I began my medical training in the year 2012 at the age of 20. It is now one academic year and a few months since I began. It was not so easy for me to cope in the beginning but over the time I got to really love Hubert Kairuki Memorial University and felt like I made the greatest career choice. It took a little bit longer for me to settle down and focus on school but once I made up my mind I decided to make the best out of the medical training.
In the very beginning nothing really seemed to be working for me and at some point I actually felt like I had chosen a wrong career albeit the fact it was my greatest dream. Ever since I was a little girl I had the urge of being a popular doctor in saving lives and providing affordable medical care to the less fortunate in our society.
My first semester of my first year to me looked so confused but lucky enough my professors helped me to get out of my cocoon and work towards my goal. At this very point I got to remember that nothing comes easy and in order to prosper I had to put all my energy and efforts towards my studies.
I also get a lot of encouragement from my professors and lecturers who have made it in their medical careers, they really inspire and motivate me. They challenge us as medical students to think big and help in solving the controversies in the medical field.
The second semester was better because of the positive attitude I now had and the encouragement I got from family and mentors. I got to realize that bachelor in medicine as a course was not any difficult it just requires an individual’s determination and commitment. i managed to finish my first year well with few challenges with helped me to realize my potential.
After doing very well in my first year and awarded the gift of the best student in the first year (MD 1) I had a restoration of my confidence. The gift was an eye opener to me that I could do even better. It reminded me that medicine is a very prestigious course and so many people are looking up to us as medical students to do very well in our training an make a difference in the society we live in, I also got to know I am not doing it for myself but for the whole world. I got really motivated and humbled by the gift. Thanks to the Team Tanzania Scholar Award.
My name is Mwanahija Omar; currently a third year medical student at Hubert Kairuki Memorial University (HKMU).
My journey through medical school so far hasn’t been an entirely smooth ride. I was very skeptical about joining medical school in the first place; mainly because I had a passion for psychology only and after high school I just wanted to go straight for psychology but my parents suggested it would be better if I go for a full medical degree and then specialize in psychiatry after that.
And so my journey at HKMU began. During my first year I had a very hard time coping with studies. My grades kept dropping and I just couldn’t find the right way to study. I was also more of an introvert and found it hard to interact with people. By the end of the first semester I was ready to quit; but my parents and my anatomy professor encouraged me to give it another try before I left medicine altogether.
So I hung in there; tried out new strategies of studying and tried to interact more with other people and things got slightly better. By the second year I was more settled in my studies; I could focus better.
With the coming of the third year and being exposed to a variety of subjects; I realized that I had other interest apart from psychology. I find pediatrics and internal medicine quite interesting and so my being here in med school has broadened my range of interests. Along my medical training I have also met some people (lecturers) particularly in my third year who have really inspired me. I look up to these people as they impart their knowledge to us and this really inspires me to reach somewhere in life and be like them. Moreover I have been exposed to different kinds of people and even made friends along the way thus helping me to overcome my introversion and be more interactive.
Receiving this award has not only made me proud of myself but restored the confidence in me. At one point I was about to quit; I wasn’t sure if I could go through with this; but this award has increased my confidence and strengthened my resolve to get through medical school and be “someone” in life. The award is a reminder to me that if I persevere long enough; good things will happen and it is also an incentive for me to work harder and achieve much greater things in life.
“Seek Knowledge from cradle to grave.” This saying of the Holy Prophet of Islam has been the force that drives me to acquire knowledge and put it into every practice at every stage in my life.
Having spent two months of my fourth year in Mwananyamala Hospital doing my pediatric rotations, I have come to appreciate the essence of life in such impoverished settings where preventable diseases like Malaria and Acute watery diarrhea claim the lives of children in great numbers. As a young boy I often came across the saying, “Saving one human life is saving the entire human race”, however it didn’t make much sense to me back then. Today, that saying has defined me and brought meaning to my life reiterating the point that the title ‘medical student’ or ‘doctor’ isn’t about fame or prestige rather bearing the responsibility to care for life and ensuring the patients that their health is our priority. I have taken the initiative to learn and understand the various intervention strategies required to manage patients who present with signs of shock, dehydration, malnutrition, convulsions and other emergency signs.
Moreover the medical field has disciplined me to become a more mature and responsible individual. I’ve learnt to respect the confidentiality of the patients, approach them with sympathy and respect and above all, the biggest lesson I have acquired is generosity. In Tanzania where majority of the population live in poverty, most of the people cannot afford basic medical services. I remember coming across a situation where a despondent mother could not afford a basic investigation for her unconscious child, this is where I decided to step up and contribute to the cost. I have a younger brother pursuing the medical field at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences and together we have vision for the future – to serve the people.
Receiving the best student award has encouraged me to work harder than I did last semester and to help out my fellow mates in achieving the same. I firmly believe that sharing knowledge is what increases knowledge and therefore as a student of this noble profession I promise to continue to share the knowledge I have with my fellow colleagues who aspire to become great doctors in serving Tanzania.
My life in medical University.
Hello, my name is Damaris Mweni Nzilili a graduate from Hubert Kairuki Memorial University, I finished my medical course on August this year and was selected as the best student in my class for this year. I started my medical programme on September 2008 at Hubert Kairuki Memorial University and I thank God that I was fairing well with my studies despite the various challenges on school fees which came up during my years of study. What always motivates me in studying is that I am always curios in getting to know management and physiology of different medical conditions. I can’t say my 5 years in medical training were smooth, I sometimes had to spend sleepless nights in clinics and in class so as to see as many cases as possible.
This is the third time that I am selected as the best student in my class. First time was when in MD 2, then MD 3 and now in MD 5. This time round I was very happy as just a day before my graduation I was told of THE TEAM TANZANIA SCHOLAR AWARD and that I was to be awarded $500. I was very happy as I didn’t expect this. I would really like to thank the Maendeleo organization for this award. I had lots of plan on how to spend the money but finally I decided to spend it on medical books which I can be reading everyday and expand my knowledge. I would like to pass my sincere vote of thanks to the Maendeleo Organisation for their kind support in encouraging and recognizing excellence in Medical Training here in Tanzania.
The Award is so motivating as students in medical field will be working harder to make sure they receive the award every year and this will result in productive competition which is very good in the current world of science