Dr Ahmed Abdelhamid
Ahmed is a higher trainee in General Adult Psychiatry in the West Midlands Deanery. He graduated from Al-Azhar University in Egypt in 2008 and completed his foundation training in Alexandria, Egypt before starting his specialty training in neuropsychiatry in Tanta University, Egypt.
Ahmed has been inspired by the social and political change in the region known as the ‘Arab Spring’ and founded a youth-led NGO called ‘Helwa Ya Balady Foundation’. The organization won multiple national and international awards for empowering youth in Egypt. He was named one of the most influential young leaders in the Middle East and was nominated for the King Abdullah II Award for Youth Innovation and Achievement.
In recognition of his leadership, Ahmed received the Chevening Scholarship and moved to the UK to study for a master’s degree in Public Policy Services and Management at King’s College London, which he completed in 2014 and graduated with merit.
Ahmed continues to live in the UK and started his training in Psychiatry as an Academic Clinical Fellow in the West Midlands in affiliation with Warwick Medical School. He actively participated in many research activities at Warwick Medical School and successfully finished his core training in psychiatry in 2021 before starting his higher training in General Adult psychiatry with an endorsement in Addiction Psychiatry.
He is interested in behavioural addiction such as gambling and gaming disorders. He is also interested in exploring the potential use of modern technologies in facilitating diagnosis and management of psychiatric disorders.
Reason for applying for the scheme
At the professional level, Ahmed's motivation to promote mental wellbeing among ethnic minorities, especially Arabs, in the UK continues to drive his career in psychiatry. He is enthusiastic to gain knowledge, to network with new partners, to gain support from stakeholders and to lead the change in this area. Within this context, he finds the FMLM scheme an excellent opportunity to develop his system and organisational leaderships. Joining the FMLM scheme comes as the next step on his path to strengthen his knowledge and enhance his skills in positively influencing strategy and culture within and beyond healthcare organisations.
As Ahmed's initiative, LaTahzan Centre (www.latahzan.uk), continues to advocate on mental health policies among Arab communities in the UK, it’s become unduly evident to him that joining the FMLM scheme will be an invaluable opportunity to build his network, to promote alignments, to influence the policy agenda in healthcare, and to gain hands-on experience in leading change. He is hoping to use the knowledge and the experiential leadership skills gained through the FMLM scheme to promote diversity, inclusion and equality in the health and social care sector. Taking the Arab community as an example, Ahmed aims at coaching clinicians and mental health specialists to improve the outcomes and the quality of care provided to patients from ethnic minorities in the UK.
