Hyderabad-born Dr Ahmed Daver Faheem, an alumnus of J N Medical College at Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh, has been elected president, West Virginia Board of Medicine.
Beckley, West Virginia-based Dr Faheem is the second Indian-American physician to be elected to this position, years after Dr Sarjit Singh of Weirton, West Virginia.
Dr Faheem’s election, in a now economically depressed state after the coal mining industry began to dissipate, is yet another manifestation of the significant contributions international medical graduates are making in such depressed areas in rural America that have a massive shortage of doctors.
Dr Faheem was the first Indian-American president of the West Virginia State Medical Association, and continues to serve in that post after more than a decade. He told Rediff.com, “I was also on the West Virginia Board of Medicine with Sarjit at that time and was nominated to be the president but withdrew in his favour as I did not want to run against an Indian friend.”
Dr Faheem was first appointed to the West Virginia Board of Medicine in 1993 by then governor Gaston Caperton, and was reappointed under the late governor Cecil Underwood in 1998. In 2010, after a more than a decade’s hiatus, Dr Faheem was reappointed to serve on the board by then governor (now US Senator) Joe Manchin.
Dr Faheem, who completed his medical training and residency in India, England and the United States, has authored a number of scientific articles as well as other written contributions in the field of psychiatry. He has practiced in the Beckley area since 1982.
He is also a clinical professor, Department of Psychiatry, West Virginia University in Morgantown, and has received numerous awards and recognitions for his work and contributions in psychiatry.
“I am so humbled by this honour,” he said, “and looking forward to working with other board members for the betterment of the health and well-being of all West Virginians... Being from a humble background in Nizamabad, this is certainly a great achievement for me.”
Image: Dr Ahmed Daver Faheem
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