Blogs

AAIM Member Spotlight

Farrah Ibrahim, MD, FACP

Program Director
Associate Professor of Medicine
University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine Huntsville
Regional Medical Campus

How long have you been a member of AAIM?

I’ve been a member for five years, since the start of the Internal Medicine Residency Program at the UAB Huntsville Campus.

Describe your typical day.

I wake up early in the morning and I look forward to seeing patients and working with students and residents. I start with rounds with one of the inpatient service teams. The team includes residents and medical students. At 11 a.m., we have morning report. In the afternoon, I conduct workshops for medical students. I also have administrative work as Program Director. Tuesday afternoon is didactics time with residents.

What is your favorite part of the job?

My favorite part of the job is developing close relationships with residents and helping them gain knowledge and experience needed to become independent practitioners. Each of their individual journeys is important to me. I enjoy working with them to explore their opportunities in training or working with them on an abstract or a quality improvement project or discussing what we will present in didactics. I’m deeply involved with their learning. I feel I have an impact on their success.

On top of that, as much as they learn from me, I feel I learn just as much from them.

How has the AAIM membership been of value to you and your career?

The Alliance has a unique role in guiding us as clinician educators in teaching residents and medical students. As Program Director, my first APDIM meeting experience was an eye opener and helped me a lot in running the residency. It gave me guidance and confidence to run the residency program.

This fall, I attended the AAIM Skills and Leadership Conference. The lectures and workshops were wonderful. The networking and mentorship program through the Alliance has been of value. I attended the Women’s Precourse at Skills – it was so nice to be with women who are successful. It motivates me and at the same time gives me confidence.

What's your favorite moment of your career so far?

I truly enjoy working with medical students. When medical students start the IM clerkship, some aren’t sure what to expect and how they will navigate through the clerkship because it is a wide subject and a lot to learn. I start working with them slowly, as each student has his/her own way of learning, to understand pathophysiology of diseases, how to think as an internist and how to deal with patients with complex medical problems. As they go through the clerkship, you see them blossoming. By the end of the clerkship, they are so happy and appreciative of what they’ve learned. Some even decide to go into Internal Medicine. A few years later, I might see some of them back as a specialist which is an exciting, aha moment for me.

What was your childhood dream job?

I always wanted to be a physician.

How do you spend your free time?

I like spending my time with my husband, who is my best friend. I also enjoy getting coffee with my 19 year old daughter or lunch with my 20 year old son, both of whom are in college. During longer breaks, I love to travel with my family and explore the world.

What’s one thing people would be surprised to know about you?

America is the fourth country that I had to go through the process of board examination and obtaining a license to practice medicine. I’ve also been a physician in New Zealand, Iraq, and Yemen.