As a medical student, Dr. Mohammed Fadlalla was deeply moved by a 2008 documentary film called “Living in Emergency” about Doctors Without Borders that followed physicians working in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Libera.
An immigrant from Sudan, Fadlalla already fostered an interest in pursuing global health. The unvarnished look at the challenges those volunteer physicians experience — and the difference they can make in the lives of their patients — helped to solidify his goal.
Fadlalla
Five years into his career as an attending physician, he joined Doctors Without Borders, going on to serve on missions in the central Mediterranean, Uzbekistan and his native Sudan, caring for people whose lives were disrupted by war, famine, geopolitical conflict and poverty.
Fadlalla will be the featured speaker at the 13th annual S. Amjad Hussain Visiting Lecture in Medical Humanities on Monday, Dec. 12.
The free public lecture, titled “A Doctor’s Humanitarian Journey,” will begin at 5:30 p.m. in Health Education Building Room 110 on Health Science Campus. A reception will begin at 5 p.m.
In addition to his work for Doctors Without Borders, Fadlalla is a hospitalist at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center and a volunteer assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
“Had my parents not been fortunate enough to immigrate to America almost 40 years ago, there’s a tangible, real possibility I would be living in Sudan and struggling for the same basic needs that those individuals struggle with through no fault of their own,” he said. “My ability to be able to give back is something that’s really important for me to do at this stage of my life.”
The S. Amjad Hussain Visiting Lecture in Medical Humanities was created in honor of Dr. Hussain, professor emeritus of cardiovascular surgery and humanities, a former member of the UToledo Board of Trustees and a columnist for The Blade.
“The study of humanities is essential for creating an enlightened and empathetic society,” Hussain said. “They are the building blocks of education in any field of human endeavor. I am pleased that for the past 20 years I have been part of the effort to introduce medical humanities to medical students at The University of Toledo.”
Fadlalla will focus his lecture on what led him to volunteer with Doctors Without Borders and the work he’s done through the humanitarian organization.
He said he hopes attendees, particularly medical students, will leave with a greater appreciation of the possibilities having a medical degree affords beyond going into academia or private practice.
“There’s so much good to be done and so much human impact that you can have if we just widen our scope a little bit and we push ourselves beyond our boxes of comfort,” Fadlalla said. “We need to have a less myopic view of medicine and what we can and should be doing.”
