The Logistics of Settling In 133professors at the University of Cairo Kasr el-Aini Medical
School or Ain Shams. These physicians typically also have
a private practice office (called a surgery or clinic) where
they see patients at various hours of the day. This is not
eight-to-five medicine. Physicians may see patients at their
clinics at all hours of the day and night, depending on their
personal schedule. Make sure to find out when your doctor
sees patients, how to contact him/her at all hours, and what
you need to do to make an appointment. Also, find out
at which hospitals the physician sees patients. This may
make a difference in choosing a physician for a long-term
relationship. Surprise of all surprises, many Egyptian doctors
will come to your home or hotel to see you.
Generally speaking, Egyptian physicians practise a more
humanistic type of medicine than most Western physicians.
This means that they listen to your symptoms, may palpitate
as needed, but rarely utilise extensive laboratory measures
for most common ailments. However, there are excellent
laboratory facilities available when needed. They do not have
a queuing system such as occurs in Great Britain and in some
managed care programmes in the United States. What this
means, in practical terms, is that if what you need is available
and you have the money to pay for it, you can reasonably
expect to be able to get the service you need.
It is always advisable to discover the locations of hospitals
in a new place. In the event you might need one, it seems
best to know approximately where it is located in the
city and which one you would want to go to. Numerous
‘private’ hospitals exist in and around Cairo and Alexandria.
Designation as a private hospital may be somewhat different
than you are used to in your own country. A number of these
small private hospitals are owned by one or more physicians.
Just because a hospital is called a private facility, it does
not mean that it will be a big, technologically sophisticated
facility. Most small private hospitals are essentially open-air
medical facilities. That is, they do not have sophisticated,
recirculating air heating and/or cooling units with closed,
sterilised wards or rooms. Instead, most small hospitals are
built more on the traditional Egyptian pattern, with open