Sponsio Academica

For the past three months I've attended intensive lectures that were meant 
to prepare me for my medical assessment exam in October but none as powerful/spell binding/intriguing as the lecture delivered today at the swearing in ceremony(aka Sponsio academia) held for foreign trained medical/dental graduates.

The lecture titled "Life as a house officer; what a doctor needs to know" was delivered by Prof. E.J.C Nwana, a seasoned pathologist and very well spoken.

The prof spoke from the heart. He bemoaned the current state of the health sector where "lawlessness" is the order of the day: medical professionals going on strike, caring more about personal gain and status, malpractice etcetera. He reiterated that being a doctor is not a "get rich quick" scheme, as a matter of fact, doctors make just about enough money to pay their bills and nothing more.

He admonished us to make our patients the centre of our practice, giving them nothing but the best care as is within our power.

One thing he said which struck a chord within me was "The medical profession must remain an oasis of sanity in a desert of disappearing 

values in this country"

Things I Wish I Knew Before Med School

Disclaimer: If you are thinking of going to medical school or if you know anyone who has lofty ideas of doing so.... Think again!

There's a meme on the internet that reads, "In a Nigerian family you can only be a 1) Doctor 2) Engineer 3)Lawyer 4) A disgrace to the family.

In other words, everyone expects you to either be a doctor, lawyer or engineer; anything other than that, na you sabi.

So once you are in science class in senior secondary school, it is automatic ally assumed that you plan to become a doctor or worse case scenario, a dentist. Nobody really talks to the younger ones about what it entails or what to prepare for.

Here are some things I wish someone had told me before I decided to study medicine. 

1) You never graduate from medical school. Not really. If you want to make any headway in the medical field, best be prepared to study your ass off till you are grey.

2) Do not, I repeat, DO NOT study medicine in any country that they don't speak English. Unless you plan on learning the language extensively. How else would you communicate with the patients which is the most vital part of your field?

3) For those who plan to study abroad and come back to Nigeria, allow me to establish a timeline for you:

- graduation after 6 years of blood/sweat. Yay!

- write licensing exams to practice in Nigeria after 3 months of lectures at a designated Nigerian university

- apply for house job for a year. And by apply I mean, you still have to write exams or do an interview to get the job. You must get a job within this one year or else your temporary license expires and you have to sit for the exams again. And as we all know, this is Nigeria.

- go for one year of NYSC 

- apply to become a resident doctor. At this stage anything you want to do is up to you, depends on your career path. If you want to specialize, of course there are series of exams for that. Everyone is doing public health these days. Don't get me started on USMILE/PLAB. 

4) The Nigerian medical system is designed to steal your joy. Don't let them. In the words of a colleague of mine " If you raise your head , they will clip your wings, feathers, tails, head and basically bury you, one piece at a time" 🙆🏼🌚😕👹

Oh I don't mean to sound cynical. Medicine is great. Being a doctor commands respect, it has the potential to increase your bride price and sell your market exponentially. If you plan on getting rich quick tho, you might wanna reconsider or try your hands on other things.

Which reminds me, just about most of the medical students/doctors I know have avid interests  in music, writing, business and fashion which they actively pursue.

In my next life would I become a doctor again? 

God's Stellar Record

“He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” Mark‬ ‭4:40‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The words from the passage jumped out at me. "Do you STILL have no faith?" STILL.....

In that moment I could imagine the frustration with his disciples, how can you imagine that you will drown with Jesus in your boat?

It took me a second to realize he was actually asking me, "after all this time, after all the ways I've proven myself to you, do you STILL not trust me completely"? In that moment I felt so ashamed.

I'm the type of person that likes to plan my day to a T. If I'm doing something or going somewhere, I like to know the when,what,how and where in explicit details. So I get a bit nervous when I don't know what's going to happen along the line or about things/situations I can't plan or control. So I worry.

I'm a worry wart. I worry when things don't go my way. I worry that they wouldn't. I worry about the future. I worry about worrying. And sometimes that worrying tends to translate into fear, which sometimes translates into panic.

The most recent being my board exams. It got to a point I realized I never had any positive thing to say when anyone asked me how it was going. All I did was whine and complain about how things didn't pan out as I expected. I remember on one occasion I was talking to my aunt about the exam and she said something that really struck me. She said "Records show that God has never failed you..." True words. So why was I STILL afraid? It was a big reality check for me.

And just as if to confirm his word, the very next day, a colleague of mine walked up to me in class and said "Don't worry, you will pass, I already see us in Abuja." And he walked away. I was a bit taken aback because he said it with such calm and conviction, almost like he perceived the conflicts going on in my mind.

After that day, an unusual peace washed over me, I can't explain it. And God kept to his word.

Dear person reading this, Records show that God is faithful, he has never failed you, you will make it again and again by his grace. He will be faithful to the end.

God bless you.