Young, energetic and talented epidemiologist and pediatrician Alicia Demirjian is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases at Yerevan State Medical University.<\/p>\n
She is a consultant epidemiologist at the UK Health Security Agency, where she leads the Antimicrobial Resistance and Prescribing team in the Healthcare-Associated Infections, Fungal, Antimicrobial Resistance, Antimicrobial Use and Sepsis division. Her interest is in the appropriate use of antibiotics and other measures to slow the spread of antimicrobial resistance in the UK and globally.<\/p>\n
Dr. Demirjian is also a consultant in pediatric infectious diseases and immunology at Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, where she used to be the lead for pediatric antimicrobial stewardship and deputy lead for infection prevention and control before decreasing clinical duties in 2022. In addition, she chairs the UK Pediatric Antimicrobial Stewardship network.<\/p>\n
Next summer Alicia Demirjian plans to visit Armenia. <\/p>\n
– How did you decide to become a doctor? Who did inspire you in this field? Was that your dream?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n – <\/strong>Not necessarily. It was something that came progressively. Like a lot of people attracted to this field, I am interested in “people and science”. Those are the two things you put together that medicine does really nicely. And that’s how I got attracted to it. Talking to a lot of people, learning from them, and at the same time the work that we do is so interesting. That’s what brought me to medicine. <\/p>\n – <\/strong>Are you happy with your decision now?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n – <\/strong>It’s been absolutely amazing. There’s also been challenges, but it definitely has been worth it. It’s also very fulfilling and rewarding role when we are in the right setting doing specialty that we like, we are able to advance the field. Obviously, there are some challenges along the way, but those can be addressed.<\/p>\n – <\/strong>Were there any alternatives for you while choosing the specialty?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n – <\/strong>I wasn’t sure I wanted to become a doctor from the very beginning. I lived in Lebanon at the time I finished high school, and I had two options: the French university where you study the medicine 7 years, or the American university where you do 3-4 years undergraduate and then 4 years – graduate school. I was interested in science in general, and also in nutrition. So, I chose the American system for practical reasons in case I changed my mind along the way. Now if you ask me if you had to do another job, I would still have chosen medicine and public health which I am doing right now. If I had to choose something completely different, it would have been something in music. I would have really enjoyed that too. <\/p>\n – <\/strong>You referred to challenges in the sphere of medicine. Could you mention some of them?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n – <\/strong>Yes, I think throughout the career and especially at the beginning where you have so much to learn, and you have to prioritize the career, you have to spend a lot of time learning, working, practicing, and sometimes that means you’re spending less time doing some of the other things that you like, learning other skills, spending less time with your family, your friends. So, I think initially that is a challenge. Later, as my career progressed, and from what I’ve seen from the different countries where I’ve worked, I find the major challenge is that there aren’t enough resources in medicine. I actually work most of the time now in public health with the UK Health Security Agency which is the national public health agency. The rest of the time I look after children who are hospitalized with severe infections. But in those two fields it’s the same thing: we do not have enough resources. Our clinicians, pharmacists, nurses, and doctors, are burning out. The pandemic has really shown us in the last couple of years how important it is to have a good system. But doctors and clinicians are not necessarily given all the resources that they need. There are not enough of us, there are not enough people helping us to do our job correctly. In the UK we have an excellent national health system; this also means sometimes we have a lot of paper work before we are able to see patients. I know every healthcare system has its own challenges. But it’s all the same theme that I don’t think enough resources are given for people who work in healthcare systems around the world. <\/p>\n – <\/strong>What about the privileges you enjoy being a doctor?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n – <\/strong>There are a lot. We work with amazing people who are dedicated, who want to help others and who have some of the best attitudes about connecting with other people. So, we connect not just with our patients (for example, I think it’s fantastic that as a pediatrician I connect with children all the time, it is an absolute pleasure), but also with each other in smaller teams and also wider teams. And that’s the number one joy that I get from both of my jobs. To connect with like-minded people and feel like there is a community thinking about the problem and trying to address some of the problems that we have. When there is a child to come, and they are very unwell, some of them can be extremely unwell, and thanks to the communications you’ve had with their family, you’ve given some recommendations to other hospital workers, and you’ve actually really changed their lives by making them healthier. And that’s one of the most rewarding things that you can have, you can look back and say: “This person is now feeling so much better, because I was able to recommend an intervention that has changed their life”. And that’s a pleasure that I cannot imagine enjoying in any other field. And again, this is also very interesting field, there are always lots of new things coming all the time, and we have to keep up-to-date. <\/p>\n – <\/strong>Please, tell about your family. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n – <\/strong>My family is in Lebanon. I was born in Beirut. My parents and my younger brother with his wife and children live in Beirut. So, I don’t get to see them as often as I would like. I was born during the civil war in Lebanon and because of that my mother, my brother and I moved to France, and I grew up in France, while my father was working back in Beirut. So, when the war ended in the early 1990s, we returned to Beirut, and I stayed there until I finished my studies, and then I went to the U.S. My father’s family is from Aleppo, Syria, and my mother’s family is from Adana and Caesarea. <\/p>\n – <\/strong>Tell, please, a little bit about your career ladder.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n – <\/strong>3 years BSc Biology, American University of Beirut;<\/p>\n 4 years MD, American University of Beirut;<\/p>\n 1-year general pediatric residency, American University of Beirut Medical Center;<\/p>\n 3 years general pediatric residency at Boston Children's Hospital and Boston Medical Center;<\/p>\n 3 years pediatric infectious diseases fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital;<\/p>\n 2 years during fellowship: Masters in Medical Sciences (e.g. epidemiology, biostatistics) at Harvard Medical School;<\/p>\n 2 years epidemic intelligence service (“disease detective”) at US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC).<\/p>\n I now spend most of my time working at the UK Health Security Agency (the national public health agency) leading outbreak investigations (for example, I was the COVID-19 incident director at UKHSA) and address antimicrobial resistance. The rest of the time, I manage complicated infections in hospitalized children at Evelina London Children's Hospital. <\/p>\n – <\/strong>Do you have dreams that haven’t been realized yet?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n – <\/strong>If I had more time, I’d like to have more music in my life. <\/p>\n – <\/strong>What about your hobbies?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n – <\/strong>My hobbies are mostly around music. If I’m not playing piano, I’m at live performances, usually classical or jazz. I also play martial arts – karate. The rest of the time I enjoy spending time with friends and family. <\/p>\n – <\/strong>How would you describe the sphere of medicine in Armenia? What do we lack?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n – <\/strong>Centralization and a stronger primary care system with more prevention are necessary. <\/p>\n – <\/strong>What kind of plans do you have for further cooperation with YSMU? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n – <\/strong>I would like to continue having interactive meetings with YSMU students, sharing our knowledge and experience. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n – <\/strong>As a successful specialist in your field, what advice would you give to your future colleagues? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n – <\/strong>Try to find joy in your everyday work\u2024 I think that’s very important. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n – <\/strong>What is essential for a doctor?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n – <\/strong>Strong communication; patience; persistence.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Author: Tatevik Ghazaryan<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Young, energetic and talented epidemiologist and pediatrician Alicia Demirjian is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases at Yerevan State Medical University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[372],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-139460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n