DR. MUSBAHI JOINS ORACORE TEAM FUNDED BY US-UK FULBRIGHT

Dr. Omar Musbahi is a Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon and Fellow, originally from London who is currently funded by the US-UK Fulbright Commission at OrACORe. During his time with us, Dr. Musbahi has been working on several manuscripts and research projects related to his subspecialty of interest (Knee Surgery). In this blog post, Dr. Musbahi discusses his interests in medicine and orthopaedics as well as what he likes to do in his free time.

Journey to Medicine

Dr. Musbahi took a long time to decide on a career choice but knew he wanted to do something practical. Given his interests in science, learning, and people, Dr. Musbahi engaged in several work placements shadowing family medicine practitioners and internal medicine physicians prior to college. After weighing these experiences in concert with a great deal of thought, Dr. Musbahi chose to study medicine. From there, he was drawn to orthopaedics specifically because he likes to work with his hands. He describes his tinkering as ‘practical stuff,’ such as fixing or replacing items around the house or working on do-it-yourself projects with his dad, which transfers well to a surgical specialty that requires a lot of mechanics and physical manipulation. Also, he cites his medical school mentors at London and Oxford that were orthopaedic surgeons as putting him on the path to the specialty. Dr. Musbahi has not regretted his decision and feels that he has a fantastic job because he says that orthopaedics has ‘great work-life balance and an ever-changing research landscape’. These days, in the realm of orthopaedics, Dr. Musbahi is specifically interested in knees, sports and trauma.

Research as a Physician

Research, for Dr. Musbahi, is a means of ensuring that as a physician he can provide the highest standard of care by employing evidence-based and up-to-date care. As a physician, he treats challenging patients that require him to stay engaged with advances in the field. Research keeps him ‘mentally engaged and very focused’ so that he can treat each of his patient’s different needs. Currently, Dr. Musbahi’s research interests include utilizing big data, artificial intelligence, and biomechanics to inform orthopaedic practice. These specific domains align well with orthopaedics as the specialty is very biomechanically focused and is all about movement and function. Artificial intelligence, he says, is going to ‘transform the way we think about health care’ in its ability to analyze data.

Dr. Musbahi’s Tenure at OrACORe

Throughout his time with OrACORe, Dr. Musbahi has relished learning about our research processes the most. He says that he has learned something from everyone in the office including research conception, methodology, and even meeting organization. Dr. Musbahi enjoys the fact that the research we perform includes colleagues from all levels including managers, juniors, trainees, and research associates. Professor Katz’s leadership and mentorship have been very inspirational for his own leadership aspirations. Upon departure from OrACORe, Dr. Musbahi hopes to incorporate research into his clinical practice, and he even plans to set aside time explicitly to conduct his own research in his attending job plan.

Advice

When asked about providing advice for aspiring or current medical students, Dr. Musbahi stresses the importance of having a growth mindset and a plethora of interests outside of work as a means of preventing burnout. Also, he advises people to have a diverse financial portfolio and a wide range of extracurriculars. He says: “work to live rather than live to work”. Following his own advice, Dr. Musbahi has a wide variety of interests. One favorite, accessible interest of his is reading – he says he could sit in a café or a park ‘for hours’ and read a book. He also continues to enjoy competitive sports such as swimming and running. Dr. Musbahi is a keen traveler and would like to explore even more of the world, saying his favorite place to which he has traveled is South Africa. And on the unusual side, he also partakes in uncommon pastimes such as scuba diving.