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What is Mentorship? Blogpost by Dr. Azif Safarulla

I am an Assistant Professor in Neonatal Perinatal Medicine at University of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City. As part of that I serve as the medical director of the NICU at Saint Anthony's Hospital.
What is mentorship ? Granting observerships, reviewing personal statements, conducting mock interviews, recommending for interviews is part of it. Really it is a resolve that one makes - I want to make it easier for another who comes along the same way. A mentor opens doors for a mentee, allows them to get from Point A to Point B faster and benefit from their own previous experience. The photos I share are two people who played a key role at the start of my journey in the US. Of course the common people in both pictures are me and my Dad - Dr.Safarulla Khan whom I am forever thankful to for granting me the opportunity to come to the US.
One is Dr.Krishna Prasad (KP) who made a call to his friend D.Kumar in Houston. The second picture is Dr.Kumar who allowed a stranger (me) to stay in his home. This transformed my journey in the US. This has been one of the main reasons I decided to become a Mentor for IMGs. Hope this serves as a motivation to all the mentees to take advantage of the unique opportunity all of you have and also to 'Pay it Forward' to the next generation. If you have friends who would be interested in joining our mission please tell them about this amazing opportunity to create impact not for just one person but to change the course of their family tree.

Comments

  1. Krishna Prasad (KP)July 27, 2026 at 10:26 AM

    Dear Azif,
    It's so very gratifying to see you "carrying it forward" showing it in your words and actions especially in the crucial role you play in the AKMG Mentorship program.

    I hope that all the mentees in our AKMG Mentorship program learn from you as a role model and "carry it forward".

    Thank you so very much for what you do for our AKMG. I will forward your blog to Mohan Kumar now. He's in WhatsApp but rather rarely looks at WhatsApp messages, so I will call him to alert him about the crucial blog from you.

    May God the Almighty shower his unlimited blessings on you. May your kind proliferate in our world

    KP

    ReplyDelete

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