TIPS FOR FIRST YEAR MEDICAL STUDENTS
BY SULEIMAN NDORO JNR (DR AUDI)
The first years arrived in medical school in the better part of last week across Kenyan universities. And some of them are going to join this coming week and even the next. Congratulations to all of them who secured these positions and are getting to pursue their great medical and health courses. May Allah be with you from the start till the end.
Well, as a medical
and motivational author, I am here to give you a few tips that may guide you
through your stay in medical school. I will start with the first 2 tips. Let’s get started.
- Passion is very important
Passion is the first
thing I always talk about when someone seeks my advice on the type of course
one wants to pursue.
One mistake you can
make is going to a medical school because your parents forced you to pursue it
or because you’ll get paid big amounts of salaries after you finish school. Or
because you will have a big name and the people in the community will respect
you because you are a doctor or dentist.
Medical courses
require passion. Your parents or the society won’t be there with you when you
will be called to the ward at 3 0’clock at night when a patient has fecal
impaction.
If you are pursuing that course because of your parents, you are in
the wrong place. Just don’t waste your time and energy pleasing them while your
happiness is at stake. You are committing spiritual suicide.
Money should not be
your motivation. If what motivates you to pursue that course is the big money
you’ll be paid when you practice, then get that mentality out of your mind.
Money will not always be there. Salaries get delayed. You may be involved in
strikes which will make you not get paid for months. This is Kenya.
So what happens when
money, which is your only motivation, gets scarce? Will you not resuscitate
that patient that is dying because the county government hasn’t paid your
salary?
Passion is the
greatest fuel you will need in the medical field. You will undergo a lot of
trials, challenges and disappointments that will sometimes make you regret why
you chose that course. But it is only PASSION that will get you moving.
- Don’t read for examinations
Another mistake
people make in medical school is reading to pass examinations. A very terrible
grave mistake I can say. These are the people I always call clinical terrorists
or clinical wizards.
Don’t study that
Anatomy, Physiology or Biochemistry just to pass the exams. Don’t cram too
hard. That’s not the History or setbook you were forced to do in High School.
You will need that
anatomy for the rest of your life. You will need that Physiology and Pathology
too.
Remember, you are not
going to treat exams. You are going to treat patients. Therefore, read to
understand so that when the time comes when it’s just you and the patient
fighting for his/her life, you will be the hero to that patient.
WATCH OUT FOR TIP 3 & 4
Suleiman Ndoro Jnr (Dr Audi) is a medical and motivational author who is graduate of BSC Clinical Medicine from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology. He is also the Founder & CEO of Medwax Corporation Africa-a medical and healthcare start-up corporation based in Kenya and also an affiliate at Writers Guild Kenya (WGK).
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