Interview with a psychiatrist mr sheikh abdul-karim

Your full March 20, Interview with a Psychiatrist I interviewed Mr. Sheikh Abdul-Karim, who isa renowned psychiatrist in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He started the interview with his introduction which included his background, his educational qualification, and his work experience. He described how he got interested in the field of psychiatry, and what boosted his passion for specializing in psychiatry. He talked about why he chose that particular hospital he worked in; what challenged he faced in the hospital; what opportunities he met there; and, what the future prospects of psychiatry were. This paper is a summary of his interview.
Being an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at a reputed Jeddah hospital, Mr. Karim described how his life had changed since he stepped into the field of psychiatry. I started by asking him what the general responsibilities of his profession were. He replied that his main duty was to provide high quality psychiatric services, which included medication and therapeutic advice and sessions, to patients who came to him with a myriad of psychiatric problems. He worked both as a therapist and a medication advisor for most of the patients; while for some, he was only the medical advisor. He described that a typical shift of a psychiatrist included sessions with psychiatric patients. Each session was 30 minutes long, and he saw around 10 patients in a day.
Continuing the interview, Mr. Karim explained that the biggest challenge he faced while working with a hospital was that, in contrast to private practice, he was not able to manage his working hours, which were set by the hospital authority. So, he did not have control over his time and schedule, which he missed when he was working as a solo practitioner in the past. He had to give explanations and put leave applications if he wanted to go on a leave. Also, the hospital demanded that he should be available to patients on phone all the time, 24/7, which was something that he was well managing as a solo practitioner. The hospital would also call him on weekends, on and off.
He said that while working with the patients with difficult psychiatric conditions, it was sometimes very stressful for him to deal with stressors. Forgetting one’s own worries and dealing with others’ was what was required of him, which he was doing very well, but at times, he would become stressed out. He described how some patients gave him tough time. Some patients would attack him verbally to let go of their frustrations and anxiety, and it would become very hard for him to keep himself calm. However, he said that these were the difficulties which every psychiatrist had to face, whether or not he worked in a hospital.
In short, the interview proved to be a beneficial interaction between Mr. Karim and me. I got to know him as a person, and he got the opportunity of talking about the difficulties he faced in his job, and the benefits that he was pleased with while working at the hospital. The essence of the interview was that the job of a psychiatrist was full of challenges and opportunities, and it was only the hard work and dedication on part of the psychiatrist that made him a better professional, especially while working with a hospital.