Medical Aid for Palestinians, in partnership with the Asfari Foundation, have granted four one-year scholarships for Palestinian medical and health professionals to undertake a postgraduate Master’s degree at universities in the UK. As each of these students arrives in the UK this month, we are publishing their stories, in their own words:
My name is Aida Shaar, I am 23 years old and from Nablus in Palestine. I have just finished my fifth year of medical school, and am taking a year off to study for an MSc in Human and Applied Physiology at King’s College London.
I decided I wanted to become a doctor in my second last year of school. I love helping people and I believe it is a privilege to lessen people’s suffering, and to be there for them in their most vulnerable times. I studied really hard in high school and got a score of 99.2 % in my final exams, which allowed me to study medicine with a scholarship from the Paltel Group Foundation here in Palestine.
In my view, the main health challenges facing Palestinians today lie in a shortage of quality of medical staff – including both specialists and primary care doctors – and in the need for improvements in medical education and clinical research. I hope that my career, and my studies in the UK, will help me contribute to this.
I have really enjoyed learning physiology as part of my medical training, and decided it was the area I wanted to specialise in. We don't have any MSc physiology courses in Palestine so the only way to achieve this is to study abroad and to get a scholarship! I applied to two different UK universities and got unconditional offers from both, but still there was no way I would be able to accept any offer without this generous award.
I was thrilled when I heard I had won the scholarship, and I still am! It's a dream come true. It’s a huge responsibility, and I will do my very best to meet the expectations of my sponsors, my family and my country, Palestine. I was so happy when I heard I had won that I ran towards my parents and hugged them without saying a word, but they guessed immediately what had happened.
I’m really excited about studying in the heart of London with all the opportunities, views and places there. I am also really looking forward to the unique experience of living abroad by myself. I believe I'll be a more independent and empowered individual after this exposure, though I will miss being around my family and friends. I am blessed with incredibly supportive and funny people around me here.
I am looking forward to attending lectures from professors who are the best in their field, and eager to learn laboratory skills and research fundamentals. After I return, I will have one year left at medical school before I graduate. After doing one year’s training in Palestine's hospitals to get my medical licence, I want to work in medical education and research, teaching Physiology. I also plan to join a good residency programme in family medicine.
In the future, I want to contribute to improving Palestine's health care system. It is my responsibility, and it’s amazing that I am being given support to do so. My ultimate goal is to be someone who is able to give back to Palestine, by being a good primary care physician, a bright scientist and also a financial sponsor for future scholars!