My name is Shai Shimony, I am 33 years old, and I live with my family in Kiriat Ono, Israel with my beloved sons, Guy and Dan, and my second half, Sivan.
I served as an officer in the Israeli Defense Forces, where I headed a reconnaissance unit in the combat engineering forces. It was one of the most significant periods of my life, where I first had the chance to be responsible for the lives of others, in very complicated situations. There I realized the importance of the human bonding and decided to choose a life course that involves engaging and managing complicated and delicate inter-personal situations.
After completing my military service, I worked as a Flight Security manager in Israel's International Airport and volunteered in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in "Safra" children hospital.
I studied medicine at the Faculty of Medicine in the Hebrew University ("Hadassah"). In addition, I worked as a research lab assistant at the Cardiology Basic Science Lab. My Internship was at "Asaf Harofe" Medical Center. During that periods I received several scholarships and prizes for excellence.
As I was starting to build and shape the foundations of my professional training, I was intrigued by the human and emotional side of the story, which for most patients, was the most relevant issue.
Since June 2013 I began residency at the Department of Internal Medicine "B" of Beilinson Hospital, under the guidance of Professor Shmuel Fuchs. Our daily routine includes treating patients with a wide spectrum of diseases. I learned that treating patients requires enormous attention to their non-disease-related issues and last but not least, addressing the family of the patient. We, as caregivers have a "glimpse" to our patient lives in their most stressful situations and by engaging and guiding the patient's family, we can encapsulate the full dimension of the patient's world and help him much more.
Palliative care is one of the fundamental cornerstones in our department. Some of our patients suffer from serious medical situations including incurable cancer, end stage heart, lung disease, and much more. We define, together with the patients and their families, the goal of the treatment, which in many of these cases is targeted to ease the pain, bring comfort and closure.
I am currently in the middle of my professional training as an internal medicine specialist and believe that the fellowship in Palliative Care at Calvary Hospital will provide me with tools to give better medical care to patients at Rabin Medical Center and strengthen the foundations of this inseparable part of treatment in my daily work.
My future interest is in Hemato-oncology, a field with enormous aspects of palliative care. Each aspect of my training will be of additive value to patients at Rabin Medical Center on a daily basis. Furthermore, I will do my best to "spread the word" and share this knowledge with my colleagues at Rabin Medical Center and I am certain they will pass it on in order to influence and help as many patients as we can.
Thank you for this enormous opportunity, I am very excited and honored.