Am I that good?

A friend of mine, in a chat today evening, deferred to me in glowing terms, calling me an inspiration to him and many others like him as I seem to have taken up a bold challenge of going away from my comfort zone (a modest clinical practice and life with my family in Mumbai) to work in Saudi Arabia for some specific objectives.

I was wondering ... am I really that good, or am I selfish to leave my family and my patients to work for the Ministry of Health of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia? Every coin has two sides, and while it is true that your true measure can only be reflected by the opinion of others, it is equally honest to mention that my decision was, in a way, a sort of desperate measure to make more money so that I can live off that extra income by indulging in things that I have always wanted to do, but haven't been able to due to the financial crunch I faced while I was in Mumbai. The other objectives, namely, to perform Hajj and visit Medinah, to try and clear the British MRCPCH exams, and to learn to be independent and to make my family independent (read more about my objectives here.) seemed to pale in comparison to the one pressing need to earn more money.

This may seem to be a cruel conclusion, but the more I think about it, the more it seems to grow in credibility in my mind! Even so, there have been sacrifices from both sides; while I have struggled all alone in this country of Arabs, my family - esp. my wife Nishrin, but also my children, and definitely my parents (my dad, alas, is no more, but more than anything else, he kept asking for me for over 2 months before he passed away) - they, too, have sacrificed their time, their needs, their feelings and their priorities - to make up for my absence.

Yes, to be honest, they have benefitted too; one, they no longer have to bear my overbearing presence, my short temper, my interference in what they call "feminine affairs", and so on; two, they are able to spend more on themselves without worrying as much as they had to when I was with them and barely able to satisfy their many desires; three, they have learned to be independent - are more street savvy, are more confident of being able to manage worldly affairs that they never used to worry about when I was there (since I always used to do those tasks for them); four, as their dad is not around to keep an eye on them, both my daughters have tasted a little bit of freedom ... but I daresay, I trust them not to do anything foolish ... and so far, they haven't. In fact, they have made me proud by being there for each other, for their mother, and for their grandparents ... as I am not there.

So, to conclude, the benefits of my emigration far outweigh the disadvantages, and this is what keeps me happy and going.

Last few days before the exam

Just a quick note to inform my readers that all is going according to Allah's wishes ... I leave tomorrow morning to go to Riyadh, where my Part 2 exams are on Tuesday, 14th May 2013. I am going by my own car. This will be my first experience of driving nearly 600 km. but I am emboldened by the beautiful roads and by Allah's being with me now for over 1 1/2 years since I came to Saudi Arabia. If you will read my very early blogs, I had mentioned that one of the goals of coming to this country was to try and pass the MRCPCH examinations in full. If I am able to clear the second part on the 14th, I will be one step closer to my goal. After this, Inshallah, I will appear for the final part early next year. 

I have packed my bag, am about to eat my dinner, and will sleep early as I have to leave early in the morning if I am to avoid the killer heat of this country's mid-mornings. Once I reach Riyadh, I will look for a decent hotel in which to stay, and soon thereafter, be immersed in studies. 

I plan to visit the venue of the exam on the next day, and familiarise myself with the roads and the territory in general. Hope to write the next entry either a day before the exam, or the night after the exam is over, i.e. on Tuesday night.

Watch this space for more news ...

Thank you for reading and for your good wishes.

The Weekend Before my exam ...

In another 4 days, I would be sitting in a classroom inside King Saud University in Riyadh, selecting answers for the questions that can either make or break my effort to pass the second leg of my MRCPCH examinations. I have sort of completed revising the questions on the Pastest website (where I had subscribed to study way back in December 2012), and now, I would be reading some stuff from books and taking their mock exams today and tomorrow. On Saturday, or perhaps Sunday, I would start for Riyadh, and get familiar with the important places in this supposedly very advanced capital city of Saudi Arabia. An internet friend of mine, Mr. Mohammed Siddiqui, is helping me with reserving a hotel room before I reach there, and to him, through this blog, I send my sincere thanks. It will be exciting to meet this gentleman whom I have known through an online mailing list called "Nukkad" for over 8 years. Alas, neither the list, nor the parent website, are any more functional or operational. 

In other news, I have been busy studying the whole of last week, trying to remember as much as I can of this vast subject of Pediatrics. It appears that there is no end to its complexities! Over the last week, I have attempted, then re-attempted, more than 1000 questions over the net. In most cases, the explanation that follows the selection of the correct alternatives is so difficult to digest, that I fear I am going to fall short of clearing this exam! Then again, I am fairly confident that the exam is based on pure logic and over 50% of the questions are based on clinical scenarios, with which a professional like me with over 24 years of clinical experience cannot but feel comfortable. 

I have received good wishes from many of my local and international friends, but I need your prayers ... now, more than ever. I hope to be able to return after a week and share the experience with you all, my dear readers.

To end this blog, I must thank my co-pediatrician Dr. Yasser, with whom my equation is on a much stronger footing now. He has been very understanding and has allowed me uninterrupted studying even during my duty hours. Thanks are also due to some of my close ER doctors, who have often pro-actively abstained from disturbing me during my on-call days. In particular, I must thank Drs. Imaam, Magdy and Mohammad. (For those not familiar with these names, they are either Egyptian or Sudanese doctors who work as resident ER doctors in the kingdom.) Finally, I must thank the medical director Dr. Shehabeldin, without whose understanding, I would have been "lost" here.

That's all for now.

P.S. My family back home is doing fine.

A new city will be on my horizon next week: Riyadh. Visit the blog to read more about it and my exam next week. Thanks.