A week in the life of: Dr Mishal Al Kasimi, CEO of Capital Health and Specialised Rehabilitation Hospital

Sunday

I am an early riser and like to begin my day as soon as possible. I go to the gym first thing in the morning, as I believe it is a wonderful way to look after both my physical and mental health. After a good workout session, I head to the office with a fresh mind to attend a board meeting. In the afternoon I put on my doctor’s hat and see my patients before heading to a meeting with my executive assistant to discuss meetings and appointments for the week ahead. I then head home to unwind and spend time with my family.

Monday

I begin my day at 6:00am with my usual gym ritual, which helps me align my focus and thoughts for the day. While going through my emails, I remember that today I get to sit and talk with our new recruits at a newcomers’ induction. Our mantra is: ‘If we take good care of our people, they will take great care of our patients’. This mantra sums up my introduction and induction sessions with every new employee we hire at our facilities. I later attend to patients and conduct troubleshooting sessions with my facilities department head linked to ongoing construction to expand our ward.

Tuesday

Today is an important day. Our affiliates from Chicago,  Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, visit our ‘on the ground look’ and simulations at the Paediatrics wing at SRH. This is followed by a very productive conference call with Saudi Arabia about an exciting new project in the works. I wrap-up the corporate part of the day on a high note; a meeting with our new consultant plastic surgeon. Before I head home, I take time to see at least two patients. I love interacting with my patients and am grateful that I am still able to practice medicine – my true passion.

Wednesday

I wake up early and travel to Saudi. We are expanding into the kingdom and to ensure everything is going smoothly I fly there every week. My first meeting is with our business partners to discuss overall expansion plans and ensure everything is on track. The next meeting is with my head of strategy and planning to discuss the nitty gritty of these plans, the upcoming tactics and execution. It is so important to motivate team members across our different offices and maintain healthy relationships with business partners, so I take the team out for dinner to spend some time with them.

Thursday

After returning to Dubai, I have slots for a series of video shoots in my diary. My social team and I are filming short clips on ‘Medical Mythbusters’ to be posted on our social media platforms. I find social media a great platform to interact with our followers and help inform them about important matters. I then have my weekly meeting with heads of departments. We catch up and update each other about weekly developments, work on next steps and I answer any of their questions. Since it’s Thursday, we wrap up early and go back to our families.

Friday

I start my long-awaited day off at the gym. I then head to the kitchen to make our ‘Friday family special’ breakfast for my wife and daughters. Each Friday I have a standing date with my daughters where we catch up, watch movies and enjoy each other’s company. I dedicate the evening to my beautiful wife and ensure we have our date night and of course, I never forget the roses.

Saturday

Saturdays are usually one of our busiest days at Health Shield, especially for the paediatrics department. I start the day with my rotations and meet with lots of patients before leading some team-building activities. It is blue jeans day for my directors, so we are all dressed down in casuals. In the evening we put on our ‘Capital Health Athletes Crew’ uniforms and play basketball. A nice team BBQ follows this intense game to refuel and rejuvenate our bodies for the week.