It was just her second day on the job, but Dr. Mona Ali was already speaking of Estevan and Saskatchewan in a positive vein.
“I find Saskatchewan people very friendly. When I applied here I wasn’t sure what to expect,” she said from her small office in the Estevan Medical Centre on King Street.
Dr. Ali, originally from Egypt, received her basic academic and medical training in Cairo and has focused her attention most recently on women’s health and maternity care, as well as serving as a family physician. She joins doctors Tsoi, Christie and Pehlivan and nurse practitioner Lois Coffey at the clinic, and has applied for hospital privileges as a routine part of the introduction into the local medical community.
Dr. Ali said she turned more attention to women’s issues in health care after her children grew, which allowed her more time. She and her husband, an Alberta-based opthamologist, are parents to four children with one son being a pharmacist while another is studying for a medical degree. A daughter is studying science at the University of Alberta with the hopes of being accepted into a medical college and the youngest will be entering Grade 11 at the Estevan Comprehensive School in the second semester.
Encountering and tackling the paperwork and scrutiny that accompanies applicants from out-of-country was formidable, but also acceptable, said Dr. Ali. In fact, it should be comforting to know this scrutiny is in place, she said.
“It’s good to know that it’s not easy,” she said, referring to the check list that medical practitioners must go through before they can be certified to practice in the province.
“At the same time, I found the people I dealt with very supportive, very helpful.”
She said she was raised in a small city in Egypt, so this will probably help her assimilate into the local community quickly.
Greg Hoffort, executive director of St. Joseph’s Hospital, said “Dr. Ali is a welcomed addition to our community and offers Estevan the services of another family medical practice with Dr. Ali becoming the 12 th physician in Estevan. St. Joseph’s Hospital is pleased to have Dr. Ali join the Estevan medical staff.”
“I’m optimistic about coming here. This is a good city I believe,” Ali said, adding that when she isn’t busy with her practice she enjoys a good walk, just to clear her head while enjoying nature and the things around her.
“Of course, you can only do that for a few months of the year and I had to leave my treadmill in Alberta,” she said with a laugh, thankful that there were still a number of weeks left for enjoying outdoor walks.
