You grew up in Bahrain. What was that like?

It was great! It was a wonderful place to grow up. Lots of opportunity, modern, English speaking, and international, and just a welcoming and safe country and environment.

My parents moved there from Lebanon for opportunity right after we were born, and they ended up staying there.

 

And then you went to college in Canada?

Yes. So RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin) had a connection with Bahrain to take students into their medical program directly from high school, and I was one of those that was selected. But I decided to go do my undergrad in Canada, in Montreal.

I wanted to have a broader international experience. I did a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Chemistry and Management [at McGill]. I was going to become a chemist, but then I changed my mind and decided that I wanted to go into health sciences and medicine instead.

RCSI was kind of in the back of my mind, and even though I’d favourable opportunities within Canada and the United States, I wanted to really leverage my international opportunities and do something different. So that’s how I ended up in Dublin. I went into their advanced program because I’d already completed my undergrad.

Those were my formative years, and probably the best years, if you will, of my life. The friends I’ve made in Dublin continue to be my closest friends, and my closest colleagues. We’re still in very close contact.

 

Walk us through your career after you left Dublin.

I was very proud to be an RCSI graduate, and to have come from Ireland because the medical training was phenomenal. My plan was to do higher surgical or interventional training, so I went to Ann Arbor, Michigan to do my general surgery residency. I also completed a master’s in business administration (MBA), and a master’s in public health (MPH) focused on health delivery models. Having come from Europe and a public health care system, and then going to the US, and a private health care system I found the difference between the two, not just as a practitioner, or as a trainee, or as an educator, but also as a patient so interesting. So that was what made me pursue a master’s in public health and my MBA in healthcare administration.

Then I went to do my vascular surgery fellowship at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

 

I’ve heard you describe vascular surgeons as the healthcare plumbers. Why did you choose it? 

I had exposure to some great vascular surgeons in my general surgery training, and I was basically enamoured by the complex decision making and required technical skills to do those operations. That, and the lifelong rapport or relationship you develop with patients. These patients become your patients for life. You don’t just solve a problem and off they go. I have patients I’ve been seeing for 20 years. I think that, and the complex decision making and required technical prowess and challenges were very, very interesting to me. Also, when it comes to vascular, there are multiple ways to solve a problem. There are minimally invasive ways, and there are very invasive ways. So, it was academically stimulating, and technically challenging. I guess that’s how I’d put it. 

It’s also at the brink of innovation. There are a lot of new devices and new products to help solve these problems. So, you have to be innovative. That’s an important thing, when it comes to AIMS. It’s a great opportunity to foster international collaboration and the exchange of ideas on how to solve problems which is very important to vascular surgery, because we have to come up with innovative ways to solve very complicated and high-risk problems. The opportunity to have this international collaboration and learn from each other is phenomenal. I really wish more people would be more involved and help promote that, because without that type of innovation, without these types of ideas, we wouldn’t have the devices that we use every day to help people with very complicated problems. I’m super supportive and encouraging of that.

 

You’re now Chief of Vascular Surgery at McLaren Health in Bay City,Michigan, and were also elected as Chief of Surgery there. You’ve previously been the Chief of Staff for over 550 physicians, and you’re currently Chair of Cardiovascular Research. That’s a lot! What do you like most about your job, and what do you like least? 

Obviously, I love the patient care and being able to help and offer people advanced treatments that can be done close to their community. The patient care and relationships and rapport are what I love the most. I love promoting population health, too and as

chair of cardiovascular research we’re involved in a lot of international and national trials to help advance the science forward. I think that’s very important. There’s an opportunity to give back by really kind of helping push the science forward and teach the new generation of physicians and researchers.

What I like least about the job is there’s always the administrative burden and resource challenges, particularly in the post COVID era. So sometimes, it’s difficult between the clinical goals and the administrative resources and making those tough decisions. You need to do the best you can with what you have available.

 

What’s a typical day in your life like?

I usually get up at 5 AM and get to the hospital by 5.45 or 6 AM.  I see all our post-operative patients, make sure everybody from the day before is ready to go, and then at that point, we start getting ready for a new day of operations. In the meantime, I’ll catch up on a variety of meetings that come with my leadership position, so to come up with new strategies and plans. Then, most of the day is spent doing operations that are relatively complex.

Throughout that, we’ll have trainees, see more patients, have a few meetings that are necessary and the day will wrap around 5.30 PM.

Usually, my evenings are spent with my family, which are the most important thing to me.

 

That’s a long, full-on day?

Yeah, it’s standard, I guess. They can be long days. Yesterday for instance, we ended up having an emergency that came in at 4:30 PM that kept us here till almost 10 PM. But the patient’s doing well this morning and everybody’s fine, and that’s what it’s all about.

 

Not that you’ve much downtime but what do you like to do when you have?

Spending time with my family, my wife and kids. They ground me. And having a work life balance – which doesn’t seem to show much in this interview, but it’s there. We like to travel, try out new restaurants, and new food. That sort of thing. I have two young sons and they and my wife make it all worthwhile.

 

If you hadn’t taken this career path, what do you think you might have done?

I do think about that. Especially on difficult days! Maybe business? I enjoy that and leadership type stuff. Or maybe engineering. Something along those lines.

 

Last question. What professional and personal advice would you give 25-year-old Nick living in Dublin?

I would say is believe in yourself and follow your dreams. Not to sound cliche, but the path is what you make of it. It’s not necessarily easy, but that’s okay. You can see from my own experiences, it wasn’t a straight path. I went all around the world, but I look back and say I’m very fortunate for those experiences and for the way it all worked out. You don’t necessarily have to have a traditional path. As long as you’re doing stuff with integrity, I think the opportunities, will come to you. Sounds kind of cliche, but I really do believe that.

 

Leading on from that. You maybe bring a less traditional vibe to surgery? You’ve got the ponytail and you’re kind of a cool dude.

[Laughs] It’s not a sign of defiance. It’s just who I am.

I’ve been fortunate the way my career trajectory has been. I think if you just believe in yourself, and show up with dedication and integrity, everything else will work out. We always try to fit into some random category. Things are not like they used to be. Of course you have to achieve what you need to achieve, but I think you can create your own path if you believe in yourself and if you believe in your dreams.