Rehabilitation Doctor
Wolverhampton City Primary Care Trust
Dr Gabir
00:00:00 I’m a hospital doctor and I work on the neuro rehab ward which caters for people who have sustained traumatic brain injury or a stroke or other neurological conditions. I think first and foremost what I really find rewarding and what spurs me on and helps me every day is that I am, even though it might be in a small way and as part of a team helping people get through very difficult aspects of their lives.
00:00:32 I went to primary school in Sudan and also went to high school there as well. We were encouraged to use the library, we were encouraged to go on trips outside the school and it was during that period that I gained the love of certain special disciplines, in particular, the science ones. My favourite subject at school was biology. It was just the fascination of how the living body works, whether it a human being or an animal was very fascinating.
00:01:04 Most of my primary school and the majority of my high school had lots of happy moments and I made a lot of friends and met a lot of people from all over the world which I think sort of helped me later on in life to understand that people are different and can look at things differently.
00:01:23 I come from a family of people who trained in organic chemistry and I think there was this family tradition and expectation that I would join organic chemistry. However, I wasn’t too thrilled with the smells. Little did I know that later on in life when I worked in medicine that I’ll come across smells as well, albeit that this time they were of a different origin and they didn’t come out of test tubes but actually from living people.
00:01:53 I originally studied medicine abroad in Bulgaria. Then I moved to Sudan where I worked for two years and that was an incredible experience. The resources are quite limited so one really had to improvise and think well beyond what one has learned and text books helped to manage even every day conditions.
00:02:18 Sadly had some sad moments for me as well and in particular one of the main turning points was in regards to whether I was to continue in paediatrics or not. I had the occasion where a mother brought her child in and sadly it was very late for us to be able to help. It was one of the most obvious moments of when one comes faced with death quite suddenly. Unfortunately, as a result I didn’t think I would have the emotional energy to continue in paediatrics but as a result that turning point lead me to the current field which I am and which I enjoy.
00:02:57 I came to the UK to further my post-graduate studies and in the process I got clinical attachment and from that clinical attachment I got registered as a medical professional within the UK which gave me the opportunity to work here. When I came to the UK I came with my mother and my brother which made it a wonderful experience. However, when the time came for them to go back it was heart wrenching and I did actually have to take my Mum’s advice and repeat it in my head time and time again that no matter how hard it is, one just needs to keep on going and that eventually one would see the light at the end of the tunnel or a door will open.
00:03:44 I was working originally in care of the elderly and that is a very fascinating field. I actually thought that I was applying for a care of the elderly job and the night before my interview my consultant pointed out that actually I’d applied for rehabilitation medicine. So, overnight I was sort of scouring the books and the internet to try and find a little bit more. Very pleased that despite this last minute revelation that I was successful in my job.
00:04:15 The ability to help people who are actually very severely physically and sometimes cognitively impaired, it is very rewarding at the end, even if it a few years down the line to see the progress that they’ve made. I have been told that I am good and pretty good, well, very good in certain fields but I find that a little bit over powering and it sort of puts the pressure on me to work even harder and be even better because I think there is always scope in place to improve.
00:04:51 ENDS
Dr Gabir came from a family who had a history of studying organic chemistry, however her love for biology and dislike of bad smells lead to a medical career. She has worked in a number of countries including Sudan, where watching a child die convinced her that paediatrics was not the route for her and lead her to her current field.
More information about Medical practitioners
The UK average salary is £29,813
There are 37.5 hours in the average working week
The UK workforce is 47% female and 53% male
Future employment
- Examines patient, arranges for any necessary x-rays or other tests and interprets results;
- Diagnoses condition and prescribes and/or administers appropriate treatment/surgery;
- Administers medical tests and inoculations against communicable diseases;
- Supervises patient’s progress and advises on diet, exercise and other preventative action;
- Refers patient to specialist where necessary and liaises with specialist;
- Prepares and delivers lectures, undertakes research, and conducts and participates in clinical trials;
- Supervises the implementation of care and treatment plans by other healthcare providers.
