r/pics Aug 13 '21

Doctor in #Yemen wrote in his car “ stop me if you need any medical consultation”

Post image
7k Upvotes

238

u/Spartan2470 Aug 13 '21

The Dr.'s name is Dr. Sami Al-Hajj. Per here and Google Translate:

06-05-2020 03:05 AM

doctor in the city of Sanaa, when he announced a wonderful initiative despite the spread of epidemics in the country.

"Stop me if you want medical advice," Dr. Sami Al-Hajj wrote on the back window of his car.

The hashtag #Doctor_Sami topped social networking sites, who praised his behavior, and demanded his honor, and the honoring of all members of the White Army.

In a post on Facebook, Doctor Al-Hajj said that the idea of ​​the initiative came after he received dozens of medical consultations through social media , in light of the outbreak of the (Corona) pandemic and other epidemics.

He added, "Most of these consultations came from financially middle-income classes, so what is the reality of the situation with the poor and the poor, outside the scope of "Social Media" or those who are not proficient in the use of communication technology."

He stressed that the initiative is far from fame, or love of appearance, and wrote: "We all know the costs of medical consultations, the long schedule of appointments in medical facilities, and the concerns that afflicted the majority of people for fear of going to hospitals, in addition to the great pressure in receiving patients at most hospitals. The capital, Sanaa

52

u/Mojicana Aug 13 '21

My Dr. in Mexico is in her office from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm every day, working for free half the time because that neighborhood has been hit so hard with Covid & lockdowns. If I go see her, she asks for 200 pesos, I give her 2000 and make her take it so she can keep helping people.

30

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '21

[deleted]

10

u/jacky4566 Aug 14 '21

Good Bot

1

u/Mojicana Aug 14 '21

Yes. Quality medical care is available at a reasonable price outside the US.

-11

u/OofOofOofgang Aug 13 '21

that's a lot

5

u/[deleted] Aug 14 '21

[deleted]

1

u/lifeontheQtrain Aug 14 '21

Well, it's not just like in the US.

10

u/Capitan_Failure Aug 13 '21

No its really, really not.

-7

u/OofOofOofgang Aug 14 '21

ok, mr bourgeois

30

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '21

[removed]

9

u/Meritania Aug 13 '21

His car’s registration is 1-126444, you’re more likely to find him there if you want to send him a letter

8

u/Lucky_Number_3 Aug 13 '21

Jeexz guys whats his social?

2

u/CujohFE40536 Aug 14 '21

How does he do examinations, I wonder? Just in the back of his van?

23

u/losingink Aug 13 '21

Imagine seeing this on the back of his car while he is driving full speed away from you.

83

u/dstranathan Aug 13 '21

There is a guy in my neighborhood that does that, too.

13

u/clbbwavmd Aug 13 '21

They are good doctors. heroes

49

u/fabricated_anecdotes Aug 13 '21

Pah. There's a guy in my neighbourhood that has free candy!

10

u/Fear_Jeebus Aug 13 '21

In his van right? I know that guy!

6

u/phekylmadder Aug 13 '21

Hey Mike! How's it going? How're the kids?

5

u/Homerpaintbucket Aug 13 '21

"tied up and gagged!"

2

u/cultured_banana_slug Aug 14 '21

I have a tamale dude in my neighborhood...

3

u/BoycottJClarkson Aug 13 '21

sadly, if you're talking about America, I can only imagine the liability

-1

u/frostymugson Aug 13 '21

Think he’ll look at my balls?

1

u/toofunky_tee Aug 14 '21

Down voted hahahaha I thought it was funny haha

28

u/emlieualigo Aug 13 '21

This should totally be cross posted to humansbeingbros

-80

u/puupi Aug 13 '21

56

u/archregis Aug 13 '21

I mean, it's not their job to stop by the road and give free medical advice tho.

15

u/Poistetta Aug 13 '21

That's quite literally the opposite...

