In the latest instalment of Metro Eireann’s Meet The Boss, SANDY HAZEL speaks to Dr Sunhera Zaib, a GP and proprietor of Dublin’s Sunshine Medical Centre
Dr Sunhera Zaib’s parents are from India, but her family moved to Pak-istan, where Zaib was brought up. “I had an idyllic childhood,” says Zaib. “I was the youngest of 11 brothers and sisters and doted on by my mother. I was blessed with a photographic memory and did well in school.”
But Zaib loved most of all to play doctor with her friends and toys. “Most of my brothers and sisters were also training in the medical profession so I had a stethoscope to play with from the age of three. I set up my own mini-practice in the house. It was always my dream to become a doctor. My mother encouraged this and made sure that we girls received just as good an education as our brothers.
“For a child of yours to become a doctor is a big deal as the position commands such respect. To become a doctor in Pakistan then you must be better than millions of other students in that year. There are 13 million people in Karachi – that’s a lot of competition. So I reckon this is why our doctors are so highly regarded. Now all my sisters and brothers are doctors, radiologists and obstetricians.”
However, at the tender age of 14, Zaib lost her beloved mother in a tragic accident, and everything changed. “I was sent to live with an older sister in Scotland, where I completed my secondary education. Although my nieces were the same age as me, they did not understand me so it became tough. I missed my aviary and my mum. I just kept studying at college and working until midnight. I felt a bit like Cinderella.”
Zaib completed her medical degree and internship in Scotland at the Southern General Hospital, and subsequently moved to Ireland. “A kindly consultant there told me to apply for work in Ireland,” she remembers. “My first job was in Wexford General Hospital, and [I’ve worked] at various practices since. I have furthered my studies in Ireland by doing exams in obstetrics and gynaecology, I did the diploma in family planning and then gained Master’s degrees in community medicine and women’s health.
“Part of that training took me to the Rotunda Hospital, the Coombe Hospital and Tallaght Hospital. I was also building up experience in GP practices in Naas, Kilcullen and Athy, and decided that being a GP was what I really wanted.”
If Dr Zaib had remained in the hospital arena she would probably now be on a consultant’s salary, but she prefers to be her own boss: “I love the interaction with my patients and the real feeling of being able to help them. I am multilingual, which helps me to put some patients at ease. We can find a common language and they are comfortable with that. I speak Urdu, Arabic, English, Hindi, Gugarati and Punjabi.”
Dr Zaib’s practice, the Sunshine Medical Centre at 71 Middle Abbey Street, is a walk-in surgery and is unusual in that it is open seven days a week. It was previously based at another Dublin location for a while, but there was some disagreement over the lease. “The experience taught me to get a better deal for myself in relation to leases,” she says. “So I went to the bank manager and said it was time I set up on my own. It was hard as I had just also taken on a mortgage and I was feeling the pressure, but I found this location at Middle Abbey Street and it is a good one.
“The landlord here gave me a good deal but I did have a major amount of work to do before I could open for business. There were builders, solicitors and planners to deal with. The electricians and painters were here for months.
“I organised it all by myself and I’m proud of that fact. I sorted out the licences for operating as medical consulting rooms, and my future plans will include a nurse and I plan to buy a laser machine and some ultrasound equipment too. We will offer full pre- and post-natal services here.”
When Dr Zaib moved locations, she found that many of her previous patients followed her, and she sees that as a great sign of faith. “It was really hard setting up,” she says, “but I have some great support from friends.”
