Dr. Asad Khan

medical graduate working in content

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Dr. Asad Khan is a medical graduate who works in content. He graduated in 2016 after studying medicine at a medical and dental college in Karachi. He has also written content for other companies, and he says he is trying to combine content and medicine.

Early life and background

Khan attended an English high school. He says he attended convent schools from start to finish. [1]

Education

Khan graduated in 2016 after studying medicine. He graduated from a medical and dental college in Karachi, which he describes as a public college. He says public medical colleges are good because they are linked to public hospitals and are cheap to attend. [1]

Career

Khan says that after graduating he felt he was not capable of being a doctor and was struck by imposter syndrome. He also says he said goodbye to medicine after a long internal struggle. He moved into writing content for other companies. He worked for a company, and he says that work taught him how to understand audience psychology and what is trending. He says he probably would not want to do that kind of work again. [1]

Khan joined Aga Khan for a year. He says the year changed his life and showed him that medicine is what he wants to do. He says he is trying to combine content and medicine and find a balance between them. He also says he built a platform with a close friend. [1]

Khan says he wanted to make medicine and disease identification a fun process, not a dry subject. He says he wants people to understand how to look after their health. He also says that biology and science are not mystical. [1]

Khan does not see himself as a long-term content creator and says content is a transition phase for him. He says he does not chase numbers because he is only passing through the content space. He says he has seen amazing results despite not having large numbers. He describes his path as an evolutionary process. [1]

Views on the USMLE

Khan says the USMLEs are basically a doctor's escape from Pakistan. He says the USMLE helped him fall in love with medicine again, and he praises the way it asks questions and designs its curriculum. He would urge students to take it for its perspective, not to move to the US. He says students follow seniors into the USMLE line without knowing its pros and cons. [1]

Views on doctors leaving Pakistan

Khan says people who leave Pakistan and do not return are a major cause of brain drain. He does not necessarily condone doctors leaving Pakistan. He admits that since medical school he has tried to move abroad, so he may look hypocritical. He believes the presence and absence of doctors in Pakistan matters. [1]

Khan credits Abdul Bari with building Indus Hospital. He says Pakistan would not have Indus Hospital or another institution if doctors who could work abroad had not come back. He says some doctors abroad got a vision for their work there and later came back, and that each person has the potential to give something positive to the country. [1]

Khan tells people who leave to be respectful and humble towards Pakistan. He finds it very tone deaf when a doctor says he will leave for a better system. He feels doctors get little money or respect in Pakistan. [1]

Views on brain drain as an export

Khan calls brain drain a human resource export that Pakistan sends abroad. He says Pakistan brings in about 30 billion dollars a year. He says the human capital export is bigger than all of Pakistan's other exports combined. [1]

Khan says fewer than 2% of Pakistanis can ever go abroad. He says about 8 million Pakistanis live abroad, which he puts at 3.5%, and that 75% of Pakistanis abroad are from the working class. He says educated people make up less than 0.5% of Pakistan. [1]

Views on medical education in Pakistan

Khan says Pakistan has more doctors than demand, because of the growth of private schools. He says many doctors in Pakistan work on very low wages. He says medical graduate standards in Pakistan are not similar, and that one kind of school is strict about who passes out while another churns out graduates like photocopies. He says doctors rely a lot on rote learning. [1]

Khan says so many people got bachelor's degrees that master's became the requirement for jobs. He says a person can be useful without a degree if real demand exists for their skill. [1]

Views on the NLE

Khan says the NLE is a step, though not the perfect one. He says it is one step toward standardising graduates, if it is done right. He says people who trained abroad, such as in China, always had to sit the NLE. [1]

Khan says he submitted his application online in one day and that his certificate was in his email within four days. He says getting a certificate used to take ages and a lot of effort. He says that in computerised testing paper cannot be printed or leaked, and that computerised tests give each student randomised questions. He personally found computerised testing a very good step. [1]