7

u/KaramAfro Aug 13 '21

Yemen needs psych doctors and funding because of the prolonged war, men get back home with PTSD and harm their families to the point the elders put the ex-soldiers in chains in their homes, psych wards are full and under funded. It's a very sad situation

6

u/ohverygood Aug 13 '21

I thought numerals were already Arabic?

7

u/Fuego65 Aug 13 '21

Arabic numerals is a misleading name, there are in fact 2 "Arabic" numerals systems, one called Western Arabic (Which became the one we all know) and the other, called Eastern Arabic is very very close to Persian and Urdu numerals, which are in turn related to other ways of writing numbers in all of India.

4

u/I-want-to-be-mad Aug 13 '21

Arabs stopped using Arabic numerals and replaced them with Indian numerals..

6

u/BizzyM Aug 13 '21

He has great roadside manner.

43

u/Successful_Glass_925 Aug 13 '21

Why does Yemen have a pound sign? They changed their name?

44

u/prefer-to-stay-anon Aug 13 '21

The official name is actually "The Democratic Republic of #Yemen", but most people shorten it to just Yemen. I think OP was trying to be a bit more formal without using the whole title.

/s

2

u/Successful_Glass_925 Aug 13 '21

Yemen’s official name has a pound sign or hash sign as some prefer?

6

u/GenazaNL Aug 13 '21

Twitter?

9

u/monstaber Aug 13 '21

Where do you see #? The car reads أوقفني ان كنت تريد استشارة طبية (stop me if you need medical advice)

edit: realized you mean the title

3

u/cool_slowbro Aug 13 '21

It's how social media normies type.

-25

u/hearnia_2k Aug 13 '21

That's a hash, not a pound....

8

u/f_14 Aug 13 '21

Octothorp if you really want to be pedantic.

2

u/omegabobo Aug 13 '21

This is reddit. Damn right we want to be pedantic!

I think you missed an e at the end of octothorpe :)

11

u/Altkonto1066 Aug 13 '21

A general rule of thumb, check whether you might be wrong before correcting someone else. The symbol "#" can be referred to as "pound", "hash" or "number" sign. Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_sign

9

u/IforgotwhatIwasdoing Aug 13 '21

When GenZ meets a Millennial. I still call it the pound sign no matter what the kids say.

1

u/hearnia_2k Aug 13 '21

Calling it a pound sign is an American thing, according to the wiki someone else posted.

8

u/One_Wheel_Drive Aug 13 '21

It is. In Britain, it's always been called hash. When you call and speak to a robot voice, they may ask you to press the hash key.

3

u/Meritania Aug 13 '21

The pound sign in the UK is the £

1

u/hearnia_2k Aug 13 '21

Also in Linux there is a slang term 'hashbang', which generally refers to the first line of a script.

I think hash is more common than pound outside the US, since otherwise it would just be confusing with the pound symbol.

Maybe I should start calling it dollar.

2

u/IforgotwhatIwasdoing Aug 13 '21

Oh yeah. I imagine the British pound currency would make it very confusing to also call the # symbol the 'pound' symbol. It comes from the long ago time when people still had home phones and payphones could be found in the wild; aka the 90s and beyond. The # key was referred to as the 'pound key'.

E: Not sure why you were downvoted on this comment, you are correct.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '21

[deleted]

1

u/hearnia_2k Aug 14 '21

What has being a millenium got to do with it?

You probably say it because you're American; outside the US it's not a common term at all.

3

u/ThrillHo3340 Aug 13 '21

1 Yemen St Yemen

11

u/Peter_G Aug 13 '21

You know, I wonder sometimes about North American society. Canada and America both do this thing where they hand off responsibility to the state, or some arbitrary authority. When I see this, I have to stop and ask myself, why would no one here do that?

A doctor, with this sign in their car, stopping and doing consultations with needy people on the side of the road would likely be arrested and charged for not meeting some arbitrary requirement that's set by some board somewhere who makes rules for hospitals and doesn't bother to think how it limits the ability to act on real problems. No doctor would consider doing this. It's outside the system, they wouldn't endanger themselves that way, even to do good.

