All three work at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center, each in a different field: internal medicine, psychiatry and urology. They care for patients every day, but also view their work as a calling and way of life. All three chose the same path, deciding to leave everything behind and follow their hearts: to study medicine and become physicians in Israel's health care system. Doctors' Day, which falls in early January, is a great opportunity to meet the people behind the title.
Dr. Idan Amshalom, Psychiatrist and Mental Health Services Director: "Trading the intricacies of software for the intricacies of the mind"
At the age of 26, Dr. Idan Amshalom had a prestigious degree in Information Systems Engineering from the Technion, lived in Tel Aviv and worked as a promising software engineer in finance and startups. He enjoyed all the benefits high-tech offers employees and had a secure path to a lucrative career. But within the complex systems of the IT world, something in his heart began to pull him in a new direction.
|
.jpg "Dr. Idan Amshalom")
Dr. Idan Amshalom |
"While working on my degree, I realized that while technology was interesting, what I was really drawn to was the interpersonal connection," he said with a smile. "I wanted to walk alongside people experiencing mental health crises and be part of the process that helps them emerge from them.” The change was gradual. Amshalom didn't "dream of being a doctor as a child.” He completed his engineering degree, worked in the field and only then decided to apply medical school - no simple task in and of itself. At the end of 2006, he began studying medicine at Tel Aviv University, and to finance his new dream, continued working part-time as a software engineer.
In 2019, he joined Hillel Yaffe Medical Center as a board-certified psychiatrist with the Mental Health Services. Last year, he was appointed director of the entire division. Today, he taps into his knowledge from the high-tech world and integrates it into inpatient care and mental health services.
When asked why he specifically chose psychiatry, his eyes light up. "It's the most fascinating profession there is. You look a person from so many different perspectives - biological, psychological, social and familial. Being a partner in someone's story at such a meaningful moment of crisis is very fulfilling."
"During medical school, I worked in bioinformatics research labs analyzing genetic data," he said. "My love for technology and systems is still part of me. The ability to understand processes, machine learning and now the entire field of AI gives me broader view. In medical management, this background allows me to see ways to streamline processes that a traditionally trained physician might not always see."
Dr. Amshalom lives in Haifa, is married to a physician (whom he met in high school) and is a father of three. His choice to work specifically in a general hospital stems from his desire for collaboration. "It's important to me to work together with a multidisciplinary team to gain a more complete picture of the patient, while at the same time understanding how physical problems affect mental health."
Dr. Limor Goldenberg, Internal Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology Specialist, Senior Physician in Internal Medicine B: "Switching from engineering to internal medicine was a calling"
Fifteen years ago, she was designing chips as an electronics engineer. Then she made a major decision to switch directions. She enrolled in medical school and embraced the demanding profession of internal medicine.
|
.jpg "Dr. Limor Goldenberg")
Dr. Limor Goldenberg
|
In the early 2000s, Dr. Goldenberg was part of Israel's high-tech industry. As a young electronics engineer who had just completed her degree at the Technion in Haifa, she enjoyed the significant benefits many aspire to. Ten years later, a long-term project she had worked on was shut down due to a management decision, and something inside her shifted.
"I struggled to find meaning in all the work we had invested," she recalled. "I felt like I wasn't in the right place, and with every wave of layoffs, I found myself waiting to be let go. When it didn't happen, one day I simply decided I was done waiting and resigned."
Leaving was not an easy decision. Expectations of a financially secure future were replaced by frightening uncertainty. The turning point came during a casual conversation about a family member starting medical school. "Suddenly the choice was clear. I started preparing for the psychometric exam and applying to medical schools. I began studying medicine at the Technion as a mother of two little girls. I stood out among the younger students, but my maturity, life experience and engineering background helped me during throughout my studies and later in my career.”
She came to Hillel Yaffe Medical Center as a student and intern, and at the end of her internship, joined Internal Medicine Department B under the leadership of Dr. Jacob Jarchowsky and later Dr. Saif Abu Mouch, both of whom she describes as top-tier internists and incredible mentors.
Today, Dr. Goldenberg (48), who lives in Binyamina, is married and a mother of two, is already a success story, and hospital leadership has high expectations for her: she is board-certified in internal medicine and completed a fellowship in clinical pharmacology at Rambam Medical Center. For several years now, she has been responsible for interns at the medical center and serves as a senior physician in Internal Medicine B.
"I have no regrets about changing professions," she said. "My years in high-tech taught me so much, and with tremendous support - from my family and community - I was able to choose again - a profession rooted in the sanctity of life. Each of my patients is a whole world. Being present in moments of struggle and compassion is both a responsibility and a privilege."
Dr. Muhammad Majdoub, Board-Certified Urologist, Senior Physician in the Urology Department: "From the courtroom to the operating room without looking back"
Dr. Muhammad Majdoub (41) had already earned a prestigious law degree from the Hebrew University and had begun working at a leading law firm in Haifa. But one night, while preparing an evidence file, he realized his true passion was actually medicine. Today he uses his legal knowledge to write medical summaries and is happy that his father found a worthy replacement for the role he had envisioned for his son in the family law firm.
|
Dr. Muhammad Majdoub |
In 2008, Dr. Majdoub, a resident of Tamra, was a young and promising attorney who was hired immediately by a large, well-known law firm in Haifa after graduating from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His father, also an attorney, was proud that his son was following in his footsteps. "But my heart wasn't whole," he said. "I always knew where I wanted to end up. Law school wasn't giving up on medicine, but rather a time for growth, maturity and skill building. That was also my father's advice, which I chose to follow. I loved my studies, enjoyed the clinics at the courthouse in Jerusalem. Then I moved to the firm in Haifa. Late one night, when I was working on an evidence file, I realized that my heart wasn’t in it. I understood that if I was going to work in a job with those kinds of hours, it had to be in medicine."
Ironically, it was his legal specialty, medical malpractice, that revived his old dream. "Dealing with medical malpractice brought back my passion. I realized that it was now or never."
The decision was just the beginning of his journey. Enrollment in Israeli medical schools had already closed that year, and Dr. Majdoub decided he wouldn't waste another day. He packed his bags and went to study medicine in Romania. By his third year of medical school, he knew that he wanted to specialize in urology. In 2014, he returned to Israel, completed his internship at Assaf Harofeh and then joined Hillel Yaffe Medical Center, where he has been for the past decade. He later went to Vienna for a research year and completed a fellowship in andrology and functional urology at Beilinson Hospital. Today, married and a father of one, Dr. Majdoub is a senior physician in the Urology Department at Hillel Yaffe.
"The jokes that my medical summaries are instantly recognizable, because I write like a lawyer," he says with a smile. "My legal background makes me extremely meticulous about ethical standards, clear medical records and informed consent. Everything is clear and precise."
Dr. Majdoub doesn't regret a single moment since making the change. Today he lives in Tamra, where he grew up, and his father, who had envisioned him in the courtroom, is now his biggest fan. "My father is very proud of me and supported me throughout the journey. He understands that my true fulfillment comes from helping others. Treating a patient at the clinic or performing surgery gives me the strength to keep going. That satisfaction also exists in law, but in medicine it's different, much more powerful for me. My sister graduated law school and joined my father’s firm, so there's perfect continuity and we're all happy," he said.
.jpg?BannerID=39 "youtube channel")