Views on content and the internet

Khan says the content industry wants to evolve from within but has not managed to. He says this is a time for audiences to evolve, and that creators must evolve before audiences do. He says COVID-induced mental health issues are very real. [1]

Khan does not agree with the idea of tone deafness on the internet, and he says the internet is not a room, but the world. He says creators who shift tone to suit demands are only appeasing their audience. He says there is a lot of performative activism online, and that online issues tend to settle themselves as people keep responding. [1]

Views on privilege and problem solving

Khan says people often do not want solutions to their problems. He wants people to adopt a troubleshooting mindset and focus on solutions rather than the problem. He does not blame patients or the audience, and he says the mindset to solve problems is itself a privilege. [1]

Khan says a communist system is probably the only privilege-less system, and that it has not worked well historically. He says hierarchies are necessary for human society to function. He says privilege existing does not mean people must absorb all their responsibility. [1]

Political views

Khan places himself as center-left and says he strongly believes in personal liberties. He says economically he is slightly more right than left. He says he is more left-leaning on healthcare, a little left on education and a little right on societal issues. [1]

Khan says the opposite of conservative is progressive, and the opposite of authoritarian is liberal. He says the two ends of the political spectrum meet at the same point. He says left and right keep changing, so yesterday's progressive can be today's conservative, and that the left has built a religion of its own, where certain words are treated as blasphemy. [1]

Khan says people should stop policing others' thoughts and actions if they do not physically harm anyone. He says he is very political online and often outraged on Facebook and Twitter. He says he wants the best outcome for Pakistan, and that people who disagree on politics often share the same goal but take different routes. He says it is hard to keep people's trust when you are aligned with a political camp, and that he would first make people prosperous before changing society. [1]

Khan rejects news from the West until it is proven. He says his skepticism of news is unhealthy. He says he now listens only to news from Pakistan. [1]

Views on religion and mental health

Khan says he has come to agree that prayer and trust in God help mental health. He says religion is the easiest way to find meaning. He says depression is multi-factorial and cannot be fixed with a single-factor solution. [1]

Khan lists lack of exercise, poor diet, low self-esteem and lack of career growth among the causes of depression. He says people should not reflexively dismiss anything religious or scientific. [1]

Personal life

Khan says he has faced many failures and is still struggling with many things he is doing. He says he is the youngest and feels settled. He has one child. [1]

Khan says he recently spoke with his father about contentment. He says contentment helps people achieve their dreams, and that he is very content despite a recent hurdle. He says his mother always told him to ask God for what is best for him. [1]

Khan says a path that does not work out may be God's way of protecting a person. He says that, looking back, he is thankful some things did not happen. [1]

Timeline

2016
Graduated after studying medicine[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2021-08-30 Daktar Saab on why a doctor's absence in Pakistan matters Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Dr. Asad Khan?

Dr. Asad Khan is a medical graduate who works in content. He graduated in 2016 after studying medicine at a medical and dental college in Karachi. He has also written content for other companies.[1]

What does Dr. Asad Khan do?

Dr. Asad Khan has written content for other companies. He says he is trying to combine content and medicine and find a balance between them. He says content is a transition phase for him.[1]

When did Dr. Asad Khan graduate?

Dr. Asad Khan graduated in 2016 after studying medicine. He graduated from a medical and dental college in Karachi.[1]

What does Dr. Asad Khan think about doctors leaving Pakistan?

Dr. Asad Khan does not necessarily condone doctors leaving Pakistan. He says people who leave and do not return are a major cause of brain drain, and he calls brain drain a human resource export. He also admits that since medical school he has tried to move abroad.[1]

What does Dr. Asad Khan think of the USMLE?

Dr. Asad Khan says the USMLE helped him fall in love with medicine again, and he praises the way it asks questions and designs its curriculum. He would urge students to take it for its perspective, not to move to the US. He also says students follow seniors into the USMLE line without knowing its pros and cons.[1]

What does Dr. Asad Khan think of the NLE?