It's strange, because we get to see these exemplars of humanity, but it's always people who have to work under the most extreme of conditions, without proper equipment, without a support team or everything we'd demand for every patient here in North America. None of us, not a damn one of us ever meets our potential as human beings, because nothing demands it of us. We never have to struggle, thus never understand what we are truly capable of.

It's a sobering thought.

9

u/Ravager135 Aug 13 '21

I’m a physician. I’ve seen this image before. I could never do this because doing so in an official capacity would eventually come back to hurt me. It isn’t about making an incorrect medical decision; though that can happen far more easily without a proper consultation space, medical record to reference, and appropriate physical exam. The bigger reason is that these curbside consults with treatment rendered don’t meet the standards of care set as patient encounters by your insurance (which unfortunately keep me afloat). It would only take one person to have a bad outcome or reaction/complication to a treatment and I would have zero grounds to stand on and loose my license. Then I cannot help anyone.

A common criticism I see of physicians is that we tend to make similar decisions and not “listen” to patients enough. Some of that is fair criticism, but it mostly comes to down to risk aversion. The majority of medical decisions we make come down to probabilities that define treatment algorithms and deviation from that has a higher probability of harm. Now of course we are always able to deviate from evidence based medicine to make decisions, but when we do so that is risk is calculated by offsetting other known variables that minimize risk: thorough history, reliable medical records, thorough examination.

I would absolutely love to be able to practice medicine the way you see in movies: the small town doctor, loved and trusted by the town citizens, informally dispensing advice, unencumbered by laborious insurance billing requirements. In reality, we’d be sued or broke in short order. Almost every television doctor modern or otherwise would have lost their license decades ago.

Some of us do staff free clinics, but even then there needs to be a formality to maintain appropriate interactions that protect us and our patients. The closest I have ever come to anything like this was when I was a flight surgeon in the Navy. Half my week was spent in the squadron space working alongside my pilots, giving advice to my commanding office for medical readiness for deployments, and giving informal medical advice or arranging people to be seen in clinic. I could only do this because the military is a socialized system, billing didn’t exist, and there were stronger protections for physicians.

8

u/P_B_n_Jealous Aug 13 '21

Now a days in NA you can't really get away with giving help to people on the street, unless they are in dire need, aka emergency. You can be accused of malpractice and taken to court if you diagnose someone incorrectly. Pre-early 2000s this wasn't a huge issue, but a lot of lawsuits started going around sueing doctors for such a thing. So this became A LOT less common.

12

u/SuperGameTheory Aug 13 '21

Requirements are set by the state because we've seen what happens when people can do whatever they want. We get people calling themselves doctors doling out bogus advice and peddling snake oil to their victims. A doctor is a person of stature, trust, and authority. It's very tempting for people to imitate that for their own power-hungry reasons.

3

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '21

[deleted]

1

u/updownleftrightabsta Aug 14 '21

There are zero legal or ethical rules for a medical professional to treat someone off duty. No workplace or medical board in the US would ever hint at this, much less take any action.

https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/liability-of-an-off-duty-doctor-or-physician.html

1

u/Im_int Aug 13 '21

Canada and the US are on a totally different level in terms of healthcare availability... Even without a free provincial insurance, a prescription won't cost you an arm and a leg in Canada. I think it was a $50 fee at most walk-in clinics in Ontario a few years ago. Now, for the US, although the situation with healthcare availability is terrible, there are volunteer clinics offering discounted and free services.

4

u/lyrrad87 Aug 13 '21

What is a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado?

12

u/pc_jangkrik Aug 13 '21

A car. Expensive one.

0

u/Distinct_Break2478 Aug 13 '21

It's only expensive in the third world countries due to duty taxes and is the rich man's car. In developed countries it's more like average.

5

u/alexvonhumboldt Aug 13 '21

A very nice Toyota

2

u/Distinct_Break2478 Aug 13 '21

A smaller version of the Toyota Land Cruiser, sold everywhere except North America, where it sells under the Lexus badge as Lexus GX.

