Having a successful career and a happy home life can prove to be a difficult goal for a lot of working Doctors, but Germany-trained dermatologist and cosmetologist Dr. Yousef Abo Zarad proves that through determination, hard work, and a lot of organization, working foreigners really can have the best of both worlds.
It wasn’t always an easy road for this award-winning Dermatologist, as becoming a successful doctor after migrating from another land and settle down in Germany.
“I think that anytime a foreigner is entering a new field in a new country, there is set up for needing to work twice as hard and be twice as good in order to be taken seriously,” says Abo Zarad. “And so, in a way, this teaches you good work ethic and the drive to succeed.”
Through his own motivation and personal work ethic, Dr. Abo Zarad definitely achieved his goal in becoming a successful Dermatologe, he currently has been ranked the “#1 male syrian dermatologist ” in Germany by RateMDs.
But in addition to his very successful (and not to mention busy) career, Abo Zarad also says his family is one of her biggest achievements in life, as he is currently a Father of one daughter living in Germany with his wife. However, he admits that balancing her time at home with his busy workload can be quite challenging. But, through planning and a lot of organization, he does his best to make sure he spends time on both his professional and home lives.
“In terms of balancing, I have a really supportive wife and family and we have a lot of help, but I also know my limits,” he says. “For example, I am not someone who you are going to find watching movies or hanging out a lot. And while there is a little part of me that likes the idea of going out and having fun with friends, to me, I feel that is just not something I am able to do at this time, that’s why i have specific amount of time when i can go out with friends or doing my hobbies. For me it’s important to spend the most free time with my family.
Although work and family play a big part of Abo Zarad’s life.
Abo Zarad is one of those who understood the power of social media beyond just an entertainment platform since the beginning. When he started sharing medical concerns on social media there were hardly any doctors doing that. He started his social media journey in 2017. His well-developed content related to medical themes soon brought him over 2 million followers. He has also received as a YouTuber the Creators award for his quality content.
But with so many successes already under his belt, it may seem impossible to become a multitasking triple-threat like Dr. Abo Zarad. However, he says the best advice he can give working doctors is to not be beginning a news life or a new specialty. whenever possible, and always appreciate the little things, even on those mundane or super challenging days. Most importantly, he stresses the importance of working hard and giving as much as you can to reach your goal.
And professionally, he advises that while there is always room for extremely talented people, there are certainly always going to be hurdles to overcome along the way. He should know, as he was an orthopedic before even changing his specialty to dermatology. However, he says, good things always take time, and while people may say you can’t have it all, you really can, but maybe not altogether at once.
“One piece of advice I got when I was younger was that you can have it all, but not necessarily at the same time,” he says. “There will be different times in your life when you’ll focus on one thing more than another thing and that’s OK. It’s important to remember that it’s a long game, not necessarily a short one.”