Dr. Asad Khan says the NLE is a step, though not the perfect one. He says it is one step toward standardising graduates, if it is done right. He personally found computerised testing a very good step.[1]

What are Dr. Asad Khan's political views?

Dr. Asad Khan places himself as center-left and says he strongly believes in personal liberties. He says economically he is slightly more right than left. He says he is more left-leaning on healthcare and a little left on education.[1]

References

  1. Daktar Saab on why a doctor's absence in Pakistan matters . Thought Behind Things , 2021-08-30.
Show the source passages (114 statements)
  1. He graduated in 2016 after studying medicine. Unfortunately medicine ka torture hua tha. Acha. Aur graduated in 2016.
  2. He graduated from a medical and dental college in Karachi. From KMDC, Karachi Medical and Dental College.
  3. He describes the college he attended as a public college. It's a public college.
  4. He says public medical colleges are good because they are linked to public hospitals and are cheap to attend. They're good because they are linked to public hospitals, also they're very cheap to study in.
  5. After graduating, he felt he was not capable of being a doctor and says he was struck by imposter syndrome. I was struck with imposter syndrome. Mujhe laga ke main kisi qabil nahi hoon, main doctor nahi ban sakta.
  6. He said goodbye to medicine after a long internal struggle. it was a very long internal struggle jisme maine medicine ko khair baad keh diya tha.
  7. He moved into writing content for other companies. Yes, I went into writing content for other companies and I
  8. He worked for a company. I was working for Parlo.
  9. He says that work taught him how to understand audience psychology and what is trending. it trained a lot. Matlab mujhe bohot zyada isne sikhaya and how to understand audience psychology and what's trending
  10. He says he probably would not want to do that kind of work again. I probably wouldn't want to do it again.
  11. He joined Aga Khan for a year. And I went and joined Aga Khan for a year.
  12. He says the year at Aga Khan changed his life and showed him that medicine is what he wants to do. it completely changed my life. I realized that medicine is what I want to do.
  13. He says he is trying to combine content and medicine and find a balance between them. content aur medicine ko mix karne ki koshish kar raha hoon kisi tarike se, ek balance dhundne ki koshish kar raha hoon dono ke beech mein.
  14. He says he wanted to make medicine and disease identification a fun process, not a dry subject. I wanted to make medicine and health and disease identification a fun process. I didn't want it to be you know ke ek ek dry sa subject hai.
  15. He built the platform with a close friend. went up to Danish Hassan, who is a very good friend, aur uske saath baith ke yeh platform build kiya
  16. He attended an English high school. St. Paul's English High School.
  17. He says he attended convent schools from start to finish. End to end convent raha hoon.
  18. He says USMLEs are basically a doctor's escape from Pakistan. USMLEs are basically a doctor's escape from Pakistan.
  19. He says the USMLE helped him fall in love with medicine again. part 50% of the cause of why I fell in love with medicine again was because of the USMLEs
  20. He praises the way the USMLE asks questions and designs its curriculum. The way they ask their questions, the way the curriculum is designed is is beautiful.
  21. He would urge students to take the USMLE for its perspective, not to move to the US. I would push everyone to take their USMLEs not because they should go to the US
  22. He says students follow seniors into the USMLE line without knowing its pros and cons. without knowing the pros and cons of it hamare medical students jo hain woh aankhein band karke apne seniors ki baat maante hue us line mein lag jaate hain
  23. He says people who leave Pakistan and do not return are a major cause of brain drain. people if who leave don't end up returning. Right. And woh brain drain ka ek bada cause bhi hai.
  24. He does not necessarily condone doctors leaving Pakistan. But I don't necessarily condone it.
  25. He admits that since medical school he has tried to move abroad, so he may look hypocritical. and I will look very hypocritical kyunke main zindagi bhar apne medical school se leke ab tak yahi koshish kar raha hoon ke main bahar chala jaaun.
