Newly-appointed cardiologist Dr Fareed Ali, a graduate of the Trinidad and Tobago Health Sciences Initiative's cardiology programme, says he will be focusing on patient education in an effort to prevent and reduce the number of cases related to heart problems and diabetes.
Ali, 32, whose specialty is internal medicine, has now received special training and honed his skills in finding, treating and preventing diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
A dinner/graduation was hosted in his honour by Johns Hopkins Institute, Baltimore, USA, at Buzo Restaurant, Osteria Italiana, Warner Street, Newtown, Port-of-Spain, on February 23.
Among those present were Ali's wife Diana, and retired Chief Medical Officer, Dr Rohit Doon. They were joined by medical professionals from Johns Hopkins Department of Medicine, Cardiology, including medical director, TTHSI-CVSI Dr Lowell Maughan, Dr Gary Gerstenblith and Dr Jeff Brinker.Asked about his focus, Ali said, "Patient education is one of the interventions we could do with a lot more in Trinidad. We should strive to be one of the countries that focuses on patients being in charge of their healthcare rather than the old culture which was more autocratic."
He said there were challenges including getting people to adopt healthier eating habits, for example, encouraging people to eat yogurt, fresh fruits and vegetables regularly, as opposed to fried fast foods. "The whole approach to healthcare needs to be executed properly in different areas to be a success. And I would hope to be one of those to bring about change. The focus would be on developing a good preventative programme. We need to put the information out there. We also want to help patients get shorter appointments," added Ali.
Ali said another area that needed work was the removal of stigma and discrimination with regard to patients affected by certain diseases and ailments."Diana is studying psychiatry, and (she says) there is still a lot of work to be done to remove the stigma around mental illness. People get depressed, they need professional help and counselling.
"But the will has to be there at all levels, especially politically, to make positive inroads into chronic diseases in T&T," Ali said.
During the formalities, Maughan presented Ali with a plaque. He commended him for his professionalism while at Johns Hopkins. His calm demeanour and compassionate nature did not go unnoticed, he said.Having extended best wishes to Ali, director of Cardiology and consultant cardiologist at EWMSC, Dr Tricia Cummings, urged him to "go ahead and do something that would make a difference."
Asked how he felt about being honoured, Ali said, "It is a bittersweet moment. It represents the end of the training programme. I am happy to have benefitted from the Fellowship. I am the fifth cardiologist (to have benefitted), and I hope we would be able to see more programmes of collaboration." He thanked everyone who had contributed to his academic prowess and achievements.
During his fellowship, Ali, who is from Princes Town, studied at Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC), at Mt Hope, and at Johns Hopkins Institute, Baltimore. The curriculum included echocardiology, angiograms, electro physiology and managing cardiac CT scans.While practising internal medicine locally, Ali, a graduate of Naparima College, San Fernando, helped patients with chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure to manage them successfully.
"The biggest problem is the end stage of uncontrolled diabetes, blood pressure and cardiac disease," Ali said.