Doctor

A doctor (from Somali dabiib or Arabic origin, also called dhakhtar from European languages, or dialectally saanac or takhtar) is a highly trained healthcare professional who examines patients, diagnoses disease, and plans treatment.

A doctor's work is grounded in knowledge of human anatomy, disease, and medicine. Doctors do not work alone: they work alongside healthcare assistants, pharmacists, radiographers and laboratory technicians, and nurses. This coordinated effort is known as a healthcare team.

Education and licensing

In most countries, becoming a doctor requires completing a university degree in medicine, which takes many years, followed by a supervised training period (internship) in a hospital. Afterward, the person obtains a license or registration from the government health authority. Those seeking specialized training complete further programs (residency or specialization).

Specializations

Medicine has many branches. These include general practice (family medicine), internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry and neurology, and radiology (X-ray, CT, ultrasound). Anesthesiologists manage sedation during surgical procedures.

Professional ethics

Doctors are bound by ethical codes: protecting patient confidentiality, obtaining informed consent before treatment, and preventing harm. The classical Hippocratic Oath symbolizes these commitments, although many countries now use modern codes of ethics.

Medicine in Somalia

Somalia has several universities offering medical education, and many people train abroad. Alongside formal medicine, traditional healing—using plants, highland remedies, and practitioners known as cadaale or traditional doctors—remains widespread in many areas, and patients sometimes seek these before or after hospital care.