  26. He believes the presence and absence of doctors in Pakistan matters. I feel ek ek doctor ki absence aur presence in Pakistan matters.
  27. He credits Abdul Bari with building Indus Hospital. Indus Hospital banaya, theek hai, Abdul Bari sahab ne.
  28. He says Pakistan would not have Indus Hospital or another institution if doctors who could work abroad had not come back. agar khuda na khwasta yeh apne aqalmand ki basis ke upar, aqal ki basis ke upar, apne skill ki basis ke upar yeh Pakistan wapas nahi aate, yeh us machine ka hissa bane rehte to we wouldn't have SIUT or Indus here.
  29. He says each person has the potential to give something positive to the country. I feel that each one of us has the potential to give something positive to the country.
  30. He says Pakistan has more doctors than demand, because of the growth of private schools. because of the whole private school mushroom growth in the past decade or so, there are a lot more doctors than there is demand
  31. He says many doctors in Pakistan work on very low wages. woh bohot low wages ke upar kaam kar rahe hain
  32. He says so many people got bachelor's degrees that master's became the requirement for jobs. phir bachelors bhi itne zyada ho gaye ke phir masters hi graduation complete ki
  33. He says a person can be useful without a degree if real demand exists for their skill. Agar aapne degree na bhi ki bhi ho tab bhi agar demand exist karti hai aur aap woh fulfill karte hain us criteria ko to aap to utility nikal sakte hain.
  34. He says some doctors abroad got a vision for their work there and later came back. who got the vision for what they had to do there and were eventually able to come back
  35. He feels doctors get little money or respect in Pakistan. feel ke unhein yahan pe kuch zyada milta nahi hai na paise na izzat
  36. He calls brain drain a human resource export that Pakistan sends abroad. main usko kehta hoon hum services export karte hain, hum human resource export karte hain, hamari badi export hai.
  37. He says Pakistan brings in about 30 billion dollars a year. 30 billion dollars hum lekar aa rahe hain salana.
  38. He says the human capital export is bigger than all of Pakistan's other exports combined. Hamari agli saari exports mila kar usse zyada jo hai na hamara human capital export hai.
  39. He tells people who leave to be respectful and humble towards Pakistan. Be a thoda sa reverent, thoda sa respectful. A little bit humble na.
  40. He finds it very tone deaf when a doctor says he will leave for a better system. main jaunga ache nizam mein kaam karunga. Mujhe bohot tone deaf lagta hai yaar.
  41. He says fewer than 2% of Pakistanis can ever go abroad. Aap literally less than 2% Pakistani ho jo ke kabhi bahar ja sakte hain.
  42. He says about 8 million Pakistanis live abroad, which he puts at 3.5%. 8 million Pakistanis bahar hain, 3.5%.
  43. He says 75% of Pakistanis abroad are from the working class. 75% jo hai woh mazdoor tabqa hai.
  44. He says educated people make up less than 0.5% of Pakistan. if you are an educated person, you are mostly in less than 0.5% of Pakistan.
  45. He says medical graduate standards in Pakistan are not similar. I can see ke medical graduates ka standard similar nahi hai.
  46. He says one kind of school is strict about who passes out, while another churns out graduates like photocopies. Because they are very strict and stringent with who passes out. Right. Aur agli taraf there is complete andha photocopy ki tarah chap rahe hain.
  47. He says the NLE is a step, though not the perfect one. I think it's a step. It's not the perfect step.
  48. He says the NLE is one step toward standardising graduates, if it is done right. But it's one step towards standardization of uh graduates. Right. Um if done right.
  49. He says people who trained abroad, such as in China, always had to sit the NLE. jo log bahar se padh ke aate the China aur idhar udhar se, unko NLE dena padta tha.
  50. He says his certificate was in his email within four days. Char din ke andar andar mera certificate mere email mein majood tha.
  51. He says he submitted his application online in one day. It took me one day to submit my application.
  52. He says getting a certificate used to take ages and a lot of effort. it would take ages and it would take a lot of elbow grease to just get one certificate out.
  53. He says in computerised testing, paper cannot be printed or leaked. There is like aap chap nahi sakte, paper out nahi ho sakta.
