The Alumni Committee of Shifa College of Medicine and Department of Pharmacology organized a career counseling session for Year 3 medical students on Friday, February 28, 2020. The guest speaker for this session was Dr. Rima Ahmad who is an SCM 2011 graduate. Dr. Rima is currently practicing General Surgery in Pennsylvania, US. Following graduation, she completed a research fellowship at Harvard University and went on to a preliminary Surgery residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. She transitioned to a categorical Surgery program at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut and then went on to complete a fellowship in Advanced GI Surgery focusing on minimally invasive techniques. Dr. Rima has been involved in teaching and mentoring throughout her training.

Dr. Rima shared her experiences of the journey to find a Surgery residency program in the US. She also discussed her experiences during the five year residency and one year fellowship.  Dr. Rima explained in detail about the social and professional adjustment issues for Pakistani students and the skills which students should focus on during their education. Professor Dr. Abida Shaheen (Pharmacology), Professor Dr. Saima Pervaiz Iqbal (Family Medicine), Dr. Fahad Azam (Associate Professor Pharmacology) and Dr. Hania Naveed (Assistant Professor Pathology) also discussed various issues related to pursuing post-graduation studies in Pakistan and outside Pakistan in various developed countries. The session was followed by informal discussion of students with the guest speaker.