Triplets Nada, Omar and Narjis Mhaimeed have become the latest siblings to join Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) to pursue the six-year medical programme.
The triplets’ mother was also a doctor. Attracting the trio, born within a minute of each other, is described by WCM-Q as an achievement though it prides itself on students who come to the college following the experiences of an older brother or sister.
Omar is of the view that WCM-Q is “the best option for aspiring physicians” because of the six-year programme.
“The course is centred around medicine as opposed to the US where you would have to complete an undergraduate degree first.” The triplets may have many things in common but there are still plenty of distinctions.
While Nada is interested in surgery and Omar is interested in sports medicine, Narjis, the youngest, is thinking of specialising in dermatology.
Med 2 student Tarek Taha has an older brother and sister – Med 3’s Sara Taha and Med 4’s Khalid Taha – already at WCM-Q, and their mother is also a doctor.
Tarek says he had a lot of insight into what to expect for the next few years. “I knew about the rigorous structure of the pre-medical curriculum and the pressure I would be under. I think I had a more complete picture of what to expect.”
Tarek has lots of support from his family, as they know how hard he has to work to succeed. He can also ask his brother and sister for advice and can see the lessons that he is currently learning being put into practice by them during their clinical rotations at Hamad Hospital.
For brothers Khalid and Fahad al-Marri, having each other at the college means there is always someone there to offer support, in addition to the faculty and staff.Khalid is due to graduate in 2018 while Fahad will earn his US-accredited MD degree in 2019.   
“Having your friend and brother in the same programme is such a blessing, we are lucky that we are both together,” added Khalid.