Building community connections
Working with a stroke survivor before entering medical school introduced Dr. Abdul Naeem, MD’14, to the hardships of patients recovering from brain injuries.
Further experiences in clerkship at Schulich Medicine motivated him to reach out to community partners to create awareness and compassion among medical students. “Seeing these people in the clinic and hearing their stories made me want to give back to this segment of the population.”
Dr. Naeem worked with the Brain Injury Association of Windsor and Essex (BIAWE), in partnership with Assisted Living Southwestern Ontario (ALSO), to plan an event at the Chrysalis Day Centre for his peers.
Students and club members shared stories and exchanged information about patient care.
“I felt the class would benefit from their stories and help us better relate to patients in a clinical setting,” said Dr. Naeem. “I also wanted to give brain injury survivors an opportunity to network among themselves.”
