Othman Al-Tuwairqi ... the first Saudi physician to receive an American fellowship in maxillofacial surgery

Othman Al-Tuwairqi is the first Saudi physician to receive an American fellowship in the field of maxillofacial surgery as well as a subspecialty in corrective jaw surgery, and he is an associate professor at Harvard University in Boston and an associate professor as well at the University of Maryland Timor and he is also an associate professor at Al-Faisal University in Riyadh.

He graduated from King Saud University in 1986 and holds a doctorate in microbiology and a degree in human medicine. He is a consultant in King Abdulaziz Health City, and in 2002 he was one of the founders of the Saudi Society for Oral and Maxillofacial Therapy.

The certificates and awards he received in his field of specialization are more than counting, as the scientific and global appreciation of the research he has accomplished, especially on jaw cancer and its causes, was the title of the research for which he won an award from the American Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in 1996 under the title (The relationship of smokeless tobacco to oral cancer He also won a prize from Tufts University for his master''s research under the title (Early Chemotherapy for Jaw Cancer), which contributed to raising the cure rate from 30 to 70 per 100%, and he also won the Epidemic Control Center award in the United States for his research entitled (Tobacco and Residence The argument against the tobacco companies), we met with him and had this dialogue:

Who is Dr. Othman Salem Al-Tuwairqi and how would you like to know about yourself?

I am a Saudi doctor who graduated from King Saud University in 1986 and I was part of a class of 8 doctors, and we were in the fifth or sixth batch in the history of that college and today I am an associate professor in many Saudi and American universities.

You say about your colleagues in the 1986 batch from King Saud University (they were one team and colleagues for good)… What is the difference between medical payments in the past and now?

This is a good question, and first I say in response to this question that in the past things were easier even in the field of admission, then after that in the field of work, and also the smaller the number, there was a personal relationship between the teacher and the student, so I remember my colleagues Dr. Abdulaziz and Dr. Nasser Al-Jasser and others. There is no doubt that the old medical payments are distinguished, as well as the batches and new students have a thousand thoughts and ideas.

Dr. Othman says (my brother Jamal preceded me to study medicine, and because he was walking fast and his mood was always bad, I decided not to pursue the field of medicine) and yet I pursued the field of medicine, why?

I have always said that I will not take this path, which is the field of medicine, and among the reasons was the speech that you mentioned in your question until I met a dentist and he was calm in nature and gradually changed the perception of medicine specialty.

Who are the professors that you think led your way to success?

Every student must have a teacher who takes him to the path of success and you as a student may love the subject from you because of the love of the person who studies it for you, but I remember here an Egyptian doctor in the United States who insisted on me in the past that he joined the Face and Hand Fellowship after I left America for London for a year and communicated with me Very much and convinced me to sign the application papers.

What is the meaning of your phrase (look that you are a product and give something suitable for your age ... this is a great thing)?

I have noticed in America that the American looks at his studies as an investment, as the American does not carry in his heart and thought to go to work in government as is the case in our Arab world.

What is the meaning of your statement (students are now satisfied with the lower gaze without the top gaze)?

I meant that their dreams stop when he has a job and an office and does not pursue new developments in his specialization, and I say that experience with the modern thing in specialization is required.

Has the reputation changed in the past of Saudi doctors in America, about which it says (there was no reputation about the Saudis in America or their scientific field, or that there are distinguished universities in Saudi Arabia?

Yes ... this was among the first observations I made there when I started my career in surgery, because when I went to Tufts University, one of the doctors advised me to go to the Face and Hand Fellowship and I opposed this approach because this name was not known in the Kingdom and we in the Kingdom used to admit Only with masters and doctoral degrees, I decided to go to London and sat for a year there.

At the beginning of your stay in America, what are your first observations on the way to live there?

You in the United States and the West are completely responsible for your actions and for every action you do, not like the situation in our Arab world, and also the perception of them that you are a productive person makes them people who encourage you and you receive all the encouragement from them, which is surprising in our Arab world.

Can the trait of condescension easily affect the doctor?

This is true and there are many stories of those who have been afflicted with this quality, but my advice to those is that you should not take the world as the only one present in this world, but if you have produced and worked, this is your balance in the world..and the best thing in a person’s life is to take and benefit from the experiences of others.

Why do some physicians object or upset about referring their patients to the doctors of others?

Because most doctors, unfortunately, do not like to appear that he is weak in his specialization or that he does not know or that he loses this patient financially if he refers him to another doctor.

What would you advise the GP?

Your question reminds me of something that I saw when I was a child in the sixties and seventies where we had a view in the Kingdom that the general practitioner - and there were only foreign doctors - was the top and elite of society, because of the old conviction we had in Saudi Arabia, which is the lowest satisfaction in specialization, and this is wrong, but on The doctor is specifically to be a specialist in the most delicate matters of his medical specialty.

Why was Dr. Othman Al-Tuwairqi distinguished from others?

Success is the grace of God first, and there are reasons that God Almighty sets for the path of success. In general, passion is the basis of success.