In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Most Merciful
22 Dzulhijjah 1439H
5.30pm
Mayo Medical Academy
I know I haven't been writing for months and I know I have not yet fulfilled my summer break writing lists and I know I am back here already in Castlebar for my final year in medicine and I know I'm here in the academy to study, but before I go on doing anything amazing in my Oxford handbook or lamenting on the guilt I've had for being extra lazy in creating any legitimate posts in my blog for ages, I'd like to share a bit about my day with Dr Brosnan - our only endocrinologist in Mayo General Hospital.
Coming from Kerry originally, I believe Dr Brosnan's family is however staying in the US - or maybe just part of her family - and she has been back in 2008 after 15 years of working in Penang, Malaysia. She caught my attention when I heard from many of our student colleagues that she was an excellent teacher and a brilliant doctor, always eager to teach. The fact that she's an endocrinologist boosted my enthusiasm even more because I've always taken a liking to the long-term care of diabetic patients, treating it as a call to specialise in endocrinology, if not psychiatry or infectious disease (this is a new calling thanks to Dr Holmes, haha). But today, was simply fantastic that I couldn't be more grateful to Allah for the wonderful time I had with her in the clinic up in Ballina.
She lived up to all the expectations people had of her. She was amazing.
Now, I'm not just saying that she's an exceptionally well-trained doctor and that she's super helpful in teaching me loads during the clinic. What makes her such an amazing person is because of the vast knowledge that she has surrounding politics, history, culture and medicine. She follows the political news in Malaysia even after leaving the country for 10 years, and she even knows politics in Pakistan and India, not to mention her in-depth knowledge of Pakistan and India's famous political families - the Bhuttos and Ghandis respectively. I am amazed, shocked and delighted altogether. Being an Irish, she knows her roots really well and whenever we pass by a monument or a monastery or even a river, she sounds like she knows quite a sum of knowledge about these places. Makes you really adore her even more.
Doctors like Dr Brosnan keep me motivated to not only finish my medical study, but also to be a part of the medical profession that contributes wholeheartedly to make a better world - not only for a better Malaysia. How she displays herself to me and Dr Uwais (our Pakistani SHO who also did a tremendous job at finishing clinic today) just shows the magnitude of what knowledge can do to a person. All the good attributes she had - her kindness, her tolerance, her patience and her expert opinion all came from the surplus of knowledge she had about the world and its inhabitants. It makes you an amazing human being, a respectable one, a well-mannered and brilliant individual.
I might be admiring her to the roof now but I really must say that she's a perfect example of what a daie should be. She talks first before we talk, putting out the issues of our home country to become the basis of our conversation. Making intelligent adult-talk and not just trashing people here and there. She brings about her analysis of the things that we are concerned about in our homeland and then allows us to become better colleagues of her as we become more comfortable to talk and work together on the mission at hand - handling diabetics in county Mayo. I don't think you'll ever be bored with Dr Brosnan, she's full of pearls that are waiting to be harvested. She attracts you so much that you're left with an impact strong enough to make you want to do what you have to do better - a medical student, soon to be a doctor.
And imagine if all of us daie were to take her as an example to follow, we'd be amazing at spreading the Deen! I believe that there is so many things that can be learned when you take time to really venture on life, let it be travelling to new places and meeting new people. Becoming a kera sumbang, gets you nowhere. But putting yourself out there to explore the world, and putting all your heart to it will make you become an even more abiding servant to Allah - more motivated to make change, more enthusiastic to work hard.
Now I know what to say to school kids whenever I do meet them to give a talk about furthering their studies and not being a delinquent, also what to talk to akhwat when it comes to excelling your area of study.
Knowledge will make you wise, and you will, without doubt gain respect from it.
So go to college and university to gain knowledge, to be a better person, not just for the sake of getting a job.
Cultivate yourself to the maximum, you only have one you to work on, so make the best out of this world because God made it for you.
Learn, keep on learning everyday. Empower yourself with knowledge, you WILL be loved.
And finally..
There is, definitely no point in being rich but stupid.
But there is so much wonder in being a wise individual that can shake hearts and plant the seeds of change in others.
With that, I'm heading the books now peeps. Hoping to make a better muslimah out of ma-self rather than being rampantly lazy every now and again.
Bismillahi tawakkal tu ala Allah.
