medical elective. The first one, I went to Elgin. That was during the beginning of the year, when I did not have much stress to worry about and Elgin was a superb place to be in. Very nice small hospital, more of a town that has just, become a city, and then I went to Manhattan for about 7 weeks to do my medical elective. And that was a huge contrast, when you compare both Elgin itself to Manhattan, which was New York, and recently I have been up to Inverness for another 7 weeks, and have enjoyed it this time, as opposed to the 4th year.
JC You weren't so worried about the exams ?
YA No I wasn't.
JC Manhattan must have been interesting. What project did you do there?
YA I applied for one of the biggest cancer centres there, Sloan-Kettering and I did work in plastic surgery, mainly the re-constructive work, and I had to come up with a manuscript, a project of some sort, and hand it in to the university here. So that was very, very useful for the future.
JC What have been, thinking back on your course as a whole, what have been the highlights for you, the best bits?
YA Passing the exams!
JC Of course! I meant really which parts did you enjoy most, you know. Apart from celebrating exams!
YA I am in the process of celebrating my graduation this week, which is going to take place on Friday, so I am sure that is going to be the highlight of my 6 years here. Knowing that I entered medical school, that was a delight to know, but the one thing that comes to mind, and the one that gives me most pleasure and happiness of being in Aberdeen, is during my 10 week attachment up in Inverness, I delivered 3 babies, and it is part of our course to deliver at least 3, so I got so much joy at delivering the first baby, and I remember it was a baby boy that time. It took us about 10 to 12 hours, but the joy that you get, the fruit of that labour, is foreseen when the baby comes out and you cut the cord. So that would be the main thing that would come to mind.
JC That is one of the real highlights. Has that influenced you about what kind of a doctor you might be in future? Plastic surgeon, Gynaecologist?
YA Gynaecologist, no way! It would be on the top of my "I'm not going to do" list. Non speciality lists. My least favourite is Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
JC In spite of the experience?
YA Yes, but that is a minor part of Obs and Gynae. Plastic surgery is a very interesting speciality on its own. I know I have come up to a point where I am graduating, and I should think of this, and I have been thinking about it for the past few years, but I cannot pinpoint a certain speciality. I would presume my career, in Plastic Surgery or on the other extreme Renal medicine would be on top of my list.
JC Interesting. And what about people who have taught you here. Have you any particular favourites or people who have influenced you more than other teachers?
YA Probably more of the final year, where we had more contact with different consultants, for a lengthier period of time. I would always remember Mr. Munro, who is a general and upper GI surgeon in Inverness, and he was the guy who I have spend the last 7 weeks with, prior to graduation . That would be the person I would remember. There have been so many doctors and consultants, and surgeons that I have been in contact with. I don't have the time to recall all their names.
JC No, no. I was just interested to know if there is any particular ones that were close to you.
YA I have seen my regent a few times, but he didn't have that much of an impact, he was Dr. Robinson, he was a consultant psychiatrist. Dr Kotter in first year, she was a delight to have. Apart from the medical staff, I plenty of contact with Mrs. Wells, who is the secretary in the Medical School, and although everyone feared Mrs. Wells, in the 1st and 2nd year, but she is an amazing person , and she helped me out, throughout my 4th and final years, with whatever documentation I needed or any information .
JC That's good to hear, because I often think that universities take too little notice of their secretaries. You know, they take a lot for granted. Talking of one needing help with anything, this university has a number of, you know, systems of supporting students: Counselling, Student Health, etc., etc. Had you occasion to use any of those, and did you find them helpful?
YA In the medical school we have a scheme which runs by which each student has a regent. I have seen my regent once or twice, for a chat, but the one person who helped me the most throughout would be Mrs. Wells.
JC That's good to know. Fine. Now is there anything that we haven't talked about that you would like to talk about or that you think that we ought to have covered?
YA Anything that would come to mind?
JC Yes, anything you would like to put into the record as it were.
YA That's a hard question to answer.
JC You don't have to. Just to give you a chance, just in case I missed any important part of your experience. Thank you very much for giving us your time and it's been very nice to talk to you, and I wish you every success in the future.
YA Thank you very much.
End of Interview |