Working during uncertain times
People overtaken with fear and anxiety. Families confused, not clear on what will happen next. Who will get sick? These are the constant thoughts swirling during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they’re also what Roula Qaqish, PharmD., experienced during the height of the AIDS epidemic when she was a pharmacist specializing in infectious disease outbreaks.
Mohamed Zaki, M.D., Ph.D., has a similar memory treating patients during a different epidemic – the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s – where he balanced treating cancer patients with the concern of a fatal respiratory illness that was easily transmitted.
Today, Dr. Zaki and Qaqish use their experience to fuel a team not wavered by the challenges of COVID-19 as the vice president and global head of oncology development and vice president of U.S. medical affairs for oncology respectively.
“The uncertainty that comes with the fear of the unknown,” recalls Qaqish. “How do we protect our people, our families, ourselves?”