The Story of Khodr Oulleik, CCDS

In Mid-November of 2009, shortly after the pass/fail results for the 2009 Allied Professional Cardiac Rhythm Device Therapy Exam were distributed, members of the IBHRE Test Writing Committees received an exciting e-mail from Khodr Oulleik--a CRM Division Manager for St. Jude Medical (SJM), Middle East. Khodr had just found out that he had passed the IBHRE Exam and was now, officially a Certified Cardiac Device Specialist (CCDS).

“Just before I am off to bed at 12:10 am” he says, “I received an email that the results of the IBHRE exam are on the net. Hence definitely there will be no sleep and I had to go back to my laptop and check the website for the results.” While he searched the listing, nervous about whether there would be a P or and F next to his Customer ID number, Khodr wondered “why our very first predecessor who created the alphabets from the eldest city in the world-- Byblos (Lebanon) –had ever introduced the letter F. I hated F for a couple of minutes till I saw P next to my number. Sorry F, no hard feelings!”

In his excitement, Khodr took a moment to send an e-mail to some of his CRM colleagues to share his excitement about achieving IBHRE Certification. “I thought it would be very nice to share with you this personal achievement of being IBHRE Certified and I am sure it will be very helpful for me in my career development in SJM” he says.

Khodr went on to share some of the strategies and methods that helped him prepare for the exam:
“I had a one-month very extensive plan for studying where summer time helped me to focus on this. It was actually Ramadan, our fasting month, which I start studying at 10 pm and finish 4 am early morning just before the last allowed meal for almost 25 days. You can see from the attached pictures [see below] I used a lot of posters that I attached all over walls and closets in my home. Posters were placed in my home based on importance and level of difficulty. To remember drugs (which are usually a pain in the neck) I decided to match the names of people I know with important drugs in EP.

When asked about what led his to success, Khodr replied: “My last 45 days were IBHRE and my night was all about books and reviews. My blackberry was full of notes, which made studying more exciting than just reviewing power points, journals and books.” He went on to say “It is something that I put straight ahead as an achievement because I know very few APs in the Middle East have such a certification. I must tell you that I have full respect for those who pass this exam because it is not something anyone can pass. I am proud to be IBHRE Certified!”

Furthermore, Khodr extends a big thanks to everyone who has helped and motivated him toward this achieving this renowned certification!

The IBHRE Board of Directors and Test Writing Committee wish Khodr the very best as he moves forward with maintaining his IBHRE Certification. Congratulations Khodr on your achievement of excellence!

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