Fadoua Boualem, Atlassian expert in the healthcare industry, on tackling her phobia of hospitals

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On the day that I first reached out to her, Fadoua Boualem had just taken her ACP-600 test and had passed a French test that made her eligible to be an official hospital translator. I have a feeling that this kind of day was par for the course for Fadoua, a multi-faceted superstar in the Atlassian-verse and far beyond. Read more!

Describe the path that led you to the healthcare industry. What are the main responsibilities of your role?

Honestly, it was a pure coincidence that I ended up working in the healthcare industry, and it also came as a surprise. This is because I have a phobia you might have heard of called “Hospitals”. However, since working at INOVA, my phobia lessened and I feel proud being part of a great team that makes a difference in people’s lives every day. (INOVA is a network of hospitals, outpatient services, assisted living and long-term care facilities, and healthcare centers based in Falls Church, Virginia, near Washington, D.C.). 

Providing daily assistance to users with anything related to Atlassian products. I am also in charge of handling basic server tasks that pertain to the products. The exciting part of my job is that I can wear several hats at the same time.  

What Atlassian products do you use on a day-to-day basis? Which product is the most central in your role? 

We use Jira, Confluence, HipChat, Crowd, and soon BitBucket. We are also introducing users to Trello. My favorite Atlassian product is Jira.

What is the biggest challenge you face in your role as an Atlassian Admin? 

Since I am the only Atlassian Admin within our Institute, if anything happens with the products or Marketplace Apps I am on my own. I have to fix it which is not an easy task as sometimes it is a bug that Atlassian Engineers may not be aware of or are still working on fixing.

You're interested in MySQL and Linux database. How do you go about learning more about both?

I did MySQL training as it was becoming a must for my position. I familiarized myself with MySQL by reading on W3Schools website and I also got a book. I worked from my office for a week on learning every day (that was my Manager’s suggestion). Once done with learning; the Sr. Database Admin and my Manager gave me a test.

Regarding Linux, I am looking right now for an onsite training so that I can take the class as soon as I can.

What do you like to do for fun? 

I love photography, painting on glass and going to my Taekwondo class.

What are some adjectives you'd use to describe Northern VA? 

Family-Oriented, Quiet, Safe, Welcoming

Sounds nice! Thanks for sharing these excellent details with us, @Fadoua. If you have questions for Fadoua, ask them in the comment section below! 

[Monique vdB]

@Fadoua my favorite part of this is seeing your smiling face! Our community is so lucky to have you 😀

[Erica Moss]

@Fadoua, you have been such a stellar addition to this community — your positivity and enthusiasm is contagious, and we are so grateful for your contributions! Loved learning a little bit more about you. 😄

[miikhy]

@Fadoua so glad to know a bit more about you! You're a great person, with the best intentions and attitude, you must be a fantastic person to work with and I'm glad I've met you on Community, can't wait to meet in person :)

Thanks for sharing a bit about you!

[Fadoua]

Omg!!! You are so kind!!! Thank you so much! @Bridget, @Erica Moss, @Monique vdB and @miikhy! From my heart thank you! I feel like it is my birthday today :)

[Thomas Schlegel]

@Fadoua - Great to read more about you (and seeing a picture of you). I also think that it's great to have you in our community, interesting, friendly, awesome, helpful, that's you!  I hope, we'll meet someday in person (we still need to improve my French ;-) ) 

[Fadoua]

@Thomas Schlegel I am really touched by your heartwarming words. Thank you so much!

[carolyn french]

You are very inspiring, @Fadoua , and it always makes me happy to see you here on community and in-person when I can! Also, where's the first photo from? it's beautiful...

[Fadoua]

@carolyn frenchyou have a lot to do with all this since you are the one who introduced me to the Atlassian Community. Thank you so much my friend!

I took that photo before sun rise in St Thomas U.S. Virgin Islands

[Matt Doar]

Nice!

[Adrián Plaza [DEISER]]

It's great to read and view stories of the persons that write and help in this community, nice one @Fadoua

[Fadoua]

Thank you @Adrián Plaza [DEISER]!

[Rachel Wright]

You rock @Fadoua!  Great article.  Neat to know about the Taekwondo.

[Fadoua]

Thanks a lot @Rachel Wright! I have so much respect for you Mrs. JIRA DIVA. It was great seeing you last week.

[Ada Chen]

Hi @Fadoua - I remember meeting you at Summit in San Jose - so happy to hear you took the ACP-600 exam! Thanks for sharing and being part of our community :)

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

I hold up Fadoua as the sort of community member we aspire to be - keen, enthusiastic, welcoming and helpful.

I had the all too brief honour of meeting her at our last San Jose summit, and I'm really hoping that we can both make another one and spend some proper time together!

[Fadoua]

@Ada ChenThank you! So kind of you!

[Fadoua]

@Nic Brough -Adaptavist-I really hope that we will meet again and that you can give me some recipes so that I become an expert like you. The respect is mutual.

This week I am offsite taking a class for my Interpreter Certification. The medical world is amazing but nothing will equal JIRA

[Vishnukumar Vasudevan]

Inspiring :) @Fadoua - Happy to see you here.  

[Meg Holbrook]

Great article! 

@Fadoua, you show so much strength, it's amazing to see. Many hat wearers are the best hat-wearers. 

[Fadoua]

Thank you @Meg Holbrook! Welcome to the awesome Champion Community talking about others not myself :) !

[Fadoua]

Thank you @Vishnukumar Vasudevan!

[Jodi LeBlanc]

Amazing article, I learned so much about you! Congrats on conquering your fear of Hospitals :)

[Fadoua]

Thank you @Jodi LeBlanc! Believe me I am still working on it. There are days when the smell makes me uncomfortable.

[davidcorino]

Good. 

[LeKisha Boswell]

@Fadoua you are truly an inspiration to many! Not only do you make time to improve the lives of those in the Atlassian community and your professional environment - most importantly, you make time to better yourself! So happy to have read your story!