  54. He says computerised tests give each student randomised questions. Aapke woh randomized aate hain questions.
  55. He says he personally found computerised testing a very good step. I personally found it a very good step
  56. He says doctors rely a lot on rote learning. doctors bohot rote hain. Right. Bohot rote hain.
  57. He does not see himself as a long-term content creator. I don't see myself as a long-term content creator.
  58. He says content is a transition phase for him. Uh mujhe lag raha hai ki yeh mera ek transition chal raha hai.
  59. He says the content industry wants to evolve from within but has not managed to. industry andar se evolve karna chaah rahi hai. Right. But ho nahi pa rahi hai.
  60. He says this is a time for audiences to evolve. I think abhi audience ki evolution ka waqt hai.
  61. He says creators must evolve before audiences do. content creators ki evolution audience ki evolution se pehle honi zaroori hai.
  62. He says he does not chase numbers because he is only passing through the content space. as someone who's passing through this, I don't I have the ability, I have the luxury to not run after numbers.
  63. He says he has seen amazing results despite not having large numbers. But with Doctor Sahab, I've seen amazing results despite no numbers.
  64. He expects things to turn around in the next four or five years. maybe in next four, five years yeh cheezein bilkul turn around hui hui hongi.
  65. He says COVID-induced mental health issues are very real. I feel like COVID induced mental health issues is a very real thing.
  66. He does not agree with the idea of tone deafness on the internet. I don't I don't agree with the concept of tone deafness when it comes to the internet.
  67. He says the internet is not a room, but the world. The internet is not a room, it's the world.
  68. He says creators who shift tone to suit demands are only appeasing their audience. Nothing other than just appeasement appeasement.
  69. He says there is a lot of performative activism online. Performative action bahut zyada performative activism chal raha hai.
  70. He says online issues tend to settle themselves as people keep responding. jitne log usko approve karte rahenge, khud hi cheezein settle hoti chali jayengi.
  71. He says people often do not want solutions to their problems. I realized people don't want solutions.
  72. He wants people to adopt a troubleshooting mindset and focus on solutions rather than the problem. trouble shooting mentality banao. Problem hai, solution ki taraf dekho.
  73. He does not blame patients or the audience. The people I talk to, the audience, I don't blame these people.
  74. He says the mindset to solve problems is itself a privilege. Ek aur bhi privilege hai. Haan. Ke they have the mindset to solve problems.
  75. He says a communist system is probably the only privilege-less system, and that it has not worked well historically. probably the only privilege-less system is a communist system and that system that hasn't worked really well um in history.
  76. He says hierarchies are necessary for human society to function. how hierarchies are necessary for the human society to function
  77. He says privilege existing does not mean people must absorb all their responsibility. just because certain privileges exist karti hain, certain logon ke liye does not mean that aap apni tamaam responsibility absorb karna shuru karein.
  78. He says he has faced many failures. because I have failed uh I have failed and I've faced a lot of failures.
  79. He says he is still struggling with many things he is doing. And I'm still struggling with a lot of things that I'm doing right now.
  80. He says he is the youngest and feels settled. I'm the youngest and alhamdulillah se seemingly I'm settled.
  81. He has one child. mera bhi ek bacha hai
  82. He says he recently spoke with his father about contentment. Main waled sahab se us din baat kar raha tha
  83. He says contentment helps people achieve their dreams. I think contentment goes a long way in terms of you achieving your dreams.
  84. He says he is very content despite a recent hurdle. And despite the little hurdle that happened a few days ago with me. Right. I'm mashallah se very very content.
  85. He says his mother always told him to ask God for what is best for him. ammi hamesha kehti thi ke dua maango ke what's best for you Allah taala se
