This is my chevening leadership essay. I would appreciate your feedback.
Leadership and volunteer work have been two of my greatest passions throughout my career. Growing up in Najaf, Iraq, where opportunities for personal skill development are often limited, I have consistently aspired to be able to create significant change. My aim was always to become a leader in my community who can help in supporting the environment and public health and combating the spread of radical ideologies through all available means.
My view of being a doctor goes beyond sitting behind a desk and treating patients with prescriptions to include having an impact on the society I live in. For instance, I used to participate in medical camps as a volunteer doctor working with different groups of young medical students. My role, apart from providing medical service to patients, was to lead those young medical students assigning everyone's role and task to form a productive teamwork and to ensure that everything goes smooth and to solve the problems that we might face during work. At times, it extended to include donations and assistance in supplying the necessary equipment and medication.
Another important example, where I used my position as a doctor and someone who's interested in public service, is COVID-19 pandemic and the related misinformation that was spreading worldwide along with the virus such as "vaccines are harmful and we should not use them". I tried my best to make sure that my community gets educated about the importance of the vaccines by collaborating with civil society organizations and using my voice in every platform that I have whether it was on social media or in the hospitals that I was working in at the time.
Working in the E&R department as a doctor demands a multitude of skills, including leadership, in addition to a robust foundation in medical knowledge and practical skills, particularly when you are the one in charge. After a year of clinical experience, I gained the knowledge and skills that qualify me to train others, I dedicated myself to teaching junior doctors to have the leadership skills I had acquired, including how to give right and clear instructions to the medical staff working with you to how to take the right decision in the right time which maintains order in the E&R. Not to mention the procedures that I helped them learn such as nasogastric tube insertion, abdominal paracentesis and foley catheterization.
Beyond my medical career, I am an active political advocate who took part in the October 2019 protests in Iraq against Iranian-backed militias. I enhanced my leadership abilities by guiding groups in daily demonstrations. Additionally, I contributed to the Hisham Al-Hashemi Award for Young Researchers (8 July 2020) by publishing research on the impact of terrorist groups and militias on Iraq's development, which gained coverage across multiple news outlets leading to an invitation from Al-Baghdadia TV to discuss my research on a political program.
These experiences have enriched my expertise, sharpened my skills, and strengthened my confidence. I believe that becoming a Chevening awardee would provide a great opportunity to further develop my abilities and to become the kind of future leader in my field that I aspire to be.
Leadership and volunteer work have been two of my greatest passions throughout my career. Growing up in Najaf, Iraq, where opportunities for personal skill development are often limited, I have consistently aspired to be able to create significant change. My aim was always to become a leader in my community who can help in supporting the environment and public health and combating the spread of radical ideologies through all available means.
My view of being a doctor goes beyond sitting behind a desk and treating patients with prescriptions to include having an impact on the society I live in. For instance, I used to participate in medical camps as a volunteer doctor working with different groups of young medical students. My role, apart from providing medical service to patients, was to lead those young medical students assigning everyone's role and task to form a productive teamwork and to ensure that everything goes smooth and to solve the problems that we might face during work. At times, it extended to include donations and assistance in supplying the necessary equipment and medication.
Another important example, where I used my position as a doctor and someone who's interested in public service, is COVID-19 pandemic and the related misinformation that was spreading worldwide along with the virus such as "vaccines are harmful and we should not use them". I tried my best to make sure that my community gets educated about the importance of the vaccines by collaborating with civil society organizations and using my voice in every platform that I have whether it was on social media or in the hospitals that I was working in at the time.
Working in the E&R department as a doctor demands a multitude of skills, including leadership, in addition to a robust foundation in medical knowledge and practical skills, particularly when you are the one in charge. After a year of clinical experience, I gained the knowledge and skills that qualify me to train others, I dedicated myself to teaching junior doctors to have the leadership skills I had acquired, including how to give right and clear instructions to the medical staff working with you to how to take the right decision in the right time which maintains order in the E&R. Not to mention the procedures that I helped them learn such as nasogastric tube insertion, abdominal paracentesis and foley catheterization.
Beyond my medical career, I am an active political advocate who took part in the October 2019 protests in Iraq against Iranian-backed militias. I enhanced my leadership abilities by guiding groups in daily demonstrations. Additionally, I contributed to the Hisham Al-Hashemi Award for Young Researchers (8 July 2020) by publishing research on the impact of terrorist groups and militias on Iraq's development, which gained coverage across multiple news outlets leading to an invitation from Al-Baghdadia TV to discuss my research on a political program.
These experiences have enriched my expertise, sharpened my skills, and strengthened my confidence. I believe that becoming a Chevening awardee would provide a great opportunity to further develop my abilities and to become the kind of future leader in my field that I aspire to be.
