Mohammad Ebrahim, Medical laboratory assistant in radiology

My story

“For me, recognition means having prospects for a new future.”

Helping people, being appreciated, seeing them recover, sharing their hopes and sharing their pain: Mohammad Ebrahim has experiences such as these on an almost daily basis. The 34-year-old works as a medical laboratory assistant in radiology in a radiation therapy practice in Neuwied. In consultation with doctors, he implements treatment therapies and cares for patients during their radiation therapy. Many have cancer. Mohammad Ebrahim uses the tool of computer tomography (CT) to document the growing and shrinking of tumours. In order to maximize treatment outcomes, he has to programme the sophisticated medical laboratory equipment with great precision and evaluate the computer data. Prior to the examination, the medical laboratory assistant in radiology is close to the patient and shows them which position they need to adopt for the CT or the radiotherapy. Mohammed Ibrahim explains that he needs to be empathetic and reduce people's fears about being examined in the “tube”. This variety and, above all, dealing with people he wants to help are the reasons why he really loves his occupation.

Since August 2020, Mohammed Ibrahim has had a permanent position in the radiation therapy practice in the German Red Cross Hospital, Neuwied. Practice owner, Dr. Christoph Thilmann, is full of praise. In 2018, he had already been impressed by Mohammad Ebrahim’s level of competence in the placement: “Above all, I was struck by his high levels of motivation, his experience and how quickly he had learned German.”

Back in his home country of Syria, following training as a medical laboratory assistant in radiology, Mohammed Ibrahim had already worked for six years in a hospital in Aleppo and also in a diagnostics practice. In 2016 he and his wife left Syria and then had to start again in Germany. Mohammed Ibrahim quickly learned German. Firstly, he taught himself as he had applied for asylum and was therefore initially unable to take a language course. He later attended the language and integration courses from language level A2 through to C1. Over this period, he also contacted the Mayen-Koblenz job centre – a partner in the Rhineland-Palatinate IQ regional network. The job centre advised him on the recognition of his foreign qualification and helped him with the necessary certificate translations. He applied for recognition to the Rhineland-Palatinate State Office for Social Affairs, Young People and Care (LSJV). The competent authority found that he lacked the theoretical and practical training needed for full equivalence and that a compensation measure was necessary.

“The training in Syria is certainly similar to the training in Germany. However, I did not have training in the areas of radiation therapy and nuclear medicine,” explains Mohammad Ebrahim. Dr Thilmann, with whom he was on placement back then, and his boss today, helped him to search for job training. Mohammed Ibrahim completed the adaptation period from October 2019 to June 2020 in Dortmund Hospital, a cooperation partner of Lüdenscheid hospital - part of the “Märkische Kliniken” hospital group. The Mayen-Koblenz job centre secured the funding with an application for individual support to the Network IQ Rhineland-Palatinate. Mohammed Ibrahim travelled twice a week to Dortmund for the theoretical training. For the practical training he needed in the areas of radiation therapy, nuclear medicine and diagnostics he chose more than one practice. This was because: “I wanted to gain as much experience as possible”.

Mohammad Ebrahim passed the examination at the LSJV in June 2020. In August he started his new job in Neuwied. He felt very much at home in the practice team with 11 other medical laboratory assistants in radiology, four medical physicists and four doctors. In his leisure time he is totally devoted to his family and lives together with them in Weißenthurm. He spends time with his 4-year-old son and helps his wife to learn German. Just recently, she passed the B1 examination and would like to train as a beautician.

The text is an edited version of the original text by Susanne Hoffmann which was published in January 2021 on the Network IQ Rhineland-Palatinate (IQ Netzwerk Rheinland-Pfalz) website. Mohammed Ibrahim was supported in the recognition procedure by the Mayen-Koblenz job centre – a partner in the Rhineland-Palatinate IQ regional network. He completed the adaptation period in Dortmund hospital, a cooperation partner of Lüdenscheid hospital - part of the “Märkische Kliniken” hospital group.

My procedure in brief