Physician Dr. Mona Ali brings both a family medicine practice and a keen interest in women's health to the Arcola Family Health Clinic.
“The main thing I want to say about my practice is: It's for family in general and women's health in particular.”
“I worked in Egypt for almost 20 years in family medicine,” she adds. “I found a group of female doctors and we worked in women's health-obstetrics, gynecology, and family medicine.”
Dr. Ali, who arrived in Arcola in late January, studied at Egypt's Ain Shams University in Cairo, home of the largest-and one of the most prestigious-medical schools in Africa and the Middle East. A Canadian citizen, she lived in Edmonton for five years before coming to Saskatchewan, and says that neither rural life nor cold winters faze her.
“I lived in Edmonton, so I know about winter,” she laughs. “And I worked in rural areas in Egypt. I find rural communities nice and very supportive. I like to be very near and close to my patients, especially when dealing with family-planning options and things, which I did in Egypt.”
The married mother-of-four is transitioning to small-town life even though her family is currently not with her.
“My husband is an opthamologist and he is in Kitchener-Waterloo (studying) optometry,” she says, adding that one of the couple's sons is attending medical school in the Caribbean, while another son and daughter are at the University of Alberta in Edmonton studying pharmacy and science, respectively.
The couple's youngest son, 15-year-old Moaz (Abdelradi) will soon be joining his mother and will be attending high school in Arcola, once he completes the current semester in Edmonton.
“For the time being, I'm getting settled in town,” she says. “And I'm seeing patients. It's a pleasure for me to concentrate on women's health in this area and I'm enjoying the atmosphere of a rural area.”
The Arcola Family Health Clinic is located at 707 Brock Ave., Arcola. Phone: 455-2287.
