If you’ve ventured into the Barrhead Healthcare Centre any time since December, you may have noticed a new friendly face working at the hospital.
Specializing in laparoscopic surgery, general surgeon Majid Shibil moved to Barrhead to begin his time at the Barrhead Healthcare Centre Dec. 15. He came to Alberta from Mississauga, Ontario, but this move was only one of many in his life.
Originally from the Middle East, Shibil practiced general and laparoscopic surgery in Qatar and United Arab Emirates for 10 years. Seeking a better future for his wife and three children, he moved his family to Canada in 2008.
“The most important reason for moving here was for my kids. We came here because we knew that Canada has amazing education and would just overall give them a better life when they grow up,” he said. “Canada itself is a great place. It has very safe environments wherever we go so my wife and I can have the peace of mind we need.”
In addition to the well being of his family, Shibil sought out to further his knowledge and feed his passion for the medical field.
“I also wanted to move here to expand my horizons, knowledge and skills with what I do” said Shibil. “This place has such amazing opportunities that it’s kind of hard finding a reason as to why we should not have moved here,” he added.
Training in the medical field began in Iraq for Shibil in 1985. By 1991 he had finished medical school. A two-year internship followed, then specialist training from 1995 to 1999.
Shibil practiced as a specialist surgeon from 1999-2001, then moved to Qatar in 2001. With an ever-growing thirst for knowledge and improvement, Shibil did his specialty exam in the UK in 2006. He also studied in France for laparoscope training in 2009.
“I am a surgeon and I’m always trying to improve myself and do further training whenever there is a new concept, a new surgery, especially in laparoscopes,” said Shibil.
Since his early days in medical school, Shibil felt himself drawn to surgery rather than general medicine. His interest in the surgical field has only continued to grow from there.
Surgery is not like medicine, he said. Instead of writing a prescription then waiting to see the results, surgeons are able to see what’s wrong and fix it.
“Other doctors use different things. Some write prescriptions, others use machines but being in the operating room,” reflected Shibil. “Operating on the patients with my hands gives me such an amazing rush of adrenaline and excitement that I don’t think would come with pen and paper.”
The surgeon’s main goal for his time in Barrhead is to give his patients the highest level of care he can achieve. In fact, providing his surgical gift is what Shibil enjoys most about his profession.
“My most rewarding part of being a surgeon is definitely helping my patients with techniques and skills I worked so hard to master,” he said. “The point is to do procedures and operations here so that the patients wouldn’t have to travel as far as Edmonton, especially if there are emergencies.”
The Barrhead Healthcare Centre has proven to be quite the change for Shibil. Though his time in Iraq had some similarities, there are great differences including the size of the health centre itself.
“I was working in a hospital, a huge hospital. We had almost 900 beds,” said Shibil. “One of the biggest hospitals in the middle east. I was very, very busy.”
In one day, Shibil said he was doing 10 to 15 surgeries in addition to the 30 to 40 patients he would see in his office.
Working in such a large hospital came with its fair share of stresses. With 24 hour on-call shifts where he could do up to 15 emergency surgeries, Shibil was constantly on the go without much sleep.
“This is not a very good way to do such a huge number of surgeries,” said Shibil. “Surgeons need to be very concentrated and focused on the case.”
No matter how busy he was, Shibil’s love for what he does never altered. But the medical route wasn’t always what Shibil had in mind for himself.
During his high school days he did well as a student in all of his classes, and was considering a career as an engineer. When deciding between engineering and medical school, the final decision came to him through a good friend.
“I had a friend who was one year older than me, my best friend. He went to medical school when I was in Grade 12,” laughed Shibil. “Once he moved to medical school then I changed my mind. I was jealous at that time.”
With his journey bringing him to Barrhead for a new chapter in his life, Shibil said he is very grateful to have the opportunity to work in this rural Alberta town.
“The community is great and the people here are very nice,” said Shibil. “My family and I are very happy to be a part of it.”