3

u/InItToWin_It Aug 13 '21

Lexus GX in the USA. Outside the US, its called that.

1

u/mckulty Aug 14 '21

A sweet ride.

1

u/El_Dentistador Aug 14 '21

Chariot of the Demi-Gods. Full time 4wd, v8 (Lexus GX in the states), body on frame suv. Toyota designs the LC to last 25 years before needing anything major, the Prado and GX are its smaller counterparts. Great cars, they hold their value quite well too.

2

u/InsidiousExpert Aug 14 '21

And took it down 2 hours later…

1

u/tykemison73 Aug 13 '21

Not all heroes wear masks....

13

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '21

[deleted]

3

u/tykemison73 Aug 13 '21

Fair play! Some heroes wear masks....

1

u/cagi666 Aug 13 '21

...on the back window

1

u/Bobbob2596 Aug 13 '21

Imagine if doctors actually cared like this in the states and cared less about their Audi

-1

u/Yeah_But_Did_You_Die Aug 13 '21 edited Aug 13 '21

Sooooo what are the chances this guy is just a prescription drug dealer with an ice cream truck business model?

Edit: I mean, he's even writing on what appears to be a doctors prescription pad. Just saying there's a possibility.

1

u/Distinct_Break2478 Aug 13 '21

Could be. I don't get why they have to downvote you to hell.

Edit: he could even be unqualified and be giving out bad medical advice.

1

u/530whiskey Aug 13 '21

They do that here in the US also. I just can't catch there Ferrari with my Vega.

1

u/cjwssummer1954 Aug 13 '21

Very kind and thoughtful.

1

u/musicaldigger Aug 13 '21

i’m a dumb american so can someone tell me, what is the dress thing the man is wearing?

1

u/Hamoodi1999 Aug 13 '21

It’s called a thobe in Saudi and a kandoora in the UAE.

1

u/MugiWugi Aug 13 '21

Given that the print is on the back of his car it feels like it would say "Try and catch me fora free medical consultation, bitch".
But in all honesty, that is heartwarming

1

u/DylanDino2017 Aug 13 '21

!remindme 1 year

1

u/newbies13 Aug 13 '21

Really wish we lived in a world that made this a creepy thing instead of an amazing thing. Imagine you could get quality medical advice from trusted sources free and easy and some guy is roaming the streets offering 'medical' advice.

1

u/cleancutmover Aug 13 '21

Writing scripts for weed

1

u/gabynew1 Aug 13 '21

Therest thousands of people doing this in my country. It's called free healthcare.

Not posting this to diminish this great person. Keep up the good work.

1

u/hexcor Aug 13 '21

He's writing his address..15 Yemen road, Yemen

1

u/Mojicana Aug 13 '21

& we're forever being pumped full of info that all arab people are bad except the one nice group in Saudi Arabia, when actually more than 99% are just normal people trying to get by just like the rest of us.

2

u/raouldukesaccomplice Aug 13 '21

all arab people are bad except the one nice group in Saudi Arabia

I don't think any Americans regard Saudis as "nice" people given they orchestrated the 9/11 attacks and do things like dismember journalists.

1

u/Mojicana Aug 13 '21

Agreed, I'm just talking about the info that we're being fed.

1

u/Sk-yline1 Aug 14 '21

Maybe I’m ignorant but like…does life just go on in Yemen, as best as it can? Seems like it’s in such horrible disarray right now, it’s hard to see something so normal like this

1

u/mckulty Aug 14 '21

Sweet ride..

1

u/Money_Advertising Aug 14 '21

Now that’s what the Hipocratic oath is all about.

1

u/Captcha_Imagination Aug 14 '21

It's nice that he gives back. You have to be very wealthy to drive a a Land Cruiser Prado in the third world. After import duties that's probably a six-digit vehicle.

-4

u/pringlesfanforlife Aug 13 '21

How does this dude make a tshirt on the head look so stylish?

4

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '21 edited Aug 13 '21

[deleted]