Grad profile: From fear to thriving

This article is part of a series focusing on the grads of the Dalhousie Class of 2024. Spring Convocation runs from May 21 to 31 in Halifax and Truro. Read all our profiles here in one place as they are published, and for more information visit the Convocation website.

Qëndresa Sahiti always possessed a fervent desire to understand the world around her, especially when it came to the mind and body. With a fear of doctors, however, a career in medicine was not in the cards.

A native of Prishtina, Kosovo, and former refugee, Qëndresa came to Canada at six-years-old. Having to spend considerable time in hospitals while watching her younger brother's battle with a genetic illness, she inevitably developed a fear of both doctors and medicine, feeling powerless as she witnessed her brother undergo treatment.

She opted to follow a research path, studying neuroscience at Dalhousie, planning to make a career of discovery. It wasn’t until late in her undergraduate training that she began feeling something was missing.

“I found myself missing the element of human connection in research and wanted a career in which I could have a more direct clinical impact through medicine,” she recalls. “I shadowed rural family physician Dr. Ryve Loshaj and her deep connections with her patients and community solidified my interest in pursuing medicine.”

By reframing her childhood experiences as opportunities to help others and finding empowerment in her ability to make a difference, she enrolled in medical school, determined to make her future patients and their families feel supported.

As a medical student Qëndresa utilized her research experience, publishing and presenting research in trauma and antecedents to mental illness, medical education and the learning environment, and the intersection of art and science. She championed marginalized communities through the Walk in Our Shoes Foot Clinic and held leadership roles in non-profits like the Council of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia. She was recognized with several awards for her work including the 3M National Student Fellowship, the TD Scholarship for Community Leadership, and the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Award for Medical Students. Her Research in Medicine (RIM) project, that investigated resident mistreatment, earned her the Research in Medicine Award, and has been published in influential medical education journals and featured on CBC.

Understanding the demands of medical school, Qëndresa contributed to the development of Thriving Together, a workshop series born out of a desire to foster a culture of support, cohesion, and collegiality among classmates.

“It takes a lot of hard work to get to medical school, and some people start their training expecting an environment of fierce competition instead of collegiality,” says Qëndresa. “This not only creates a miserable social environment, but also negatively contributes to individual and collective performance, which then trickles down to the quality of care that we provide.”

Together with her classmates, Qëndresa hosts annual peer-led workshops with the first-year medical students that examine these expectations and allow classmates to openly discuss how they can support one another throughout their training.

“It’s our hope that by setting the tone for a culture of respect and inclusion right from the beginning, we can continue to foster positive relationships that contribute to personal and academic success.”

Qëndresa will begin her residency in the Department of Psychiatry here at Dalhousie in July. With so much mystery around the brain remaining in medicine, she is excited by the potential for discovery, as well as building connections with her patients.

“Psychiatry is exciting because we can have a therapeutic effect just by virtue of the relationship between the patient and provider, she says. “We look at medicine through a holistic lens that considers a patient’s social and psychological factors in addition to the biological. It’s very rewarding to be able to advocate for this vulnerable population group.”

And that is not the only vulnerable group Qëndresa hopes to support. Having lived experience as a refugee, Qëndresa has a particular interest in newcomer health. She says improving newcomer health requires better access to primary care, interpretation services, and culturally sensitive care. Social integration and financial support are also crucial for addressing health disparities, as well as the often neglected, newcomer mental health.

“Newcomers from areas of war and conflict, or those who face familial separation and long roads to immigration, may not bear physical scars of their journeys, but are certainly vulnerable to mental health trauma,” says Qëndresa. “I’m looking forward to learning about how to better support these groups throughout my residency, and I hope to continue working with these populations as a staff physician.”  

Qëndresa has come a long way from a fearful newcomer to a confident advocate for health equity, serving as an important reminder of the transformative power of resilience, empathy, and the unwavering commitment to create a more supportive and inclusive environment for all patients.