  86. He says a path that does not work out may be God's way of protecting a person. maybe that path not materializing is God's way of protecting you because maybe that wasn't the best thing for you.
  87. He says that, looking back, he is thankful some things did not happen. And you know, thank God that didn't happen.
  88. He places himself as center-left. I think I'm center-left. I think I'm center-left.
  89. He says he strongly believes in personal liberties. main ek toh personal liberties ke andar bahut zyada yaqeen rakhta hoon
  90. He says economically he is slightly more right than left. economically, I think I'm slightly right than left.
  91. He says he is more left-leaning on healthcare. Healthcare, I'm more left.
  92. He says he is a little left on education. Education, I'm a little left.
  93. He says he is a little right on societal issues. Um, and societal, I think I'm a little right.
  94. He says the opposite of conservative is progressive, and the opposite of authoritarian is liberal. Conservative ka opposite progressive hai. Hmm. Authoritarian ka opposite liberal hai.
  95. He says the two ends of the political spectrum meet at the same point. Aur yeh jab spectrum ke ek end tak chale jaate hain toh woh ek jagah pe aake meet kar jaate hain.
  96. He says left and right keep changing, so yesterday's progressive can be today's conservative. left and right basically by ideology is constantly evolving as well. Ke kal tak jo un logon ke liye progressive tha, woh aaj ke logon ke liye conservative hai.
  97. He says people should stop policing others' thoughts and actions if they do not physically harm anyone. Stop trying to police people's thoughts. Stop trying to police people's actions if they do not harm another person physically.
  98. He rejects news from the West until it is proven. I vehemently reject and refuse any news coming from the West until proven otherwise.
  99. He says his skepticism of news is unhealthy. I think it's an unhealthy skepticism.
  100. He says he now listens only to news from Pakistan. Only, only listen to Pakistan now.
  101. He says he has come to agree that prayer and trust in God help mental health. namaz parho to mental health acchi rehti hai, I completely have started agreeing with this.
  102. He says religion is the easiest way to find meaning. I think, uh, religion is the easiest way to find that meaning.
  103. He says depression is multi-factorial and cannot be fixed with a single-factor solution. And you can't fix a multi-factorial problem with a single factor solution, right?
  104. He lists lack of exercise, poor diet, low self-esteem and lack of career growth among the causes of depression. it's lack of exercise, lack of good diet, uh, lack of self-esteem, aapke career ke andar growth na hona
  105. He says people should not reflexively dismiss anything religious or scientific. dismiss anything that is religious or non-religious or scientific
  106. He says he is very political online and often outraged on Facebook and Twitter. I'm very political online. I'm on my Facebook, on my Twitter, I'm just like, you know, outraged all the time.
  107. He says he wants the best outcome for Pakistan. Main bhi Pakistan ka outcome behtar chahta hoon.
  108. He says people who disagree on politics often share the same goal but take different routes. We both think that to reach there, we need to go through different routes. Right. But we both want the same thing.
  109. He says it is hard to keep people's trust when you are aligned with a political camp. I feel it's difficult to hold people's, hold people's trust if you're politically aligned
  110. He says he wants people to understand how to look after their health. doctor saab pe main chahta hoon ke logon ko apna health rakh, khayal rakhne ka tareeqa samajh aaye
  111. He says biology and science are not mystical. jo biology hai na ya jo science hai, woh koi aisi koi mystical si cheez nahi hai.
  112. He says the left has built a religion of its own, where certain words are treated as blasphemy. What left has done is they've, they've created a religion of their own by using these ke yaar yeh, yeh words nahi sahi hain, yeh, yeh blasphemy ho gayi hai agar aap yeh bolenge toh.
  113. He says he would first make people prosperous before changing society. Main pehle logon ko ameer karna chahunga.
  114. He describes his path as an evolutionary process. Um, it's an evolutionary process. Main dekh raha hoon.