All it Takes

Medical school! I do not consider myself a writer, but as I go through medical school, I would love to share my bits of my experience to inform and inspire those in the medical line and others who are not as well. I did my pre-medicine in Babcock University, and the moment we resumed for the semester, the struggle began. At our first meeting with our directors, we were welcomed with the news that only 10 out of the 80 of us were going to get into medical school as a result of the quota given to the school by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN). As the classes went on, so did the stress too, with each lecturer reminding us to be serious or else we would get cut off.  Our first semester exams came with each and every one of us feeling unprepared. Second semester came also and flew by so fast. Then, the long-awaited final exams came knocking. Finally! The exams soon gave way to the summer break. I couldn’t even have fun during the break, as each day, I woke up with thoughts of the results clouding my mind. Daily, I checked the result page and every time, I was disappointed to see that the results had not been released.

After weeks of anxious anticipation, I decided to not stress about it any longer. ONE morning, I woke up and whilst going about my daily activities, my dad got a call.  The pre-degree director had called to inform him that I had been shortlisted for medical school. I could not contain my excitement as my dad related the conversation he had just had with the director.

The foremost reason for this was GOD. Honestly, nothing is achievable without the grace of God. We are all expected to have our goals and aspirations but if we do not involve God in our plans, we plan in vain. Another reason is determination. This may sound like a cliché but without determination, success is unachievable. There were a lot of distractions – there are, and would always be, distractions – but I had my mind set on getting into medical school and I was determined in action as well despite the distractions. Hard work is another thing that I cannot overemphasize – it truly pays. There is a saying that is very popular amongst university students,”I cannot come and go and kill myself”.  Please, kill yourself; not literally of course, but do the most you can to succeed. And when you have undoubtedly given it your best, only then can you leave the rest to God.

I am in my first year of medical school and to say the least, it has not been easy. We are currently 129 students and only 50 students are crossing over to 200 level. I have come to realize that the competition never ends. I see a lot of people lose focus because they are overwhelmed by the competition. The way forward is just to stay focused and not get distracted. Hard work, persistence, dedication, determination and prayerfulness have brought me this far. I still have 5 years to go and although it seems like it’s going to take forever, by God’s grace, I will be done before I even know it. For those already in the field, keep working hard and you will pull through. For those coming into the field, be prepared to work hard.

Written by Anita Kadiri a first year medical student at Babcock University.