‘Are you sure you want to do this with your life?’

Name: Hina Inam

Place of Residence: Karachi

Occupation: Cardiothoracic surgeon

‘Let me tell you something very fascinating about the heart!’ Dr. Hina exclaimed.

‘Do you know a person’s heart keeps on beating until God stops it or when a cardiothoracic surgeon stops it!’ she continued, ‘How amazing and beautiful is it? That God has given us that power!’ I could hear not just her voice but also her zeal. I was captivated.

Dr. Hina is the kind of person who you can listen to for hours on end and find ample amount of warmth in her words. She tells me that she talks a lot which might be surprising for me, but really that is what we want. People who share their words in abundance.

She recalls her childhood self as the ‘Amazing 80’s/90’s kid’ who would quickly finish their homework and then run to go play. Dr. Hina has four siblings, and among many of her valuable memories, playing cricket together is something that she mentions with great joy, ‘Amma, Abba and basically the entire family would play cricket on the weekends.’

Other than cricket, books kept her company. Jane Austen, Sweet valley kids and Harry Potter are a few that she named and my eyes lit up. While she described them as her ‘home’ and ‘safe place’, what she said next better encapsulates her relationship with books and the fear that it entails. ‘I love to read! I can read just about anything at all if need be’ she tells me and we both laugh. During her fellowship in complex cardiac surgery in Canada right now, she has bought so many books that she fears her suitcase will not even have space for clothes - and her mother will most likely disapprove. (But she is undeterred)

‘When did you know that you wanted to be a doctor?’ I started with the very basics.

‘God knows why, I just knew I wanted to be a doctor.’ She tells me with surety. After completing her MBBS from Karachi Medical and Dental College, she appeared for the internship test at Aga Khan University Hospital on her father’s insistence and went on to join their program. She is now the first female cardiothoracic surgeon to have graduated from this institute.

‘But how did you know that cardiothoracic surgery was for you?’ I asked.

‘I grew up thinking that I might be a psychiatrist, but then it was my last day of cardiac surgery rotation during my internship year when I was called in the OR for a sternotomy. I opened up the pericardium and fell in love’ Dr. Hina narrated. You can call this a cliché, or you can listen to her and feel her smile through her words. Most love stories are cliché, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t true.

She then moved towards her residency which was rigorous but also just exactly what she wanted. Unfortunately in 2019, a week before graduation, her dad passed away. ‘You do so many things for your parents, for them to smile but when I went up on stage that day, I did not see my parents.’ Her mother could also not attend as she was observing Iddat. The ceremony was followed by a dinner where everyone sat with their families, but she stood with her siblings on one side and they cried together. This was perhaps one of the many manifestations of grief that she generously shared with me. Life was now tough, and in a different way. She had to step up as the eldest of the family and realize that life will be different now onwards.

Previously, the difficulties came in the form of unseen hurdles and subtle sexist remarks. On the second day of her residency she was told that ‘There can never be a female cardiac surgeon.’ And that ‘Are you sure you want to do this with your life?’ while she worked a night shift alongside two boys.

‘I have had to work twice as hard for people to be able to appreciate my work, otherwise only boys are visible to them’ she said. It is also easy to get angry and frustrated over discrimination, but Dr. Hina chose her work as a means of retaliation. This however, did take a village. From family, to friends and mentors - Dr. Hina mentioned every woman that laid the foundation for her to navigate through. One person that she talked about in high regards was Dr. Mahim Malik; ‘She’s someone I would love to be! The way she taught us, the way she excels in all of her roles in her life.’

Now she’s at a place in life where her skilled work defines her. What’s most interesting is the fact that despite being someone who has the ability to heal others (fix people’s hearts!) she also has the lens to see and appreciate where she came from in retrospect. She does not tell me that surgeons are born. She instead says, ‘Koi paida hote hi surgeon nahi hota (you are not born as a surgeon), you can always work hard and acquire your skills. This is what my mentor, Dr. Rizwan Azmi, used to tell me. Now I can do various different cases on my own: bypass, valves, coronary arteries. But we all start from somewhere.’

It was with this spirit that she laid the foundation of the Association of women surgeons in Pakistan. Such a kind of association exists outside of Pakistan, but she wanted to help students in whichever way it was possible. And in most cases, you can help just by guiding them.

This also correlates to her philosophy of life. Dr. Hina says that ‘There is no point in being a good surgeon if I am not a good person. My goal is that when I die, people just remember me. And that I was able to help someone.’

Help is in fact what builds up a community. It allows us to walk the paths that were once trodden upon by women who had to work twice as hard so that we’re visible. Out of many accolades and skills that people in medicine can hone, being helpful is something that surpasses all others. It is also something that we lack. This is what I’d specifically like to take away from my conversation with Dr. Hina, and this is what she learnt from her Dad.

He told her, ‘If there’s one thing you can do in your life, just be there for others.’ And that should suffice.